The After Effects of Covid

Transcript:

MELANIE: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by Nutritional Weight and Wellness. We are a company specializing in life-changing nutrition education and counseling. I'm Melanie Beasley, a Licensed and Registered Dietitian. I'm a nutrition counselor at the Eagan location, and I also see clients through teaching classes virtually and in person. My wonderful cohost today is Britni Vincent, and I'll let you introduce yourself, Britni.

BRITNI: Good morning. I am Britni Vincent, and like Mel, I'm a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, and I work out of our St. Paul office as well as see clients virtually via Zoom or over the phone. And then I teach a variety of classes as well.

MELANIE: Which do you prefer? Zoom or phone? Do you have a preference?

BRITNI: I think Zoom.

MELANIE: You like to make to see their face.

BRITNI: You make more of a connection.

MELANIE: Yeah. I do too.

BRITNI: Yeah. But it's, it's good for people to have options.

MELANIE: Oh, yes. We don't mind either.

BRITNI: No.

MELANIE: A hundred percent.

BRITNI: Yeah. Well, if you are listening to our show live, you know, it's May 2023. And whether you're listening live or via the podcast, chances are that you remember exactly where you were a little over three years ago. So think back to February and March of 2020, and I'm sure a lot of memories come up or think about where you were the first time you heard in the media that public places were starting to shut down.

Where were you on March 13th, 2020? That was when the first shelter in place was announced in Minnesota. I vividly remember it. My son was only two weeks old at that, that point. So when he was born, we missed all of the, the craziness. But yeah, two weeks later it was just a different world then.

MELANIE: A different world. And we continued to, we didn't really shut down. We continued to Zoom people. Which I, I was glad because it, it led some normalcy.

BRITNI: Oh, absolutely.

MELANIE: I felt like and connection.

BRITNI: Yes.

MELANIE: You know, it was a big blessing to be able to connect with people via Zoom, where other people really weren't seeing anybody but family.

BRITNI: I agree; such a good point.

MELANIE: Well, fast forward three years to current day, and we all wish we could say that COVID-19 and all the different variants were not in the news and not affecting our country or our world, but cases are still being reported on a regular basis. A lot has changed with a variety of strains and severity of illness and even death rates have dropped. Thankfully, most people who come down with COVID these days do recover. And that's, that's been huge. You know, the, the fear element has come down.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Mm-Hmm.

BRITNI: And you know, another thing that looks different about current day COVID are the symptoms and recovery. You know, even though less people are dying from COVID now that it's been around for years, we're still learning more and more about what is referred to as long hauler syndrome.

MELANIE: Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. Oh my gosh, Britni, I've heard so many terms for long haul COVID.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Long haulers, chronic COVID, post-acute COVID, post-acute SARS. So since our topic is the after effects of COVID, let's keep things simple for our listeners.

BRITNI: Great idea. Because I think it just gets confusing all these different terms that get thrown around. So the after effects of COVID, that really sums it up. When a virus is new, especially a global pandemic virus, it's hard to know what to expect when it comes to the longer term effects and symptoms. And the only way to know is to of course experience it. And we're three years in, so more and more folks are reporting a variety of symptoms and after effects. And experts know that long haul COVID is not a single illness, it's just more of an umbrella term. So it can manifest a lot of different ways, which we're going to talk about.

MELANIE: Yes. And I do feel like most of my clients are really able to tap into the before and after. I mean, they're, we're smart people and we are our body's best doctor. So I would say most of my clients say I did not have this prior to having COVID.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: And they're pretty wise about that. COVID-19: it's a respiratory disease, which means it can cause a wide range of breathing problems. And if the virus gets into the body, it affects the mucus membranes; line the nose, the mouth, and the eyes. It works like other viruses do. The virus enters healthy cells and multiplies and the new virus infect the nearby cells. And it can get out of control, especially if someone has an immune system that is weaker or more vulnerable.

I had a client; she was a long time client of mine and she's had some respiratory issues. I would say she eats really well. But she, when she got COVID, it was prior to us realizing it was COVID. So she was really early and she was out of the country. And she was so sick with a respiratory illness, which is asthma is something she's always struggled with. Her cough lasted three years and she would cough so hard that she would wet her pants and she was going to specialists. So that was her long COVID effect. And now she's fine, you know.

BRITNI: Wow.

MELANIE: She's, we've worked really hard together. She's done some other medical modalities and she's better, so much better.

BRITNI: Oh wow. That that is a powerful story.

MELANIE: Yeah. Really life disrupting.

Common symptoms as a result of COVID

BRITNI: Are you someone who’s tested positive for COVID? Or maybe you had all the symptoms that indicated you had COVID. Because it's a disease of the respiratory system, some of the more common symptoms are that dry cough, like you mentioned your client had, sore throat or more serious things like lung infection or pneumonia that can happen as a result of COVID.

MELANIE: And I feel like this client going into getting COVID with a healthy system, it could have been devastating because of, of having asthma and having had so much pneumonia, she that I feel like she survived because she had her body in tip top shape when she was hit.

BRITNI: Yeah, I'm sure you're right.

Reduce inflammation to help minimize aftereffects from COVID

MELANIE: So the bottom line is that COVID is an inflammatory condition. The lungs are especially vulnerable to inflammation. Britni and I want to share with you today how to reduce inflammation in your body. So even if you've never tested positive for COVID, this type of anti-inflammatory eating plan will be your best prevention plan going forward for all viruses.

BRITNI: Mm-Hmm. Definitely. Or if you have tested positive once, twice, three times or you know, some people even more than that, have you found yourself struggling with aftereffects and symptoms? If so, reducing inflammation is going to be the key so you can start feeling like yourself again.

MELANIE: And really that's what we want. Most COVID cases resolve themselves within weeks. My husband and I, we got COVID very early on. Ours, mine resolved within a week. His resolved within just a few days, but he had a history of pneumonia from years of working in smoky bars as a DJ in his youth. And so he did get pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia.

BRITNI: Scary.

MELANIE: It was, it was a scary time.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: But he, I did all the things I knew to do and shoved all the things down his throat I knew to do and monitored him and yeah. He came out of that just fine; no aftereffects.

BRITNI: Oh good.

MELANIE: But you're right, scary time for all of us. We didn't know what to expect.

Common symptoms of COVID aftereffects

BRITNI: Yep. For sure. Yeah. I luckily recovered I think within a week. And then the second time I felt back to normal in a couple days, which, which was positive. I am grateful for that. And when those COVID cases do linger, because we really, we hear about that a lot. We did hear about that a lot. People can really suffer from severe fatigue, headaches, chronic pain, brain fog, sleeplessness, heart palpitations, and of course the respiratory issues. You know, shortness of breath and it's just, it's not as widely talked about that some COVID aftereffects seem to be more related to our gastrointestinal tract. So that could be manifest as diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain.

MELANIE: And then they get tagged with the IBS label, which really just means your digestive system is upset.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: That's really what it means.

BRITNI: Yeah. It definitely, it's inflamed. It's irritated. And you've got diarrhea or constipation or both. So it's not an answer to be, like you said, diagnosed with IBS. There's still something underlying going on. And you know, another not typical long hauler symptom is hair loss.

MELANIE: Yes.

BRITNI: You know, I'm going to, I have a client that had that occur, so I'm going to talk about that more after break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. I am Britni Vincent, Registered and Licensed Dietitian here today with Melanie Beasley, Registered and Licensed Dietitian. Our topic today is the aftereffects of COVID. As we enter into our third year of the global pandemic, people are noticing more and more that COVID symptoms are not going away. Long haul COVID, which has many other names, is indicated when someone tests negative for COVID but has symptoms that carry over for several months. So we will be back after a short break to talk more about this.

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A few steps to take to decrease inflammation & improve immune function

MELANIE: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. The aftereffects of COVID can be very distressing. You think you're done with it, but people can continue to experience brain fog, fatigue, muscle and joint pain and more. The post COVID effects mimic an autoimmune type reaction. And anytime I see clients who are diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, my recommendation is to always cut out sugar and refined oils. Those are two very important steps for reducing inflammation, which can naturally lead to an improved immune function.

BRITNI: Yeah, absolutely. That is, those are two great first steps: cutting out the sugar, the refined oils.

MELANIE: And gluten, typically always gluten because it's so inflammatory.

More on aftereffect symptoms of COVID

BRITNI: Yep. I agree with that. I was talking before break about a client who developed some hair loss about three or four months after having COVID and after going to her doctor, she realized that it was linked to COVID and it was a long hauler symptom. And then I did some more reading about it and it's not uncommon and it does occur I believe three to six months after having COVID.

MELANIE: It's almost like pregnancy.

BRITNI: Yeah, yeah.

MELANIE: You know, you have the…

BRITNI: Yeah, that’s a great point.

MELANIE: The form of trauma to the body.

BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah. So I'm sure a lot of people don't necessarily link hair loss to having COVID a few months back, but listeners, maybe that is your connection if you've had some hair loss. So I am happy to report with, you know, some diet changes and supplement tweaks, her hair is looking more like it did prior to COVID.

MELANIE: Oh, what a relief for her.

BRITNI: Yeah, because it, that was, she took a lot of pride in her hair so it made her feel…

MELANIE: Like herself.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Yeah. We need that. And you know, listeners, if you think about it, when the body is struggling with some sort of immune challenge, it's going to focus on healing you. It's not going to focus on the things it doesn't perceive as important like your skin, hair, nails.

BRITNI: Yep.

MELANIE: So those can take a hit and you're going to see that three months down the road.

BRITNI: Mm-Hmm.

MELANIE: So it's hard when you don't feel good to get proper nutrition in, but it makes a difference.

BRITNI: Yeah, it really does. It really does.

MELANIE: Well it seems, Britni, like a couple of years ago, the main symptoms for COVID used to be more respiratory with a cough, breathing, lung issues. But over the years it's morphed into so many other things and mental health is a big topic. Some people are noticing long-term depression and anxiety and they feel bad about that. Like, I'm done with COVID, but I still have this mood. And so that's an organic problem. And remember that even these symptoms are inflammatory because inflammation can happen anywhere. Right? So consider the brain and the digestive system, the elbow, the knee, the blood vessels; these are all places in the body where inflammation can attack.

What is an autoimmune condition?

BRITNI: Mm-Hmm. Yeah. It can attack anywhere. And we work with a lot of clients that have autoimmune conditions. And you mentioned autoimmune conditions briefly earlier, Mel, but I, I just want to explain what exactly that means. An autoimmune condition just basically means that your immune system is overreacting and it's attacking itself. And that could be, you know, your skin if you have psoriasis. It could be your joints if you have rheumatoid arthritis. So depending on what specific autoimmune condition, it could be various areas of the body.

COVID aftereffects may stem from an autoimmune reaction

MELANIE: What comes to mind is like Hashimoto's thyroiditis. That's another, another one. Well a lot of COVID experts believe that the long COVID aftereffects are stemming from an autoimmune type reaction. With an autoimmune reaction, it always stems from inflammation. So these things go hand in hand. That's why we talk about inflammation; anti-inflammatory way of eating.

BRITNI: And it's easy of course to want to know what's the magic pill, what's the magic bullet to prevent getting COVID or to reduce some of these awful lagging symptoms? And unfortunately there's no magic pill out there.

MELANIE: I wish we had one.

How do we keep our immune system strong?

BRITNI: Yeah. But one way to keep your immune system strong is to focus on food. We know that makes a huge, huge impact.

MELANIE: And this is what you have control over.

BRITNI: Exactly. Yeah. Great point. And I mean most people I know who came down with COVID said they were really low in energy, didn't have much of an appetite. And it's easy to get into patterns of either skipping meals or snacks or instead relying on processed carbs or grabbing snacks instead of preparing your own meals. Especially if somebody feels tired.

MELANIE: Mm-Hmm. I had a client and she was experiencing long COVID and she was exhausted. She couldn't even walk to her mailbox to get her a mail at the end of the driveway. So obviously she didn't feel like preparing food. So we worked on some simple things that she could do. Her husband would pick up some, some items and she would just put it in the crockpot, eat from the crockpot, dish up from the crockpot and then her husband would portion it out in meals for her.

We got her in about three weeks to where she could not only walk to her mailbox and back, but she could walk further out because we had to nourish her. She was so malnourished because she was grabbing a slice of bread here and there. But the body cannot heal if you don't give the nourishment it needs to be able to heal. So I totally get it. If you're sick, whether it's with a cold or flu or COVID, you probably don't want to spend a lot of time preparing food and cooking it, much less even thinking about it.

BRITNI: Yeah. I mean I've experienced that. I've seen it with my kids. And did you know that when your body is fighting an infection, there's different phases of the infection, you know, picture you tested positive for COVID. You're feverish, exhausted, body aches, maybe coughing and that is the acute phase. And usually your appetite during that phase is pretty low. And that's, that's normal.

MELANIE: Mm-Hmm.

BRITNI: And it's a normal response after acquiring any sort of viral or bacterial infection.

MELANIE: Yeah. The appetite goes. So maybe you're sipping on some bone broth. That's about all you can manage at the time. But I know where you're going with this, Britni. Let's explain how our bodies respond to illness. I think it's important that our listeners understand that when they catch a virus, the body goes into hibernation mode and all the glucose stores are used up as energy. And so this is known as glycogen. This works okay for a while until those glucose stores run out. It doesn't take very long for them to run out.

BRITNI: So have you ever been sick, you're laying in bed for 24 hours, not really had anything to eat? I mean I think we can all relate to that.

MELANIE: Or wanting anything to eat, right?

BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah. But what about after the first day of having a virus? If you continue to either not eat or maybe you're just grabbing carbs and only wanting to eat crackers, noodles, bread, your body starts to break down muscle mass because it's starving for an energy source.

MELANIE: So what you just said is that if someone is sick and is hardly eating or is only eating a little bit of starchy carbs or comfort foods, that their bodies will resort to breaking down muscle mass because they're desperate for a good source of calories or energy.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Yep.

Reasons why protein intake is critical for COVID recovery

BRITNI: That's right. And this can be especially tricky if after COVID because you might not feel like eating, especially that animal protein which is necessary to keep up with muscle mass, building additional muscle mass, strength, energy, focusing. And I think most people when they don't feel well…

MELANIE: Don’t want to cook a steak.

BRITNI: You know, not appetizing at all, but when your body is under stress, your protein needs are actually higher.

MELANIE: Mm, good point. Really good point.

BRITNI: So we're recovering from this and our protein needs are higher than they normally are, but you're not feeling like consuming that protein.

MELANIE: And we don't want to do it.

BRITNI: It can be really tricky.

MELANIE: Mm-Hmm. It can be really tricky. And we're not talking about somebody who's, you know, has a, a flu for a week. We're talking about these long effects where people are going on for a length of time without nourishment.

BRITNI: Yeah.

Easy ways to get protein in

MELANIE: So maintaining adequate protein intake through all the phases of the illness is important to protect your body from using muscle stores for energy. This is even more important for elderly people who naturally tend to eat less protein anyway as they age. So we're talking about something, like I said, if you can sip some bone broth, it has protein in it. If you can, if you can do a smoothie with a protein powder, maybe just something cool, that might be an option to keep the protein stores up.

BRITNI: Yeah. I find that smoothies are a great option if you just don't have much of an appetite because you can pack a lot of punch in a smoothie. And it's easier to drink something than force yourself to eat something sometimes.

MELANIE: Oh yeah.

BRITNI: You know, it is already time for our second break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. And before we go to break, I have a question for you. Have you noticed more sweet cravings after all the changes the pandemic has created? Many people are struggling to get out of an unhealthy habit that started over the past three years. Well, Nutritional Weight and Wellness has a lot of great free resources to guide you through whatever health and wellness challenges you're facing. So stay tuned for more information.

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MELANIE: Welcome back. You're listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. Britni and I are discussing the aftereffects of COVID, and we're giving tips on how to eat an anti-inflammatory diet to dampen the effects of long haul COVID symptoms. If you've been struggling with increased sugar or carbohydrate cravings or have gotten into some unhealthy food patterns or habits from the pandemic, Teresa Wagner, one of our registered dietitians, wrote a great article titled “Covid, Stress, Sweets and Steps to Make Habit Changes”. I'm going to say that again. It's a long title: “COVID, Stress, Sweets and Steps to Make Habit Changes”. You can check out this article and many others on our website at weightandwellness.com.

More on why protein is key for immune health

So to recap about the protein, it's important to get adequate protein if you are fighting an active infection or if you are recovering from the aftereffects of an infection. So look at the size of your palm, listeners, the size of your palm without your fingers in the thumb. Look how thick it is. Look how big it is. And that's the minimum amount of cooked protein that you should be eating. I'm talking about meat or eggs at a at a sitting for a meal.

BRITNI: And protein. It's really key for immune health. It contains nutrients that many people are deficient in like zinc, iron, magnesium and B12.

MELANIE: Which are key for your immune system and your body to recover. Right?

BRITNI: Yeah, absolutely. And we know clinically that a zinc deficiency can cause loss of taste, loss of smell, fatigue and a vulnerable immune system. So this all makes, it makes a lot of sense.

MELANIE: Mm-Hmm. And if you go into an infection deficient, then you've got to catch up and it's really difficult to catch up with food. So that's when we would recommend a zinc supplement, one that's chelated, one that's a quality like 10 to 15 milligrams, to do that for a month and and try to get your immune system back in order. And then maybe you would do it again right when cold and flu season starts.

BRITNI: Yep. Great suggestion. For those of you who lost your taste and smell, increasing your zinc via food and you know, taking a zinc supplement for a short term there, that could actually help and could also help with energy. And then once you have your taste and smell back, I think it can be easier to get that protein in too.

MELANIE: Yes. Yeah; when you get your appetite back. I did have a client and her after effect was food smelled rotten to her. It smelled foul. So we had to nourish her and we had to come up with some, some brain tricks to where the food didn't smell as bad. And one of the tricks we did was we put a little oil of cloves on her fingers and she would put it right, you know, at the base of her nose. So that is what she smelled. And then we, she had to look at food almost as if you were taking medicine to get it down.

A cold, cold smoothie helped because you don't have the smell that you have when food is warm or even room temperature. So that helped her. She, we did a lot of smoothies to get her nourished.

BRITNI: Wow.

MELANIE: It lasted for her like three months.

BRITNI: Oh my goodness.

MELANIE: And she didn't know if she was ever going to be able to smell. So of course by the time I got her she was pretty malnourished because she just didn't want to eat. It it was gag worthy.

BRITNI: Wow.

MELANIE: But we had to take, we had to take care of her. She needed to nourish her body.

BRITNI: Well that's great it went away for her finally.

MELANIE: Yeah. Horrible.

BRITNI: Yeah. We talked a little bit about how illness affects the body and that first stage of illness is when we sort of go into hibernation and that's normal, you know, resting, sleeping, not eating as much at first.

MELANIE: But those second and third phases really require a lot of nutrients for repair. So I love how you said hibernation, but in fact during recovery phase, research shows that nutrients and calories needed are even higher than normal of course. You're repairing some damage there. Research also shows that most people over the age of 65 are just not getting enough food in order to get the nutrients that they need.

BRITNI: I think it surprises a lot of people, but being undernourished is a huge deal, especially for those over 65 years old and you know, not all calories are created equal.

MELANIE: Yes, exactly. So with listeners, if you're looking down and thinking I'm over nourished because you have maybe some extra pounds, that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the quality of the body from the nourishment you're receiving.

BRITNI: Yep. You're not getting as many nutrients as your body needs. And we've talked a lot about the importance of protein, you know, for all ages, but just as important are those healthy fats and real food carbohydrates. And you know, I had a client recently come in and she's struggled with fatigue after COVID and she definitely was not eating enough. So just getting more into her body and high quality food, I mean she definitely started to notice a difference in her energy pretty quickly.

MELANIE: I think at that point you, you have to say every bite matters. When you don't feel like eating, every bite you take needs to really, really matter and be very nutrient dense. The owner of Nutritional Weight and Wellness, Dar Kvist, she gave us a great tip on a recent nutritionist conference call for everyone struggling with COVID aftereffects. Because their appetites can be so low and many are suffering with gut issues, which can make it even harder to eat a full size meal portion of food, she suggested having people eat smaller meals and more frequently throughout the day. It's less daunting if you don't have an appetite; brilliant.

It's a great strategy that can really help prevent the lack of nourishment. And I know I mentioned four to six ounces of animal protein for meals, but if you're really struggling with a low appetite or have gut issues, maybe you have a smaller portion, focus on those smaller meals about every three to four hours and it, it might be only two to three ounces of protein during that healing process. It's temporary. We're doing what the body is allowing us to do.

BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah. You're doing the best you can.

MELANIE: It's really all about balance because we know, you know, the coronavirus and all the variants stem from inflammation. It makes sense that an anti-inflammatory meal plan is going to give you that assist and that leg up in healing.

What do we mean by an anti-inflammatory meal plan?

BRITNI: And you might be wondering, I mean what do we really mean by anti-inflammatory? You mentioned earlier the avoiding the refined oils and the sugar, but also trying to avoid the processed carbohydrates is so important because they're very inflammatory and lead to more inflammation, which, which ultimately just lowers our immune function. Those white foods, you know, breads, pasta, crackers, bagels, muffins, all of those are going to create a lot of inflammation.

MELANIE: And as far as refined oils go, we're talking about the oils that are clear or see through in a bottle. So if you pick up a bottle of oil and you can see your hand or read something on the other side of it, it's a refined oil. You pick up a dark bottle of olive oil or avocado oil, you can't read through it. You can't read through coconut oil or butter.

BRITNI: Yeah; great way to look at it.

MELANIE: I tell my clients if they want a robust, strong immune system, they need to focus on foods that can be found in nature. So we're not going to find a bagel in nature. We're not going to find bread in nature. There's no Fruit Loop tree or spam animal. Like we've got to focus on foods we can find in nature.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: That's going to be the nourishing… I had this client of mine I just saw yesterday, and he came from Africa and he said in Africa, one: we walked everywhere. Two: our meat was freshly, really freshly killed the day we ate it.

BRITNI: Wow.

MELANIE: We would go out and we would pick the vegetables and since he's come here to this country, he's struggling with prediabetes, weight gain, digestive issues, heartburn. And so, you know, I said we got to go back to eating the way you would in Africa to heal the body; in just a short space of time. He hasn't even been here that long.

BRITNI: That's unfortunate. And you know, not surprising because most convenience foods in a box or package, freezer, they're just really high in carbohydrates, sugar.

MELANIE: Chemicals.

BRITNI: Chemicals. Yeah. I mean, can you read the ingredient list and know exactly what every single ingredient is?

MELANIE: So it's not only that there's no nutrients. It's that your, your body is now fighting the antinutrients, the foods that are harming you. So it's a double whammy.

BRITNI: Yeah. It really is. You know, I picture what happens in the body after eating Hamburger Helper or macaroni and cheese.

MELANIE: Oh, you went to the macaroni and cheese.

BRITNI: I mean the blood sugar's going to spike for sure. And there could easily be 25 teaspoons of sugar in one serving. That's what the carbohydrates break down to.

MELANIE: Oh really good point.

BRITNI: And then that high blood sugar leads to more inflammation, lower immune function. I mean it just, it perpetuates.

MELANIE: And let's think about how long it takes to eat that.

BRITNI: Oh no time at all.

MELANIE: Macaroni and cheese: I could take it down in about 15 minutes, but then the aftereffects is forever.

BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. Most people are on some form of social media these days. It has just become, you know, the new norm. Especially with the pandemic and everyone being a bit more isolated. So did you know that we have a Dishing Up Nutrition private Facebook page that you can join? It's a great way to stay appraised of our current topics and discussions. We will be right back.

Join Our Dishing Up Nutrition Facebook Group!

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MELANIE: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. Britni mentioned before break that we have a Dishing Up Nutrition Facebook page. If you are on Facebook, be sure to do a quick search for Dishing Up Nutrition and select join. Our administrator will accept your invitation within a day or two and you'll be able to connect with other like-minded people who are passionate about their health goals.

BRITNI: Also on that page you can actually ask a question that may be featured on our podcast called “Ask a Nutritionist”, which usually pops up on Thursdays and it's much shorter; about 10 to 20 minutes long.

MELANIE: It’s a fun, fun, fun way to get more information.

BRITNI: Yeah. And cool if you get to hear your own question. So before break we were talking about processed foods really being void of nutrients and then creating extra stress because we need to process all the chemicals in there.

MELANIE: Yeah.

Key nutrients from nourishing food reduce inflammation

BRITNI: So on the flip side, nourishing the body with vegetables and fruits rich in nutrients keeps the inflammation down; also provides us with vitamin C, vitamin A and again very important minerals like zinc and magnesium. A review of literature was published in a February, 2023 journal and it found that in some cases vitamin C helped to reduce and sometimes eliminate COVID symptoms. And vitamin D was found to lower rates of death linked to COVID. There is lots of research on vitamin D and COVID.

MELANIE: So much research and people that were, you know, depleted of vitamin D going into the virus; much more dire consequences. So all of our clients, we try to get them, I think we even talked about it on the radio, getting adequate vitamin D in. And that lung involvement if your vitamin D was low, was really a, a scary thing.

BRITNI: Yeah. So, and I think, I mean I feel like we mention vitamin D on almost every show.

MELANIE: I think we do.

BRITNI: It's just really important for everything.

MELANIE: For everything. Which is probably why we mention it on exactly every show.

BRITNI: Exactly.

MELANIE: Well, circling back to what you were saying about nourishing our bodies with vegetables and fruits and you know, plants, real food, I love having a big leafy green salad and chopping up some peppers and tomatoes and jicama; throwing in some green olives. Vegetables are a great way to get vitamin C. Broccoli's a wonderful thing you can add to your salads with your tomatoes and you're going to be getting a natural source of vitamin C.

We also think that, we always think citrus fruits, right; oranges and lemons and limes and grapefruits being the only source of vitamin C. But leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, even strawberries are wonderful sources. So get that variety in.

Supplementation with key nutrients may be necessary in some cases

BRITNI: You know, we like to say look to your food sources first to get adequate vitamins and minerals, but a really compromised immune system, adding in supplements even for a short term can be really beneficial. I like our Liposomal Liquid Vitamin C because it's absorbed very quickly into the bloodstream and doesn't seem to have any digestive issues for people.

MELANIE: Oh, I like that one as well. It's, it has 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C in one teaspoon, which is really about the max dose you want per dose. And it, it tastes good too. And we also have Nutrikey Vitamin C 1000, which is tablets, you know, for my clients that prefer swallowing pills or you know, versus taking a liquid. It travels better, right; if you're traveling.

You know, I, I want to talk a little bit about that salad too. If you're tired of the leafy greens, you know, you can, I just shredded, really finely shredded with my food processor purple cabbage, broccoli stems that I had, cabbage and kale and use that as a salad. It lasts a really long time in the fridge. And then today, you know, I'll just put on there like four to five ounces of I've got some cooked pulled pork done. Done!

BRITNI: I, I love doing that more of like a coleslaw base almost.

MELANIE: Yeah.

BRITNI: Yeah. For something different.

MELANIE: Because then you buy that big box of organic lettuce and you got to go through it fast.

More on vitamin D and link to immunity

BRITNI: Yeah you do. You know, I want to circle back to vitamin D which was mentioned in the journal, Publication, along with vitamin C. So listeners, you know, have you read or heard about the link between having enough vitamin D and a strong immune system? You longtime listeners, again, should have heard that link before because we talk about it, but even before the pandemic, we've talked about how vitamin D can reduce the risk of infection and really any type of viral infection. And sadly most of the population is low in vitamin D.

MELANIE: So listeners, here's my challenge for you. Go into your my MyChart, see what your last vitamin D level was. When the doctor tells you you're fine, fine for us, what we see to be the most effective for your immune system is to keep that level between about 50 and 80. This is a really healthy vitamin D level because you're not right at the cusp of going into deficiency.

And if you're struggling with COVID aftereffects, chances are you've been dealing with fatigue, muscle pain or weakness, not sleeping well, low appetite. So those are also symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. So it's, it's a good tool to have in your toolbox is to make sure your vitamin D level stays, again, between 50 and 80. So check MyChart. If you haven't had one checked in a while, suggest that your doctor order it for you.

BRITNI: Yeah. Right. I mean we just encourage that test to know where you're at, then based on your level, you can take the appropriate dosage if it's…

MELANIE: Yeah, I was going to say, I had read that if you live north like we do in Minnesota, you have to sit in your bathing suit at the prime time in your bikini for an hour at lunch hour to get adequate vitamin D without sunscreen.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Most of us aren't doing that.

BRITNI: No, we're not doing that. That sounds nice though.

MELANIE: Does sound nice.

BRITNI: Yeah. So if your vitamin D is way under 50, it would be wise to increase your levels by taking a supplement and you know, if you're low, even if you are taking a supplement and then you increase your dosage, I would get that rechecked in a few months so that you know, if that is the appropriate dosage for you. And piggybacking off of what you said, Mel, is most people aren't outside in their bathing suit over their lunch hour. So a lot of people should really just be taking the same dosage all year round.

MELANIE: Yep.

BRITNI: I mean, I do.

Sugar-ladened foods are inflammatory & decrease immune function

MELANIE: Not harmful. Not going to be, you're not going to get enough on your hands in your face when you go for a walk in the summer. I do want to talk a little bit about food again and you know, we're going to tap into sugar and the process of inflammation it causes. So we talked about refined carbs and oils causing that high blood sugar level. Of course sugar-ladened foods does the same thing.

We have an article on our website written by Elizabeth Leppart. She's one of our dietitians, and she wrote a great article called “How Sugar Damages Your Immune System”. And I was reading that article the other day and this jumped out at me: is a research study done at Loma Linda University had participants eat different forms of sugar and then they looked at their white blood cells, which are immune cells that fight infection. The white blood cells decreased up to 50% one to two hours after eating sugar. And that included like honey, maple syrup, you know, forms of sugar.

This decrease in the immune function lasted for several hours. So think about going out to eat with a bunch of people. Maybe you have a dessert afterwards and then you're hanging out with a bunch of people afterwards. Your immune system is suppressed by 50% for one to two hours.

BRITNI: Wow. That is, that's significant. Absolutely. And most people have heard that sugar can have negative consequences to our health, you know, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes. But I think it might be a new thought that sugar decreases immune function for several hours. So, you know, one soda could basically shut down 50% of your immune function for several hours.

MELANIE: So, listeners let's say if you're going to go on a trip, you want to go to a wedding, you've got a big event coming up, you might skip the treat.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Because you don't want to risk getting sick beforehand. But if you're hooked on sugar or processed carbs, you're certainly not alone. That's probably the biggest addiction we talk about all day long, Britni.

BRITNI: Definitely.

MELANIE: Well, and when I'm working with a client who has a compromised immune system, I think this is a gold nugget for them to understand. It could be the muffins, even the bread or the chips. You don't think sugar when you think bread and chips, but they convert to sugar in the blood glucose so it can suppress you as well, but real food doesn't.

So when you're thinking about what you're eating for your immune system or perhaps in long haul COVID, you want to make sure you're pressing into the real foods, eliminating the processed foods. Therein lies the healing process right there. That's the best that you can do for your body to heal. Our goal at Nutritional Weight and Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing. Thank you for listening to Britni and I today. We hope you have a great day.

BRITNI: Thank you.