Let’s stay healthy in 2022!
As the New Year starts in the midst of a new Covid wave, Dr. Dominique Fradin-Read and her nurse practitioner Carley Cassity feel the need to keep sending positive messages for the future. Let’s stay strong and keep our health at its optimal level, ready to combat any viral aggression!
At VitaLifeMD as everywhere else we counted quite a few Covid cases among our patients in 2021, especially in the past few weeks with the Omicron variant raging in our country and worldwide.
However, most of these cases were relatively mild and, I must admit, the severe ones were for the most part unvaccinated patients. Only four patients required hospitalization as they were at high risk of complications and/ or severely ill, but all of them made it back home safely.
What lessons can we learn from this data? Covid is a nasty virus; we can confirm it when we see some poor patients lingering with symptoms for months. But we have ways to try to avoid getting sick and, even if we are not 100% sure that we will not get Covid, at least let’s get ready to fight when the virus might threaten us.
In an environment where we could inevitably be exposed, what is the best “preparedness” at the individual level?
There is a proverb in French that says: “La prudence est mère de sureté.” Basically, it says “let’s be careful and we will be safe.”
If we respect the protective measures of wearing a mask indoors and in crowded areas outside, trying to keep our social distancing, and making the effort to avoid unnecessary reunions with too many people, this is already a good first line of protection.
Testing as much as we can will also help detect disease at the early stage and avoid the risk of transmission by asymptomatic patients.
Keep our immune system strong. We elaborated many times in our past posts about these topics, but it is probably helpful to review some important elements.
Follow a healthy lifestyle as much as possible:
Let’s go back to a healthy clean diet: after the excess of the holidays, cutting down on carbs and sugar, reducing alcohol intake, adding more fruits and veggies rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants, without forgetting to eat enough protein that supports the “bricks” of our immune system.
Get enough sleep. It is during our sleep that we restore our hormones such as cortisol, growth hormones, and even sex hormones, all so important to keep our body balanced, our brain alert and our immune system strong.
Let’s leave stress at the door as this is the most insidious aggressor on our immune system. You might be interested to know that stress can minimize the response to a viral attack, deplete your adrenal glands from cortisol, and makes you more susceptible to getting seriously sick. So, let’s do everything possible to lessen the stress; one way is trying to ground yourself in the present moment through mindfulness. Prepare and don’t panic, this will help reduce anxiety.
Use natural supplements and various formulas that have been proven to help strengthen the immune system
Vitamin D: The implications of vitamin D deficiency on the immune system have become clearer in recent years and in the context of vitamin D deficiency, there appears to be an increased susceptibility to infections. The vitamin D receptor is expressed on immune cells (lymphocytes and natural killer cells) that play an important role in the defense against viral infections. Vitamin D can modulate innate and adaptive immune responses.
Glutathione: As an antioxidant naturally found in the body glutathione helps protect your immune system in two important ways. It plays a key role in the proper function of the T-cell lymphocytes. This enables the frontline soldiers of your immune system to increase in numbers along with activating your natural killer (NK) cells that can absorb and destroy viruses. Glutathione also offers a protective role against inflammatory pathologies of the lung reducing the production of deleterious cytokines.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) plays an important role in the normal functioning of the immune system and has been widely used for the prevention and/or treatment of respiratory infections for almost a century. Whether taken orally as prevention or intravenously in case of acute respiratory infections, new data seems to emerge for its benefit to prevent the inflammatory cytokine response and its potential to improve the outcomes of such infections.
Zinc and Quercetin: Can be helpful to support a healthy immune system.
Mushrooms: In particular Maitake mushroom whose compound called D-fraction has been shown to support the immune system.
The product Immuno-DMG is one of the most complete products that offer a combination of all these ingredients. It contains Vit D/ Vit C/ Zinc/Maitake extracts and in addition some Elderberry and a couple of natural anti-inflammatory agents. Please note that Dr. Dominique Read has a bottle on her desk and takes 1 AM and 1 PM daily during the winter season.
Other supplements that might help as they keep you on track with your healthy lifestyle: Cortisol calm for sleep and stress reduction, Melatonin and Hemp oil for sleep, Metabolic Xtra with berberine for sugar control, Lithium for mood support and anxiety reduction.
Call our providers at VitaLifeMD right away at the first signs of the disease or if you have a positive Covid test and you are symptomatic. Dr. Read or Carley are here to assess your case on the phone and will guide you along with the progression of the disease.
Our nurse Charles needs particular recognition for his dedication to his work since the beginning of the pandemic. He has been working long hours and driven hundreds of miles weekly, even recently- when the office was closed- during the Holidays, to bring support and treatment at home each time a patient was sick and needed it. We thank him profoundly for helping keep our patients healthy.