Being healthy
and having a robust immune system is your primary defense against
COVID-19. Aside from old age, people with underlying health conditions
such as diabetes and heart disease are at increased risk of
complications from the disease, and obesity has been found to be the
biggest determinant for whether a patient will require hospitalization
Many studies have linked obesity to lowered immune function and increased risk of infection
Exercise is a foundational health strategy that will strengthen your immune function via several mechanisms
According to
recent research, exercising regularly may help prevent acute respiratory
distress syndrome (ARDS), a lethal complication and major cause of
death among patients with COVID-19
Your muscles
create and excrete an endogenous antioxidant called extracellular
superoxide dismutase (EcSOD), which protects your tissues and prevents
disease by eliminating harmful free radicals. You enhance EcSOD
secretion by exercising. A decrease in EcSOD is seen in many diseases,
including acute lung disease
If the COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us
anything, it's the importance of being healthy and having a robust
immune response. Aside from old age, people with underlying health
conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are at increased risk of
complications from the disease, and obesity has been found to be the
biggest determinant — after old age — for whether a patient will
require hospitalization.1,2
Obesity Is a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19 Disease
Obese COVID-19 patients are even at greater risk than those with cardiovascular disease or heart disease, according to NYU Grossman School researchers.3 This shouldn't come as a tremendous surprise, considering previous studies4,5,6,7,8,9 have linked obesity to lowered immune function and increased risk of infection.
As noted in one such study,10
"there is a positive feedback loop between local inflammation in
adipose tissue and altered immune response in obesity." Yet another
scientific review11
pointed out "There is strong evidence indicating that excess adiposity
negatively impacts immune function and host defense in obese
individuals," and a 2018 review article explained:12
"Adipose tissue is now considered an extremely active endocrine
organ that secretes cytokine-like hormones, called adipokines, either
pro- or anti-inflammatory factors bridging metabolism to the immune
system.
Leptin is historically one of most relevant adipokines, with
important physiological roles in the central control of energy
metabolism and in the regulation of metabolism-immune system interplay,
being a cornerstone of the emerging field of immunometabolism.
Indeed, leptin receptor is expressed throughout the immune
system and leptin has been shown to regulate both innate and adaptive
immune responses."
The good news, of course, is that you have a lot of control over
your own health. Obesity, insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes and heart
disease are all reversible, and if you want to prepare for the next
pandemic (which is already being promised), you'd be wise to start
improving your health rather than simply masking or "managing" your
symptoms with drugs.
Exercise May Lower COVID-19 Mortality Risk
Aside from eating a healthy whole food (ideally organic) diet and implementing time-restricted eating, exercise is a foundational health strategy that will strengthen your immune function.13,14
According to recent research15,16,17
published in the March 19, 2020, issue of Redox Biology, exercising
regularly may also help prevent acute respiratory distress syndrome
(ARDS), a lethal complication and major cause of death among patients
with COVID-19. As reported by the University of Virginia Health System:18
"A review by Zhen Yan, Ph.D., of the School of Medicine, showed
that medical research findings 'strongly support' the possibility that
exercise can prevent or at least reduce the severity of ARDS, which
affects between 3% and 17% of all patients with COVID-19.
Based on available information, the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention estimates 20% to 42% of patients hospitalized
for COVID-19 will develop ARDS. The range for patients admitted to
intensive care is estimated at 67% to 85%.
Research conducted prior to the pandemic suggested that
approximately 45 percent of patients who develop severe ARDS will
die. 'All you hear now is either social distancing or ventilator, as if
all we can do is either avoiding exposure or relying on a ventilator
to survive if we get infected,' Yan said.
'The flip side of the story is that approximately 80% of
confirmed COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms with no need of
respiratory support. The question is why. Our findings about an
endogenous antioxidant enzyme provide important clues and have
intrigued us to develop a novel therapeutic for ARDS caused by
COVID-19."
The endogenous antioxidant (meaning it's made inside your body) in
question is extracellular superoxide dismutase (EcSOD), which is made
in and excreted from your muscles into your blood circulation. EcSOD
protects tissues and prevents disease by eliminating harmful free
radicals, and the way you enhance EcSOD secretion is by exercising.
Yan's research shows a decrease in EcSOD is seen in many diseases,
including acute lung disease, ischemic heart disease and kidney
failure. Even a single exercise session has been shown to increase
production of this valuable antioxidant, so Yan urges people to "find
ways to exercise even while maintaining social distancing," the
University of Virginia writes.19
"We often say that exercise is medicine. EcSOD set a perfect
example that we can learn from the biological process of exercise to
advance medicine. While we strive to learn more about the mysteries
about the superb benefits of regular exercise, we do not have to wait
until we know everything," Yan says.
"With increasing age, the immune system undergoes a remodeling
process, termed immunosenescence, which is accompanied by considerable
shifts in leukocyte subpopulations and a decline in various immune cell
functions.
Clinically, immunosenescence is characterized by increased
susceptibility to infections, a more frequent reactivation of latent
viruses, decreased vaccine efficacy, and an increased prevalence of
autoimmunity and cancer.
Physiologically, the immune system has some adaptive strategies
to cope with aging … While a lack of physical activity, decreased
muscle mass, and poor nutritional status facilitate immunosenescence
and inflammaging, lifestyle factors such as exercise and dietary habits
affect immune aging positively."
Importantly, the review details how exercise helps improve
immunosenescence and slows down the aging processes of both the innate
and adaptive arms of your immune system. Studies have shown it improves
the function of natural killer (NK) cells and neutrophils (white blood
cells), which are part of your innate immune system.
Intervention trials have also demonstrated exercise improves
hallmarks of innate immunity, such as reducing certain proinflammatory
monocytes (which are indicative of infection).
"Overall, results have indicated that increasing habitual physical
activity enhances your innate immune functions, which is indicative of
reduced infection risk and inflammatory potential," the review notes.
Exercise has also been shown to improve mitogen-induced T-cell
proliferation, which is associated with improved functioning of the
adaptive immune system. Importantly, studies have confirmed that
"exercise induces cell death in apoptosis-resistant senescent T-cells …
Thus … regular physical activity is able to … partially reduce the
age-related decline of T-cell functions."
Blood Flow Restriction Training Is Ideal for Most
There are many types of exercise but my absolute favorite is blood
flow restriction (BFR) training, which I detail in my special report, "What You Need to Know About Blood Flow Restriction Training."
This is largely because it is the nearly perfect strategy for anyone
over 50 or 60 to gain muscle mass with minimal risk or injury.
Please review my detailed BFR article from January 2020 (linked
above) with many videos that provides you with very specific
instructions on how to implement.
This type of training not only will add solid muscle mass
— which, again excretes the endogenous antioxidant EcSOD, discussed in
the first section of this article — but also will significantly
increase your strength and endurance while reducing body fat. For most
people who are not competitive athletes, it's really the only form of
resistance training they need.
One of the reasons it is so useful is that BFR increases nitric
oxide, which is now being studied as a treatment for COVID-19 at
Harvard Medical School, according to The New York Times.21 BFR also triggers a metabolic cascade that actually reverses, in some ways, many aging characteristics. For example, it:
Stimulates the production of endogenous "fitness" hormones such as human growth hormone and IGF-1.22
Causes the release of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha),23
which in turn increases the hormone vascular endothelial growth factor
(VEGF) — one of the most powerful angiogenic signals in your body.
Essentially, VEGF acts as "fertilizer" for growing new blood vessels
and capillaries to your muscle stem cells. BFR has been shown to raise
VEGF levels by 410% in young adults,24 and boost muscle stem cells by 380% after eight days of training.25
Downregulates a hormone called myostatin, which is a negative regulator of muscle growth and mass.26,27,28,29
When your myostatin levels are high you simply are unable to grow
muscle. This is important because the elderly have higher levels than
the young.30 Since myostatin is a negative regulator of muscle growth that suppresses protein synthesis,31,32 inhibiting myostatin will help increase muscle protein synthesis and thus muscle mass.33,34
Raises your lactate level, which your brain uses as fuel.35,36 Lactate also increases brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF),37 a brain growth factor that contributes to neuroplasticity and enhances cognitive performance.38,39
I have been exercising for over half a century and have never seen a
strategy that improves overall metabolic and physical health as well as
this strategy, especially in those over 60. I started using BFR a bit
over a year ago and have never had as much lean muscle mass as I now
have.
It gets even better, as weights are nearly impossible to purchase
now and most gyms are closed. You don't even need to use weights with
BFR if you don't want to. It can be implemented with bodyweight training,
for example, or you could use inexpensive elastic bands in lieu of
weights, which you can still purchase, and they are far less expensive
than weights.
Resistance Bands Are an Inexpensive Fitness Tool
If you've been looking for fitness paraphernalia lately, you may
have noticed it's hard to find hand weights anymore. They're sold out
just about everywhere, as more people are looking for exercise tools to
use at home while they're sheltering in place. The good news is you
don't need weights, especially if you're doing BFR.
A simple and inexpensive alternative is to use resistance bands —
elastic rubber bands or ropes available in different shapes, sizes and
resistance levels. Most brands offer light, medium and heavy bands that
are adjustable, allowing you to be creative with your workouts.
Once you stretch the bands, the resistance increases, particularly
at the end of your range of motion where strength is rising or already
at its peak. This causes the muscles to be targeted differently and
assists in developing functional muscle movements.
Resistance bands also promote changes in your movements' velocity
and train muscles to adapt to changes, unlike dumbbells or barbells
that partly rely on momentum, rendering a portion of free weight
exercises actually weightless.
Resistance bands can be used for a full-body workout, and are
helpful if you want to target areas in your upper or lower body, arms,
hips, legs and glutes.
Adding resistance bands to a dynamic routine for ball-and-socket
joints like the hips and shoulders can warm up your muscles, challenge
them to work against little resistance and increase circulation and
movement.
For a sample fitness routine using resistance bands, see the video
above. Remember, no matter what exercise you do, something is better
than nothing, and when done consistently, over time, you'll improve
your health and lower your risk of not only COVID-19 but all viral and
infectious disease.
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