Over the last few months Jacqui Mayes our Registered Nutritional Therapist has been busy keeping a close eye on the developing Covid-19 research. She has been working remotely with clients to improve their immunity and recently has been supporting people who are presenting with post viral symptoms following Covid infections; symptoms such as fatigue, unexplained aches and pains and a host of digestive symptoms. Here she writes about her thoughts on the virus and what she has been doing, using the ‘functional Medicine Model’ to help immunity. There are some great tips at the end. We also wanted to congratulate Jacqui who at the start of lockdown, became one of the team at the award winning, world renowned London Clinic of Nutrition.
The first half of 2020 has been an interesting one to say the least. Covid-19 has swept the world leaving many dead and many feeling its symptoms for months following their initial infections. It has been interesting because, while certain aspects of the virus are behaving as we have come to understand viruses, certain aspects have behaved in a very different manner to our expectations and this has left the medical profession and the science community scrambling to understand this new and unpredictable coronavirus.
Prevention Research
So much research is being done on how to cope with and treat the virus but also on how to prevent it. Much research is being conducted on which groups of people are being worse affected by it. Dr Jeffrey Bland a ‘functional medicine’ doctor wrote an interesting article a few weeks ago entitled ‘Covid 19: a Pandemic Within a Pandemic’ which discusses what happens when the worlds most prevalent non-communicable health conditions and a highly infectious viral disease collide. A non-communicable health condition is defined as a non-infectious health condition that cannot be spread from person to person. Non-communicable diseases often have a lifestyle element to their aetiology and apart from the elderly, it has been interesting to see that the people who appear to be worse affected by Covid-19 are, in the main, people who also have pre-existing health conditions such as cardio vascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and who in many cases are obese or overweight. The World Health Organisation has been tracking non-communicable diseases for some time and it is known that they have overtaken infections diseases as the most significant global cause of illness and premature death even before Covid-19 arrived.
Nutrient deficiencies and the microbiome
A raft of research has looked at nutrient deficiencies and severity of symptoms. Some studies look at Vitamin C, some at Vitamin D, some at Selenium, some at Zinc. There has also been research looking at the gut microbiome and thoughts that an imbalance of beneficial and opportunistic bacteria in the gut may also affect outcomes. I find this interesting as those nutrients are all intrinsically involved in the immune system. In fact the immune system needs adequate amounts of over 20 different nutrients in order to function efficiently and it is well known that gut bacteria have an important role in modulating and priming the immune system. I also find it interesting that these elements are being studied in isolation especially as people are very rarely deficient in one single nutrient, but poor dietary choices often lead to several nutrient deficiencies, and are known to contribute to the aetiology of non-communicable diseases and indeed alterations to the delicate balance of our gut bacterial colonies.
The impact or dietary choices
Dietary choices also play a role in the immune system because a diet that is rich in sugars and refined carbohydrates has been shown to hamper the immune system by inhibit important immune cells and reduces the number of white blood cells that are produced. Refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice and pasta are all lower in nutrients than their wholegrain counterparts as many of the vitamins and minerals that grains give us are found in the outer husk of the grain which is lost in the refining process. Alcohol consumption is another factor that in excess is known to hinder the immune system. Modern fast and convenience food are notoriously lower in nutrients than home cooked dishes and in the UK, a large proportion of the population often struggle to get anywhere close to the recommended 5-a-day for fruit and vegetable consumption. Baring in mind that many of the nutrients and anti-oxidants that the immune system needs to function well are found in colourful fruit and vegetables.
Other non-food based elements that have been known to negatively affect the immune system and be involved in non-communicable diseases are inflammation and stress and both our dietary and lifestyle choices play a large role in both of these factors.
Prevention or cure
Focus has been firmly on engineering a vaccine to protect us from the corona virus but this may be many months in the making, especially as the virus appears to have the ability to mutate. Given the current efficacy of antibody testing, there is conflicting evidence as to whether people are able to make effective anti-bodies to the virus or indeed how long those antibodies will last. So in the short term, we need another solution.
Supporting the body and its immune system to fight the virus effectively has been my focus and that of my family. There is much that can be done through dietary and lifestyle choices that ensures that the body is getting enough of the vitamins and minerals that it needs to support immunity and enough fibre from plant based sources to support the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Points to consider
Try to eat as natural, unprocessed and nutrient dense a diet as possible
Ensure you get at least 5-a-day (with the onus being more on vegetables than on fruit)
Eat a rainbow – the more colourful the better
Eat as varied a diet as possible; the wider the range of vegetable and fruit consumption, the more diverse the strains of beneficial bacteria found in the gut
Include essential fatty acids in the diet from sources such as oily fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil and rapeseed oil to help balance inflammatory pathways
Avoid or reduce sugars as much as possible
Eat wholegrain breads, pasta and rice in moderation and avoid the white versions
Stay well hydrated by drinking adequate amounts of non-fizzy, non-caffeinated fluid daily
Ensure you exercise to your own ability
Practice stress relieving techniques on a daily basis that suit you – walk in nature, listen to music, practice yoga or pilates, do guided meditations or guided relaxation
Public Health England recommends supplementing with Vitamin D