Coronavirus: A Functional and Integrative Medicine Perspective On What To Do

I want to acknowledge that this is scary.  It’s new. It’s evolving. But, when we follow good procedures and work together, public health can, and does work.

Functional and integrative medicine doctors have a unique appreciation for the challenge COVID-19 poses.  Early studies indicate that, like the elderly, individuals with chronic disease are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.  Chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders impair the immune system and increase the risk posed by COVID-19 to individuals.  At DCIM, we are all too familiar with the prevalence of chronic disease, the inherent vulnerability it creates, and how often our healthcare system mis-conceptualizes it.  

My hope here is to share the recommendations I give my patients for how to improve their immune systems in the face of this virus.  Please keep in mind that it is important to discuss the specifics of your care with your doctor (or me directly, if I’m your doctor!).  Also, recognize that we are learning new things about this virus every day, so this is my best sense of it as it stands now.

Are You, or Your Loved Ones at Heightened Risk?

We know that the elderly are especially at risk for COVID-19.  As discussed, individuals with chronic disease are also at heightened risk.  If you fall into either or both of these categories (or are in close proximity to those in either of those categories) please take extra precautions, including those detailed below, and those provided by the CDC and the WHO.

If you don’t know but suspect that chronic illness impacts your health, see a doctor that can make that determination.  At DCIM, we spend copious amounts of time one-on-one with patients, sifting through their medical history, understanding their symptoms, and exploring environmental factors to understand the root cause of our patients’ symptoms.  We also offer a variety of advanced diagnostic testing to help identify chronic disease markers.

Follow Common Sense Procedures

1. Wash your hands:  Pretty much all the time.  You’re going to get sick of (but not from!) doing it.  It’s your #1 defense against coronavirus…and the flu, to boot.  So, just overdo it. Every time you enter a new space: wash your hands.  Including when you come into your doctor’s office!
2. Sanitize your hands if you do not have access to a sink, and make sure your sanitizer is at least 60% alcohol.  Please also sanitize things you touch often — like door knobs or other shared “stuff”: keyboards, shared bathroom keys, etc.  
3. Follow “Social Distancing” recommendations and find alternative ways to provide a mindful greeting — I personally like the full eye contact, hand over heart hello.  
4. Stay home if you’re sick, and IF you need to leave the house to meet with a healthcare provider for the purpose of acute diagnosis/treatment — THIS, and ONLY THIS is a good time for a mask.  If you do not have access to one — then you can use a buff as a last-ditch option. Otherwise, just stay at home to protect the spread of the virus. Most humans are going to experience this as a flu-like illness. 

How We Boost Our Patients’ Immune Systems

The recommendations we provide our patients are based on our understanding of how viruses work, informed by a functional and integrative medicine approach to illness.  We target the part of the immune system that provides viral protection. And we tailor our recommendations to our patients’ specific profile.

None of what’s below is certified to protect you from COVID-19, as we just do not have the type of data to make such assertions.  However, as things currently stand, I recommend the following things in part or in full to my patients for the few weeks that COVID-19 is active in our area. (Again, I can’t emphasize enough that each person work with her physician to ensure that that these options are appropriate):

1. Navigate your relationship with stress: Stress makes everything worse, including your immune capacity.  Even 5 minutes a day of meditation is enormously helpful for your immune system.  
2. Food is Medicine: This would be a good time to avoid foods that can be inflammatory, like gluten, dairy, corn, soy.  Considering doing the Whole 30? Maybe now is a good time to do it! I mean, truthfully you may be eating out at restaurants less often so it might be one of the easiest times to execute.  
3. Make time for sleep: If there is one panacea in medicine, it’s sleep. 
4. Additional Supports:
   • Vitamin D 
   • Vitamin C
   • Zinc (pill form or lozenges)
   • Reishi Mushroom (in pill form or consumed as food)
   • Astralagus Root Extract 
   • XClear Nasal Spray or Daily Saline Nasal Douche to clear nasal passages

This too will come to pass!

Writing for our collective health,

Dr Dsouza