Column #316     September 24, 2021Simopoulos Landmark Study

If immunity can be weakened, then it most certainly can be strengthened. Therefore, since we’re in a pandemic, the message from everyone in the medical field (including the bureaucrats in the CDC and FDA) is that all Americans must take steps to improve their immunity. Also, wouldn’t you think they could instruct everyone on how it’s done?

In spite of the interpretations of the data, the most vulnerable to COVID are not in an age group, they are in the sick group. In medicine, comorbidity is the presence of one or more additional conditions often cooccurring with a primary condition. For instance, an obese person with diabetes and heart disease has two comorbidities. Since the vast majority of deaths involve folks with multiple comorbidities, which are usually chronic diseases, it makes sense to address the causes of those diseases in order to improve health and lower the risk of dying from COVID.1 2

The CDC used data from more than 800 US hospitals in the Premier Healthcare Database Special COVID-19 Release (PHD-SR) to describe hospitalized patients aged 18 years or older with COVID-19 from March 2020 through March 2021. The conclusion was:
    “Our study found that nine of 18 frequent underlying medical conditions among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 were associated with severe illness. Combined with the high prevalence of these conditions (affecting 81.9% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in PHD-SR), this finding suggests a potentially high impact at the population level. The highest risk of severe COVID-19 illness was associated with obesity, anxiety and fear-related disorders, diabetes with complication, chronic kidney disease, and neurocognitive disorders. Among patients younger than 40, essential hypertension was also a risk factor for death. The total number of underlying medical conditions was a strong risk factor of severe COVID-19 illness.”3

Take note that obesity is a very high risk factor and it is very easy to diagnose. Yet during the government-mandated school closures the number of obese school-age children jumped significantly increasing the vulnerability of the children. The same happened to adults. Consequently, government policies have increased rather than decreased the numbers of those who are most vulnerable to severe reactions to a case of COVID.

As people age, if they do not take proper care of themselves, they develop chronic diseases—often multiple chronic conditions. Therefore it makes senses that there are more older vulnerable people than younger. But younger people with the same degrees of sickness are just as vulnerable as the oldsters.

Chronic diseases occur in conjunction with a weak immune system and/or a misfiring immune system that actually causes the disease. The CDC says that scientists know of more than 80 autoimmune diseases. Some are well known, such as type one diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Many are more obscure and most of them are “officially” considered to have unknown causes, are incurable, and require lifelong treatment to ease symptoms.

Yet, if it’s abuse that weakens or damages the immune system, how about stopping the abuse to see if the immune system recovers? To figure that out we need to know the abuses. A simple search reveals hundreds of websites that list the various abuses which weaken immunity. In my opinion the top abuses are:
●    Certain Medications
●    Smoking (tobacco or marijuana)
●    Alcohol
●    Low Vitamin D (no exposure to sunshine)
●    Lack of Exercise
●    Anxiety & Grief (stress and worry)
●    Lack of Sleep
●    Improper Diet

All medications have side effects with some being worse than others. This is a good reason to pay attention to all of the various abuses because a healthy body does not need medications. Of course medicated people are also sick to start with which means they are going in circles if their medications do not cure them.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that smoking and excessive alcohol consumption  abuses the body. The constant hammering of a foreign agent (smoke and alcohol) is like a sledgehammer hitting a brick wall. In time a crack will form.

Getting outside for fresh air and exposure to the sun’s immune-supporting vitamin D is an excellent and easy step for improving one’s health. Combining that with a walk increases the benefits.

Exercise is a two-edged sword. Too much exercise can be abusive which causes injuries and inflammation. Too little exercise invites a collapse of the muscle structure and weakens bones. A weak body sets the stage for organ failure and injuries from falls. A recent comment by Kevin Stock of Meat Health fame is warranted here.

“I've spent less time working out in the last 20 months than at any time in the last 20 years. But my body composition hasn't suffered. It is as good (or better) than when I was doing competitions in my 20s. The difference is today I'm maintaining it with little effort and no hunger or deprivation; whereas a decade ago I spent lots of time in the gym and to get lean I had to suffer through hunger, low energy, lots of cardio, etc. The protocol (which I don't follow strictly) takes maybe an hour a week. The truth is you can get amazing resistance-training/muscle-gains from a relatively small amount of time.”4

Anxiety and/or grief causes stress. Being constantly in a state of fight or flight makes people very vulnerable to physical illnesses. For too many years now our country has been bombarded by disturbing events, fake news, and more recently a totally bazaar government that seems hellbent on destroying America. In addition the news media and health bureaucrats have been constantly fearmongering the masses. Couple that with genuine personal- and work-related concerns and it’s a wonder that any of us are functional. Countering anxiety and grief calls for periods of calm, meditation, social interaction, and a religious foundation that give us hope rather than despair.

Many Americans do not get enough sleep. They stay up late watching television and get up early to go to work. Proper sleep is required to recharge the body and cleanse the brain. When you skip the basic rest requirements that causes more stress. Once again, stress causes inflammation.

All of the previous factors have a role in either supporting or hammering a body’s immune system and a body’s health outcomes. But, if all of the foregoing factors are optimal, they can be nullified by an improper diet. That’s because (in most cases) the greatest abuse a body gets is the ingestion of improper chemicals that compose the food consumed. If the overall chemistry of the diet doesn’t match our body’s nutritional requirements, something will fail in time. That’s because nutritional deficiencies and foods that cause inflamation work together to undermine health. Deficiencies are like building a house on sand. Inflammatory foods are similar to setting fires in the house.5 6

Humans require foods that are low glycemic with a full complement of nutrients which are appropriately balanced in a dense package. The vegetarian foods that fit that definition are limited to mostly the dark green leafy vegetables. The meats that fit that definition are only grass-fed meats, Omega-3 meats, and wild-caught seafood. All other food choices are missing either nutrients or their nutrient offerings are not in balance with our needs. It’s that simple.7 8 9

Over the years I’ve written many columns and articles about the numerous chronic diseases people have totally suppressed with diet. Some diseases, such as arthritis where bones have been damaged, cannot be reversed. But the progression of the disease and the pain can be stopped cold turkey. Thirty years ago Dr. Artemis Simopoulos published a landmark study that discussed the importance of the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio and its role in subduing coronary heart disease, hypertension, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, arthritis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, cancer, asthma, and diabetes. Her work still stands tall today.10

So, what are the CDC, FDA, medical and pharmaceutical folks pushing? Is it self help that will generate everlasting benefits for all people? Or is it big money-generating solutions that do little to shrink the number of most vulnerable citizens?

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don't miss these links for additional reading:

1. Defining Comorbidity: Implications for Understanding Health and Health Services by Jose M. Valderas, et al.

2. Comorbidity from Wikipedia

3. This Is a List of Autoimmune Diseases, Comorbidities, and Syndromes as Compiled by ARI from Autoimmune Registry

4. Kevin Stock at Meat Health Academy

5. Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Immune Cells by Saray Gutiérrez, et al.

6. Immune-Boosting Role of Vitamins D, C, E, Zinc, Selenium and Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Could They Help Against COVID-19? By Hira Shakoor, et al.

7. An Increase in the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio Increases the Risk for Obesity by Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos

8. Nutrient Value of Leaf Versus Seed

9. Food Analysis: EFA, Protein to Fat, Net Carbs, Sugar, and Nutrient Load by Ted Slanker

10. Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Health and Disease and Growth and Development by Dr. Artemis Simopoulos