Why Was Food Never Mentioned?
Throughout the Covid19 pandemic, various advice and rules were recommended to curb and stop the virus in its tracks such as social distancing, contact tracing and the use of masks, but one piece of advice has rarely, if ever been mentioned by our leaders; improving our immune systems through lifestyle changes.
“In the UK, individuals who were overweight or obese made up 78 percent of the confirmed COVID-19 infections and 62 percent of the COVID-19 deaths in hospitals.” This could be due to obese individuals suffering from breathing problems but it could also be due to obese people being more at risk of diabetes and heart disease which increases mortality risk from Covid19. “NHS England data shows that diabetes was the most common condition among people who died in-hospital with Covid-19 (27% of deaths), although this also reflects the fact that diabetes is a common condition.”
Furthermore, I also may have found an answer to a question that has been burning my brain; why has there been a small number of people under 40 with no underlying health conditions who have suffered harsh symptoms or even died from Covid19. Well, the answer may be in food. Los Angeles physician and author Dr. Cate Shanahan has long railed against specific high polyunsaturated fatty seed oils — what she's coined the "Hateful Eight" — that are ubiquitous in the U.S. food supply and are among the factors that contribute to metabolic disease, even in people who are at a seemingly ideal weight. Shanahan appeared on Real Time With Bill Maher and explained that for most people under the age of 65,
“...the real threat is not the virus itself, but the way your body responds. Most of the folks under 65 who have to be admitted to the ICU are there because their body fat is full of inflammation-promoting, high polyunsaturated fatty seed oils.”
She went on to say that
“...everyone under 65 who had a serious case of corona also has an underlying metabolic condition – whether they know it or not. Even thin people.”
Dr Cate Shanahan appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher - Twitter
So what does it mean to be metabolically healthy and what are these “Hateful Eight” we should be avoiding? Well, in the US, only 12 % are considered to be ‘metabolically healthy.’ Research and statistics to gauge the same in the UK seems to be scarce but it can be assumed that a high percentage of the UK population are not metabolically healthy. Defined as “having ideal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, without using medications.” How have we or at least I got to this stage in which the general population had no idea what metabolic health was? And, since it seems to be extremely important especially when a global pandemic erupts, what can we do to improve our metabolic health and decrease our risk of serious illness? Well, that’s where the ‘Hateful Eight’ come in. According to Dr Shanahan, Eliminating the inflammation promoting high-PUFA seed oils is the NUMBER ONE best thing you can do to help your immune system beat Coronavirus. So, eliminating these ‘bad fats’ are a significant starting point.
Other action you can take during the Covdi19 pandemic and beyond is increasing your vitamin D intake. “Spending more time in the sun or taking supplements could reduce serious COVID-19 complications as researchers say they have found that vitamin D is hugely beneficial.” Generally eating a balanced, healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables is also recommended for boosting our immune systems as well as sufficient sleep, exercise and lowering stress.
To conclude, I urge politicians and health care professionals to promote eating healthier as a significant deterrant of Covid19. Not only will we be creating a healthier population but also we will be decreasing risks of other diet related diseases like diabetes and obesity. This will result in a better prepared population when the next inevitable pandemic occurs. We should also either share this article or Dr Cate Shanahan’s website so we can learn about how considerable a part diet and lifestyle plays regarding disease and illness.
References
Grylls, B., 2020. Food Industry Partly To Blame For Severity Of COVID-19 And Link To Obesity. [online] New Food Magazine. Available at: <https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/111943/obesity-and-covid/>.
Ho FK, Celis-Morales CA, Gray SR, et al. Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for COVID-19: results from UK Biobank. medRxiv 2020 doi: 10.1101/2020.04.28.20083295 [published Online First: 02.05.2020]
The OpenSAFELY Collaborative, Williamson E, Walker AJ, et al. OpenSAFELY: factors associated with COVID-19-related hospital death in the linked electronic health records of 17 million adult NHS patients. medRxiv 2020 doi: 10.1101/2020.05.06.20092999 [published Online First: 07.05.2020]
British Heart Foundation. 2020. What Factors Put You At Risk From Coronavirus?. [online] Available at: <https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/coronavirus-and-your-health/what-makes-you-at-risk-from-coronavirus>.
Dorfman, S., 2020. Coronavirus Florida: Does U.S. Food Supply Contribute To COVID-19 Vulnerability?. [online] MSN. Available at: <https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/coronavirus-florida-does-us-food-supply-contribute-to-covid-19-vulnerability/ar-BB14SVMyom-coronavirus#Heading6>.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Only 12 percent of American adults are metabolically healthy, study finds: Trends help sound alarm for efforts to lower associated risk of types 2 diabetes, heart disease and other complications." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 November 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181128115045.htm>.
Diabetes. 2020. Strong Circumstantial Evidence Suggests Vitamin D Could Improve COVID-19 Outcomes. [online] Available at: <https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2020/05/strong-circumstantial-evidence-suggests-vitamin-d-could-improve-covid-19-outcomes/>.
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