In this final article of our Living with COVID series we’ll talk about the immune boosting benefits of exercise and taking your vitamins.
Move Your Body
Exercise also boosts your immunity, lowering inflammatory cytokines and increasing natural killer cells and T-cell responses, precisely what our bodies need to fight a pathogen like COVID.
Dr. Yan from the University of Virginia has found that an antioxidant known as “extracellular superoxide dismutase” (EcSOD), an endogenous antioxidant that our muscles naturally produce during exercise, can protect our tissues from harmful free radicals and help prevent disease. What is most promising is the protective presence EcSOD plays in the lungs, suggesting that exercise is a great, natural remedy and protective mechanism against COVID-19. Yan stated “approximately 80% of confirmed COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms with no need of respiratory support.” The odds are in our favor when we take care of our health and move our bodies.
There are some great apps that can help support you in your exercise plight, Nike offers a free app. If you’re more into yoga or dance, there are so many incredible resources offering trials. Ben uses an app called Keelo to keep his workouts challenging and interesting (he’s recruited many patients and they share their workout results with each other, which is fun for those in need of that competition and motivation). The work outs are functional by design, strengthening the muscles that we use most in day-to-day activities, and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), so they’re fast and effective. You can set your level, fitness goals, equipment you have available (which makes it easy to do at home {or the gym, if they ever open again}), and they also have great instructional videos to ensure your form is correct.
Take Your Vitamins
I’ve written previously about what is in our ‘natural medicine cabinet at home’ , but if you’re still on the fence about supplementing with professional grade supplements, know there are antioxidants like Glutathione and Vitamin C being used to mitigate the harmful symptoms of COVID and as Dr. Weber shared, “The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C….It helps a tremendous amount, but it is not highlighted because it’s not a sexy drug.”
Because we work in preventative care, we take a good number of vitamins and minerals every day to shore up our innate immune response. In Ben’s near 20 years of practice he’s taken two unplanned days off. [one for the birth of our second son (I decided I would give birth with our first son on Ben’s day off, and I did – the second time around I wasn’t as deliberate) and one sick day] I don’t tell you this to boast, I tell you this because I truly believe our health is our greatest asset, it’s what we discuss together in our office visits, and it’s how we live and model our life for our family and patients.
I’ve heard, “aw, but it takes so much more work.” Yea, that may be, at first, but then just like every change in our lives, we find a way to adapt, like we are now with COVID. So make your number one priority through this stay-at-home measure, and the months to come, to take back your health and eliminate your fears.
And you know where to find us if you have any questions or need any help getting started in any one of these immune boosting strategies.
In Good Health,
Dr. Ben and Allyson
Ben and Allyson are parents, practitioners of wellness and mindfulness, fitness aficionados, and foodies.
Ben is a Doctor of Chiropractic, specializing in Sports Medicine.
And together Ben and Allyson are revolutionizing wellness through Our New Life Revolution, teaching others to take back their life and their health!
(If you missed Part 1, Living with Covid, read it here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here).