Over a two-month period in the summer of 2020, researchers surveyed 2,884 frontline doctors and nurses who reported a high frequency of exposure to COVID-19 patients. The health care workers, in specialties such as internal medicine, emergency medicine, and critical care, worked in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to answering questions about medical history, lifestyle, and COVID-19 symptoms, participants completed a 47-item questionnaire regarding the frequency with which they ate certain foods. The research was led by Sara Seidelmann, MD, of Columbia University. 

The results were striking: Participants who reported following plant-based diets, vegetarian diets, or pescatarian diets had 59 percent lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19. The reduction was even greater when looking solely at those who followed plant-based and vegetarian diets: Those participants had 73 percent lower odds of experiencing moderate-to-severe COVID-19, compared with participants who did not follow a plant-based or vegetarian diet. These associations did not substantially change even when adjusting for potential confounding factors such as underlying medical conditions, body weight, smoking status, exercise, and access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

In contrast, those who followed low-carb, high-protein diets had a 48 percent greater risk of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 compared with other participants, in a model adjusting for demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and medical specialty. Compared with those who followed plant-based diets, low-carb, high-protein eaters had a nearly four-fold greater risk. 

In considering what may account for this difference, the researchers pointed to the fact that plant-based diets are rich in nutrients, including phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, and fiber. “These nutrients are hypothesised to support the immune system as they play important roles in the production of antibodies, proliferation of lymphocytes, and reduction of oxidative stress,” they wrote. “Our results suggest that a healthy diet rich in nutrient dense foods may be considered for protection against severe COVID-19.”

The study authors also noted that when they restricted the data to include only cases of those with a positive COVID-19 test or detectable antibodies, they noticed that individuals who reported following plant-based or pescatarian diets had lower odds of becoming infected with COVID-19 at all, but because this was a small number of cases, this line of investigation requires replication.

“If we’re looking at which diet we ought to recommend to reduce COVID severity, a healthy vegan diet has come out of the blocks really, really strongly,” Alan Desmond, MB, MRCPI, FRCP, a gastroenterologist and author of The Plant-Based Diet Revolution said in his review of the study on an Instagram live broadcast. “Meat and dairy and poultry are not nutrient-dense foods. … The nutrient dense foods are the plants.”

The post Plant-Based Diets Linked to Lower Risk of Severe COVID-19 in New Study appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

A ‘Second Epidemic’

Li, who is president of the Angiogenesis Foundation and has published COVID-19 research in The New England Journal of Medicine, said that the long-term cardiovascular damage in COVID-19 patients may be serious and widespread enough to constitute a “second epidemic.” “This virus causes a lung infection,” Li noted, “but it also makes a beeline for the vascular endothelial cells,” destroying them “from the inside out.” Endothelial cells line the blood vessels throughout the body. In addition to causing blood clots, endothelial damage leads to circulatory problems and subsequent damage to organs. 

Li cited a recent JAMA Cardiology study that looked at 100 patients who had recovered from COVID-19. The patients had relatively few pre-existing conditions, and more than half had recovered at home, without any hospitalization. Yet medical imaging showed that 78 of these patients had some form of residual cardiac damage, and 60 had an inflamed heart muscle. 

Vascular damage accounts for some of COVID-19’s seemingly disparate symptoms, including anosmia—the loss of a sense of smell. “We can lose our sense of smell from lots of different respiratory viruses, but this clearly is one of the cardinal signs of this infection,” Li said. “Well, now we’ve been able to figure out what happens. When you breathe in this virus, it actually affects your vascular endothelium and starts damaging the circulation supporting the olfactory glands.” 

The vascular component of COVID-19 may also explain why some patients experience trouble breathing and elevated heart rate even months after overcoming the viral infection, according to a Sept. 14 Washington Post op-ed Li co-authored with former FDA commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD. 

Dual Pandemics: COVID-19 and Heart Disease

In a separate presentation at the conference, Dr. Kim Williams, former president of the American College of Cardiology, described heart disease and COVID-19 as “dual pandemics” with the same risk factors. He pointed to high blood pressure, which elevates risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. “Hypertension really does vascular damage, and COVID-19 damages blood vessels further, which means that people with pre-existing blood vessel damage or microvascular disease from hypertension are going to suffer more,” he said. 

Williams also noted the link between COVID-19 and cholesterol, citing a recent study that found the virus needs cholesterol in order to approach cells for infection, and that the more cholesterol is present, the more opportunities the virus has for entry. “Anything that you can do to lower your … cholesterol, even during an infection, seemed to be helpful,” Williams says. 

Williams and Li both advocate a healthy plant-based diet because of its ability to significantly lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

“Whole foods—plant-based—are good for our blood vessels. They keep our endothelial cells robust and healthy,” Li said in his PBNHC lecture. “And if we needed another reason [to keep our blood vessels healthy], COVID-19 gives us a really great reason.”

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But when you do need to make a trip to the market, the groceries themselves should be the least of your worries, says Chrysan Cronin, DrPH, MPH, director of the public health program at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

“The virus has to be expelled from someone who is sick,” says Cronin. “A sick person would need to be close enough to your groceries and cough on them for any kind of droplet to land on them.” And even if that were to happen, the viability of the virus would decrease over time. “It’s just so unlikely that you would get infected like that.”

According to a recent public service announcement by Frank Yiannas, deputy commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is no evidence that food or food packaging is associated with the transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

“Unlike foodborne gastrointestinal viruses like norovirus and hepatitis A that make people ill through contaminated food, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is a virus that causes respiratory illness,” writes Yiannas. “This virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person. Foodborne exposure to this virus is not known to be a route of transmission.”

That being said, there are safety precautions that consumers should keep in mind, according to Cronin. Here are nine tips for safer supermarket shopping during the pandemic.

1. Have a Plan

Always make a list, says Cronin. “It keeps you more organized so you can limit the number of times you actually have to go to the grocery store. It makes your shopping more intentional.”

Having a list makes you more efficient, so you can work your way through the store faster. “Really, the less time you can spend in that grocery store, the lower the risk,” says Cronin. 

Note that some grocery stores are offering special hours for seniors and other higher-risk individuals, typically first thing in the morning. If you fall into this category, check to see whether any local grocery stores are participating. (Or better yet, bypass the store altogether and use a grocery delivery service such as Instacart.)

2. Grab Those Wipes

Many grocery stores offer free sanitizing wipes at the front of the store so that shoppers can wipe off their carts before use. “[In case] they don’t have any, make sure you bring some with you,” says Cronin.   

3. Limit Your Touching

Only handle the items that you’re sure you’ll buy. “I don’t touch a bunch of different things and decide what I’m actually going to put in my cart,” says Cronin. Be intentional about what you pick up.

4. Wear a Mask and Keep Your Distance 

The CDC now recommends wearing a cloth face covering out in public. This is more about protecting others from your respiratory droplets, but if everyone wears a mask, everyone reaps that benefit. Even when wearing a mask, be sure to keep your distance from other shoppers. “It’s sort of hard in a grocery aisle to be six feet apart from somebody, but I do notice people are being really respectful of that, and they’ll move out of the way,” says Cronin. 

5. Grab Some More Wipes

As you’re leaving, pick up another sanitizing wipe or two to bring with you to your car. Once you’ve unloaded your cart and put it away, wipe down your hands before getting into your car to go home. 

6. Wash Your Hands

Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds when you get home and again after you finish unloading your groceries.

7. If You Brought Cloth Bags, Wash Them 

Many states have temporarily banned reusable bags or delayed implementing or enforcing new restrictions on single-use bags. However, if you did bring your cloth bags, make sure you launder them as soon as you get home, says Cronin. 

8. Wash Your Produce, but Not with Soap

“I tend to do that when I get home,” says Cronin. “I find that if I wash my produce ahead of time and store it washed, I’m much more likely to use it all.” If you don’t wash it right away, you should be fine as long as you wash it before you eat it.

As for how you should wash, Cronin offers, “Just put it under running water. I usually wash my produce for a good minute or so to get rid of dirt and other things that can be making us sick like E.coli and salmonella too.”

Whatever you do, don’t use soap, she adds. “Not only does it not taste good, but it can really mess up your stomach and make you nauseous.” 

Once you’re done washing produce, thoroughly pat it dry before storing in the fridge, to help it stay fresh longer.

9. Don’t Bother Decontaminating Packaged Foods

Washing or wiping down food packaging is probably overkill. Research reported in March in The New England Journal of Medicine found that the virus can be detected on plastic for up to 72 hours and cardboard and paper for up to 24 hours, but it degrades quickly during that time; the study found that the concentration of COVID-19 degraded by half within 6.8 hours on plastic surfaces and within 3 hours on cardboard. Again, just be sure to wash your hands before you prep a meal and again before you eat it.

Bottom Line 

“Nothing is risk-free,” says Cronin. “Certainly, there is an infinitesimal risk that you would become infected by your groceries. But the risk is so small. The riskiest part of the grocery shopping experience is being around other people.”

Check with the Centers for Disease Control for the latest advisories regarding COVID-19.

The post Tips for Safer Grocery Shopping During the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Consistent with findings in China and Italy, the preliminary data presented in the CDC report  suggests that people with preexisting conditions have a higher chance of being hospitalized with COVID-19 and even dying of complications from the disease. 

The CDC reviewed data from 7,162 COVID-19 patients in the U.S. between February 12 and March 31. Among those patients, 2,692 (37.6 percent) had one or more underlying health condition or risk factors. 

The report found that 78 percent of patients admitted to an intensive-care unit had at least one known preexisting condition. Of those hospitalized who didn’t require an ICU admission, 71 percent reported at least one underlying condition. And 94 percent of those who died of COVID-19-related illness had at least one known underlying condition.  

While COVID-19 is typically more severe among older people, the new data show that people of any age with preexisting medical conditions are at an increased risk of getting very sick. Among the most common underlying conditions were diabetes (10.9 percent); chronic lung disease, including asthma, COPD, and emphysema (9.2 percent); and cardiovascular disease (9 percent). 

“The virus attacks the lungs and heart, so people with lung disease or heart disease or conditions that lead to heart disease (such as hypertension and diabetes) are at heightened risk,” explains Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Diabetes, in particular, poses special complications due to the fact that the disease compromises the immune system, making it harder for patients to fight viruses. Additionally, COVID-19 may thrive in an environment of elevated glucose. 

Other conditions and risk factors included chronic renal disease; chronic liver disease; immunocompromised condition; neurologic disorder, neurodevelopmental or intellectual disability; pregnancy; and current and former smoking status. 

The CDC acknowledges some limitations of this data set, noting that because of the lack of widespread COVID-19 testing, the analysis is likely biased toward more severe cases. 

In addition to protective measures such as thorough handwashing, disinfecting high-touch surfaces, and staying at home, the CDC recommends that people who have underlying conditions maintain at least a 30-day supply of medication and a two-week supply of food and other necessities; and that they contact their health care provider immediately if they develop any symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath. Visit the CDC website for more information.

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Approximately 75 percent of new and emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic diseases: spread to humans from animals. But this is less a story of animals causing harm to humans than humans disrupting the environment through agricultural change, says Scott Stoll, MD, board-certified specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and cofounder of the Plantrician Project.

“We have absolutely contributed to the creation of these mutated viruses and bacteria that cause epidemics,” says Stoll. “We put animals in very close quarters so that viruses and bacteria can spread more quickly and mutations can happen more rapidly. And then because we’ve also pushed these CAFOs [confined animal feed operations] and production facilities closer to wild animals, it’s easy for the preexisting mutations in wild species to move into the domesticated species.”

As a result, we’ve created the right conditions for the current and future pandemics. Here are five diseases we’ve helped spawn.  

Coronaviruses

SARS-CoV2, which is responsible for COVID-19, started as one of hundreds of coronaviruses circulating among animals. But in late 2019 a spillover occurred, most likely at a Chinese wet market where live animals are sold. The virus leapt from animal to human and began to spread quickly, infecting more than 1 million people worldwide by the start of April 2020. 

This is not the first time that a wet market has been linked with a coronavirus. In fact, COVID-19 is closely related to another coronavirus known as SARS. That disease emerged in 2002, following a spillover from a bat or an intermediary animal such as a civet. SARS would go on to infect more than 8,000 people worldwide (killing 774) before seemingly disappearing in 2004. While there have been no new cases since then, SARS remains on the World Health Organization’s list of diseases with “epidemic potential.”

Zoonotic Influenza

Every so often, an influenza virus will cross the animal-human divide and infect people. Typically, these viruses are transmitted through direct contact with an infected animal such as birds or pigs or through contact with an animal’s feces. Rarely will the virus spread from person to person. But when it does, the virus has a chance to start a pandemic.

Such was the case most recently with the 2009 H1N1 Flu, which infected 1.4 billion people worldwide and resulted in as many as 575,400 deaths. While it was dubbed “swine flu,” H1N1 likely came from viruses of human, North American pig, bird, and Eurasian pig origins. Pigs served as mixing vessels for the resulting illness and spread the disease to humans via direct contact or airborne means.  

“Pigs are often intermediary hosts between other species and humans because of genetic similarities between pigs and humans,” explains Stoll. “It’s an easier leap to go from swine to humans than other species. With large production facilities of swine, they become the perfect breeding ground for some of these mutations that can easily leap to [farm] workers and production staff, so they become infected and [zoonotic diseases] spread out into the community.”

Antibiotic-Resistant Infections 

Nearly 80 percent of antibiotic use in the United States occurs in the agricultural sector, with farmers giving animals antibiotics preemptively in an attempt to safeguard them against diseases in crowded conditions. In several other countries, antibiotics are also given to animals to promote growth (a practice recently curtailed in the U.S. by regulations introduced in 2017). While there is no evidence that antibiotics residues in meat directly harm humans, the overuse of antibiotics contributes to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in both animals and humans. Drug-resistant infections annually affect 2.8 million people, causing 35,000 deaths each year.

“We often forget that the microbiome of animals has an impact on humans,” says Stoll. “The food we feed them, the medications they’re treated with, the stress they’re under and the cortisol that’s secreted from that stress has an impact on the microbiome, causing some bacterial populations to grow versus others, and especially with this constant treatment with antibiotics, we are creating superbugs.”

Campylobacter and Salmonella

The CDC estimates that each year nearly 3 million Americans are infected with one of two types of foodborne illnesses: Campylobacter and salmonella. With the more common Campylobacter, the majority of all infections can be traced back to chickens contaminated at some stage of industrial production. That tainted product goes to market: A 2015 test by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System found Campylobacter on 24 percent of raw chicken bought from retailers.

Meanwhile, in the case of salmonella, 1.5 percent of whole chickens produced in large plants carry the harmful bacteria, according to the National Chicken Council. Many more outbreaks have been traced to leafy greens that have been fertilized with contaminated manure or irrigated with contaminated water or that have come into contact with contaminated meats during preparation processes.

E. Coli Infections

Causing 265,000 illnesses and about 100 deaths every year, E. coli infections are a byproduct of factory farming. E. coli naturally occurs in a ruminant’s gut, typically in milder strains that our stomach’s acidity can kill. However, on factory farms, cows that would normally eat grass are instead fed grain, such as corn. This not only fattens cows up faster, producing more marbling in the meat, but it allows farmers to raise cattle in smaller spaces than if they were grazing. Grain-based diets promote the growth of E. coli that can survive the acidity of the human stomach and cause intestinal illness, such as E. coli O157:H7.   

While the most common source of E. coli is beef, there are some well-known cases of E. coli outbreaks from vegetables, such as romaine lettuce in 2018. In that outbreak, the lettuce may have been irrigated with water that had come in contact with a CAFO.

The Takeaway

While we’ll never eliminate infectious diseases completely, we could reduce our risk of exposure to zoonotic diseases and harmful bacteria by reducing our reliance on animal agriculture. “It’s my sincere hope that out of this pandemic, we’ll know better and we can do better,” says Stoll.

Ready to get started? Check out our Plant-Based Primer to learn more about adopting a whole-food, plant-based diet.

The post From E. Coli to COVID-19: How Animal Agriculture Spawns Infectious Diseases appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

How Does the Immune System Work?

The immune system is our defense against illness. Our bodies are regularly exposed to challenges, such as mutated cells, and invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. Immune cells act like a security system to clear them before they can lead to problems. 

The immune system is made up of two parts. The innate immune system senses general threats and fights off pathogens before they can settle into the body and start a full-blown infection. The adaptive, or acquired, immune system can create a memory of past invaders so that it can personalize the attack against them and protect us from future threats.

You Can’t Separate Your Immune System from the Rest of Your Body

The immune system is expansive and complex. There are numerous kinds of immune cells, and they are housed everywhere from your skin all the way to the marrow inside your bones. They also circulate throughout your bloodstream to patrol for problems, so even your heart plays an integral role by transporting them where they need to be. “There are all sorts of different factors and cells working together in a symphony,” says Matthew Lederman, MD, cofounder of Kinectin and coauthor of The Forks Over Knives Plan and The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity. “It’s a big, intricate system that works together to fight invaders.”

More Is Not Necessarily Better

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t want a boosted immune system or more white blood cells. We want an optimal system where the immune cells that we do have work really, really well. “We want the right cells going to battle and fighting for our health,” says Will Bulsiewicz, MD, MSCI, a gastroenterologist in Charleston, South Carolina, and author of the upcoming book Fiber Fueled. “And we want the rest of our cells to cool off and not get trigger-happy.” 

A hyperactive immune system can lead to problems like autoimmune disease, where the immune system decides your own body is the enemy and goes on the attack, and even acute respiratory distress syndrome, one of the major lung complications of viruses like COVID-19, created by an exaggerated immune response.  

Take Care of Your Immune System by Taking Care of Your Body

Left to its own accord, the immune system is quite proficient at its job. Things go wayward when it gets hampered by any number of insults: environmental toxins; smoking; excessive alcohol; sleep deprivation; chronic stress; social isolation; lack of exercise; vitamin D deficiency; and a diet heavy in sugar, fats, animal products, and processed foods. 

“When you take something that functions well and put all of this weight on it, you impair a normally robust immune system,” says Lederman. Forget taking an “immune-boosting” supplement or incorporating a vitamin-packed superfood to counteract lifestyle choices that are bogging it down: Immune health doesn’t work that way. “We have to remove the weight so that the immune system can slingshot back into this amazing, powerful thing,” says Lederman.

Why Diet Is So Important to Supporting the Immune System 

An astounding 70 to 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut. The immune system is separated from the 39 trillion microbes of your gut microbiome by a single layer of cells a fraction the width of a strand of hair. The two are in constant communication. “A strong microbiome empowers the neighboring immune cells for optimal function,” says Bulsiewicz. “When you benefit the gut you also benefit the immune system.”

The foods that are highest in fiber are whole plant-based foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Instead of focusing on a single micronutrient, like vitamin C, it’s important to eat a wide variety, since they contain different vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that work in synergy. 

Why Do You Still Get Sick Even if You Eat a Healthy Diet?

Eating a whole-food, plant-based diet does not make you bulletproof. By combining a diverse plant-based diet with plentiful sleep, regular exercise, stress management, social connection, and good hygiene, you increase your odds of staying healthy. These healthy lifestyle practices can also lessen the intensity and duration of your symptoms when you do catch a bug.  

“Getting sick and getting better is part of a healthy life,” says Lederman. “The more you can build up that memory of different viruses, the more likely your sickness is to be uneventful.”

Ready to get started? Check out our Plant-Based Primer to learn more about adopting a whole-food, plant-based diet.

The post How to Support Your Immune System with a Plant-Based Diet appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Note: Drain and rinse canned beans before using them to reduce sodium.

1. Hummus

Hummus is not just for chickpeas! After rinsing and draining your can of beans, blend with ¼ cup lemon juice, 1 tablespoon tahini (optional), 1 clove minced garlic, and 2 to 3 tablespoons water.  

2. Taco Filling

Fork-mash with ½ cup prepared salsa for a chunky taco filling.

3. Dip or Sandwich Spread

Blend with 1 clove minced garlic, 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, oregano, or sage, and 1 to 2 tablespoons water or citrus juice.

4. Succotash

Warm with 1 cups frozen corn, 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, ½ cup chopped green onions, and a little water.

5. Grain Salad

Fold into 2 cups cooked grains along with tossed salad fixings and your favorite dressing.  

6. Refried Beans

Mash with ½ cup water in a skillet. Stir in another ½ cup water, 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons chili powder. Simmer, stir, and mash 5 to 7 minutes or until the mixture thickens to a spreadable consistency. 

7. Pasta e Fagioli 

Toss with whole grain pasta shells and marinara sauce. 

8. Light Lunch Salad

Toss with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ¼ cup finely chopped onion, and ¼ cup finely chopped parsley, basil, or cilantro, and serve over greens.

9. Greek-Style Beans

Simmer with ½ cup crushed tomatoes, 1 minced clove garlic and ½ teaspoon dried oregano 5 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened. Serve with bread or rice.

10. Croquettes

Fold into 2 cups pancake batter with 1 small grated onion and ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley, then cook like small pancakes and serve with salsa, guacamole, or pasta sauce.

11. Soup 

Simmer 1 cup canned beans with 1½ cups water, ½ cup chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons ground cumin, covered, 10 minutes. Blend until smooth. Serve garnished with remaining ½ cup beans.

12. Cider Baked Beans

Combine drained beans with 1 cup unsweetened apple cider 1 quartered onion, 1 tsp. mustard, and 1 tsp. tomato paste in an ovenproof baking dish. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350˚F or until sauce has thickened. 

13. Cream Sauce 

Blend white beans with enough water or vegetable broth to obtain a saucy, creamy consistency, then use in place of cream and cream sauces in casseroles and pasta dishes. 

14. Beans and Greens 

Steam 1 lb. dark, leafy greens, 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves minced garlic and a good pinch red pepper flakes with 2 cups water or vegetable broth until tender. Stir in beans, and cook until heated through.

15. Meat Substitute 

Got a favorite meat-based recipe you’d like to rework for a whole-foods, plant-based diet? Check out How to Use Beans as a Meat Substitute in Any Recipe.  

More Tasty Recipes to Make with a Can of Beans

• Outrageously Healthy Brownies
• Pesto Pasta with White Bean
• Quick Black Bean Tostadas
• Cannellini Bean, Kale, and Orzo Soup
• Sweet White Bean on Toasts with Berries

The post 15 Ways to Use and Cook with Canned Beans appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

5 Key Components of Optimal Health

At Kinectin.com, we developed the “Hands of Joy” model for optimizing health and well-being, composed of your internal world, or left hand, interwoven with your external world, or right hand. 

We label the five fingers of your left hand S.N.A.P.S., which stands for Sleep, Nutrition, Activity, Play, and Soul. By optimizing each of these fingers of your internal world you will be more resourced to do everything that is important to you, including fighting viruses. So, if you are wondering what you can do right now to optimize your immune system, focus on these five areas.

• SLEEP: Ensure that you get sufficient sleep to feel rested (for most that is 8 hours).
• NUTRITION: Eat as many whole plant foods as possible (to both optimize nutrient content and minimize toxic burden).
• ACTIVITY: Get your body moving by engaging in moderate daily activity (everything from taking walks to following online exercise videos).
• PLAY: Engage in play (that is, content-free time) regularly—not only with your family and friends, but also by finding your own fun and creative outlets. It’s hard to stimulate stress chemical–inducing anxiety during play.
• SOUL: Take daily measures (e.g., meditation or other self-regulating techniques) to get your body out of survival mode to enjoy life rather than just get through it. 

This simple framework ensures that your body will be primed for action when needed. Additionally, all five of these areas of internal health play an important role in helping to rid your body of excess immune-system-suppressing stress chemicals such adrenaline and cortisol. 

As you can see, there is quite a bit involved in your internal world, so it is helpful to explore this in parts. For the remainder of this article we are going to focus on nutrition and how proper nutrition can significantly increase the odds of remaining healthy through this pandemic.

Have Healthy Comfort Food Ready to Go

The first thing to remember is we all have needs for ease, comfort, and relief that are particularly triggered in times like this. For many, that can mean turning to highly processed junk foods. So, let’s be aware of that and then take steps to set ourselves up for success by having whole plant foods on hand that are both tasty and ready to enjoy. 

While we love leafy greens, don’t limit yourself to just salads: Have more calorically dense dishes, like mashed potatoes and whole grain baked ziti, available at a moment’s notice. (You can find many delicious options and recipes right here.) We like to freeze large batches of these comfort foods so that we can pop them in the microwave or toaster oven whenever the need arises. Make your list of comfort foods and prepare large batches to eat both now and later.

Liberate Your Naturally Robust Immune System

It’s important to remember that whole plant-based foods are optimal fuel for your body in general which therefore makes them optimal fuel for your immune system. We like to think of your immune system as an exceptional virus fighter that is extremely effective at baseline, when your body is functioning optimally. When we are stressed (stuck in survival mode), anxious (living with little play in our lives), inactive (getting little exercise, sunlight, and vitamin D), exhausted (from not sleeping well), and malnourished (eating lots of added sugar, added fats, processed foods, and animal products), then we impair our normally robust immune system along with all of the other organ systems in our body. So, it is not that we have weak immune systems that need to be bolstered; rather, we have robust immune systems that need to be liberated from the “added weight.” 

A helpful analogy is to think of a marathon runner who is given a 40-pound weight vest to wear while he runs. How well is he going to run with that vest? Does he need more supplements to run better? No, he needs to remove the weighted vest and release the robust athlete underneath. Similarly, our immune system can be weighed down by our diet and lifestyle, and rather than adding supplements, we need to remove that burden. That is where the healthy diet and lifestyle come in (aka S.N.A.P.S.). 

Reverse Chronic Diseases that May Increase Mortality with COVID-19

It appears that people with heart disease and diabetes are at higher risk of mortality when fighting COVID-19 (and many other infections). What seems to increase mortality is when their body is unable to take the stress of fighting the virus. For example, the lungs and/or heart fail under the stress of illness (people with existing lung or heart disease are at higher risk of this) or the body gets a secondary infection on top of the viral infection (diabetics are at higher risk of this). Whole food, plant-based diets are known to slow, halt, and, in many cases, even reverse these high-risk conditions. Therefore, we can’t think of a better time than now to make changes that will get your key organs into fighting shape!

The bottom line is that your body is naturally a fantastic virus fighter—when given the proper fuel, care, and environment that allow it to function optimally. So, do yourself (and all of those people who want you to be around for a long, long time) a favor: Act now to remove that standard American diet weight vest, and prepare your heart, lungs, blood sugar, and the rest of your body to handle not only COVID-19 but anything else that Mother Nature throws at you in the future!

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