Articles related to covid and how it is impacted by diet, immune function, sleep, stress, and human health.
How does immunity work? There has been a lot of info in the media about immunity to covid, do we have long-lasting immunity if we are infected? The short answer is yes and this is why. Our immune system has multiple ways it fights off pathogens like viruses. We have 2 major categories of immune cells …
Alcohol sale’s have spiked during this Covid crisis. The increased consumption may be due to boredom while being stuck at home, a way to reduce stress and anxiety, or a false belief that it will help prevent infection. Link to chart below is here. There are some myths going around about alcohol consumption and the …
Sleep is essential for life. I think the most important factors for a healthy body are eating (healthy whole food), sleeping and exercise. Poor sleep quality and duration are associated with decreased immune function, increased stress hormones (that suppress the immune system), mood disorders, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. In a normal night, we …
Curcumin is the active chemical in the spice turmeric. It has long been known that curcumin has many beneficial effects on inflammatory conditions, cancer, and infections. A 2019 article in Frontiers in Microbiology further investigated the antibacterial and antiviral actions of curcumin and found that it was very effective against several viruses including influenza, hepatitis …
All viruses need to bind to a receptor on our cell surface in order to enter and replicate. Here is an example of an influenza virus entering a cell. Every virus has a specific receptor it binds to in order to enter and infect a cell. What type of receptor does COVID use? COVID-19 infects …
ACE inhibitors and Ibuprofen – Any link to COVID severity? Read More »
As COVID-19 makes its way through the population it is important to consider how we can help our immune system cope with viral infections. In my previous article I described how our immune system generally deals with viral infections. In this article, I will discuss the specific role of vitamin D in viral infections. Vitamin …
Vitamin D reduces the severity of respiratory viral infections Read More »
Organisms and pathogens have been evolving together since the beginning of life on earth. Humans have always been exposed to infectious organisms and sometimes they kill us and sometimes we adapt and fight them off. What determines what pathogens kill us, why are some easier to fight off than others? Topics covered: How viruses infect …
Viral infections and how our immune system deals with it Read More »
Coronaviruses, called ‘corona’ because they look like they have a halo in an electron microscope, are a family of viruses that cause common colds but can sometimes cause a more serious infection. They are RNA viruses (as opposed to DNA viruses) and they can infect many different species….a combination that leads to a high mutation …
