002: Beating COVID-19 – Simple Lifestyle Habits to Maximize Immunity

Episode Notes:
COVID-19. Everyone knows about it, but still, no one can seem to agree about what it is, how it works, and what you should do. Or maybe some people can, but I have found the contradictory information and news stories to be overwhelming. Attempting to objectively understand COVID-19, data from the CDC will be dissected and literature on the relationships between the coronaviruses, mortality causes, lifestyle factors, and the immune system will be explored.

In this episode, you’ll learn about COVID-19 death statistics, how the immune system is affected by viruses, diseases, and lifestyle factors, and hear about my personal COVID-19 infection. Most importantly, you will learn what I believe caused my sickness and how I recovered rapidly, achieving peak levels of fitness and performance. Finally, you will learn the most vital changes you can make to improve your health today.

Topics:
[2:27] COVID-19 and comorbidities – Data from the CDC
[5:15] Immunopathological mechanisms of coronaviruses and many common diseases
[6:49] Lifestyle and the immune system
[9:02] Infected with COVID-19: My personal experience
[11:49] Lifestyle factors that put me in an immunocompromised state
[14:59] What you can start doing today to optimize your health during a pandemic

Thank you all for joining me on this journey to lifelong health, happiness, and higher performance. And remember, always be grateful, love yourself, and serve others.

Teaser
In this episode…  Immediately after finishing my workout, I was beat, and I knew I went too hard. Within two hours, my flu symptoms kicked in: loss of appetite, nausea, body aches, chills, and a fever. So on Wednesday morning, March 18^th, I got the little stick shoved up my nose, and immediately went back home…

Episode Intro
Learn II Perform: Practical lessons so that you can immediately learn to optimize your health, happiness, and performance.

Gratitude
For this episode, I would like to express gratitude to my parents for their unconditional love and support throughout my life. After losing my hockey career, dream job, and being infected with COVID-19, and trying figure out my next move with no money, no career, and a lot of debt and uncertainty, my parents provided all the support I needed. Months later, they are still the glue holding my life together. They have always sacrificed to ensure that myself, my brother, and my sister have always had every possible opportunity to pursue our dreams and succeed. I’m grateful every day for the life they have provided me, so thank you mom and dad. Love you guys.

Topic Introduction
Now, in this episode, I am going to explore the literature and data available on COVID-19 to provide some context and clarity on the topic. Depending on which radio station or news channels you tune into, the information and conclusions may change drastically. Who is right? Is anyone right? This episode is intended to objectively review COVID-19 statistics and make some unbiased conclusions. All information has been researched and cited; it is not conjecture, but rather, it is an analysis of information presented by reputable sources. Complete citations are available with the show notes on the website.

So What’s The Bottom Line
The health of your immune system has direct implications on your ability to overcome a COVID-19 infection and stay healthy, evidenced by three key points:

  1. 94% of COVID-19 associated deaths had multiple comorbidities
  2. Coronaviruses and comorbidities strongly influence the immune system
  3. Lifestyle factors strongly influence the immune system

Before we move on, I must disclaim that I am not an infectious disease expert, and therefore I strongly urge everyone to follow all protocols and recommendations by experts and governing bodies, for your personal health and the best interest of our communities.

Alright, let’s get into it.

1. 94% of COVID-19 associated deaths had multiple comorbidities
As of November 4^th, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – the CDC – has reported about 217,000 total COVID-19 deaths in the United States, which have been “coded to ICD–10 code U07.1,” which is the code designated to COVID-19 deaths [1]. The explanation of this coding as provided by the CDC is as follows, and I quote: “When COVID-19 is reported as a cause of death – or when it is listed as a ‘probable’ or ‘presumed’ cause — the death is coded as U07.1. This can include cases with or without laboratory confirmation.” Therefore, the 217,000 total COVID-19 deaths include probable and presumed cases that may not necessarily come with laboratory confirmation.

To add to the uncertainty of reported data, death certificates have their own level of uncertainty due to challenges in reporting comprehensive information in highly stressful, emergency situations. In fact, the CDC also reports that “about 20-30% of death certificates have issues with completeness”[2].

With that clarified, let’s really look into the numbers. Of the 217,000 COVID-19 Deaths, the CDC reports that only 6% listed COVID-19 as the only cause [1]. What this means, is that there were about 13,000 deaths solely attributed to COVID-19. For reference, the CDC also reports that since 2010, influenza has contributed to “between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths annually” [3]. Now, going back to COVID-19, of the other 94% of deaths that weren’t solely attributed to COVID-19, the CDC reported a staggering average of 2.6 comorbidities associated [1]. This means that an overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths featured individuals with between two and three other high-risk factors for mortality – in other words, people with severely compromised health. Examples of comorbidities include respiratory diseases such as influenza and pneumonia, circulatory diseases including hypertension, heart disease and cardiac arrest, neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and other conditions such as diabetes and obesity [1].

Obviously, understanding the mechanisms of disease and trying to accurately quantify the actual impact of COVID-19 alone is very difficult to do, and again, I am not an expert. Further, it is probably expected that the 12 to 61 thousand influenza deaths each year also come with their own comorbidities, further complicating and clouding the numbers. However, I think it is very important to be aware of this information and view the pandemic from a wide lens. My takeaway from these numbers is that COVID-19 isn’t the sole enemy, but rather, it is just one of many players in the game. So now, let’s try to better understand the relationship between coronaviruses and comorbidities.

2. Coronaviruses and comorbidities strongly influence the immune system
One 2015 paper on the pathogenesis of coronaviruses reviewed studies that suggest that coronaviruses feature “a possible immunopathological mechanism of disease” [4]. Meanwhile, a more recent paper published in August of 2020, repeatedly emphasizes that individuals “that are immunocompromised are at the most significant risk” [5]. In addition, by reviewing the mechanism of SARS, the viral coronavirus from 2002-2003, they found is that the viral infection can create an excessive immune reaction, triggering a ‘cytokine storm’ identified by the presence of interleukin 6, otherwise referred to as IL-6, an inflammatory molecule. Their research shows that IL-6 also increases in the presence of other comorbidities, including inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and some cancers. A separate study in 2014 concluded that “dysregulated continual synthesis of IL-6 plays a pathological effect on chronic inflammation and autoimmunity” [6]. 

As I confessed earlier, I am not an infectious disease expert and I realize that we are only scratching the surface. Understanding the body’s immune response is something that I need to continue to learn more about and am by no means an expert. But what all these studies infer, is that coronaviruses such as COVID-19 primarily function by influencing the immune system, and that the combination of COVID-19 with other mortality causes may significantly compound the impact on the immune system. It is abundantly clear that having a healthy immune system is critical to health.

3. Lifestyle factors strongly influence the immune system
Almost every aspect of lifestyle can drastically and rapidly put you in an immunocompromised state. Let’s quickly run through four key components of lifestyle.

1. Sleep. Multiple studies have shown that sleep is critical to the regulation of immunological processes and that a sleep deficiency can contribute to inflammation and immunodeficiency [7- 9]. In addition, a 2016 study indicated that it takes up to four days to fully recover from just one hour of lost sleep [10].
2. Diet. There is an abundance of evidence that demonstrates the nutrient demands of a healthy immune system, signaling that nutritious whole foods are substantially better than highly processed foods [11, 12]. This is largely because the microbiome, found in the human gut, houses up to 75% of the immune system [13]. What’s amazing is that the human microbiota (the bacterial ecosystem) responds to dietary changes within just 24 hours [14].
3. Sedentary Lifestyle. The American Cancer Society referenced a study that suggested that prolonged periods of sitting may negatively impact hormones and alter the immune system’s normal functionality [15]. The study discovered that “prolonged leisure time spent sitting for more than 6 hours per day was associated with a 19% higher all-cause death rate when compared with sitting less than 3 hours per day” [16]. This may be attributed to the lymphatic system, which is a major circulatory system responsible for transporting immune cells and cellular debris for removal [13]. Without a heart to pump, the lymph fluids require movement of muscles and joints to flow properly. Therefore, being sedentary for long periods of time can lead to immunosuppression.
4. Stress. Under stress, the body’s natural response is the production of the hormone cortisol. A 2015 research paper notes that elevated cortisol levels “can lead to the immune system becoming ‘resistant,’ an accumulation of stress hormones, and increased production of inflammatory cytokines that further compromise the immune response” [17]. A key distinction is that while acute stress can be beneficial, chronic stress can suppress the natural immune response or aggravate autoimmune deficiencies [18].