Interesting article from Dr Muscles.
The One Difference in Survivors of COVID-19
by
DocMuscles
I've taken a tremendous interest in the recent deaths caused by the
corona-virus infection
. The reason for my interest is high
C-reactive protein (CRP) and high
interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in patients with this illness.
Recent data,
literally hot off the press, demonstrates that those with the greatest risk of mortality had the highest CRP and IL-6.
I have a large population of metabolic syndrome,
hyperinsulinemia
and
diabetic
patients in my practice. About 85% of my practice has hyperinsulinemia. They over produce insulin between 2-30 times normal in response to any form of ingested carbohydrate (simple and complex sugars, fruit, pasta, cereal, oatmeal, etc.) High insulin causes elevated CRP and IL-6
Why is this a problem?
Why is this a problem? A very interesting fact was published four days ago in The Lancet. They published
a study
looking at 191 patients in two hospital centers in China. The authors found that the highest rates of death occurred in those with current hypertension, diabetes and/or coronary artery disease (heart disease or atherosclerosis of the arteries). This virus traditionally causes a simple common cold. Seeing this data in this particular viral strain dramatically changed my perspective on this virus.
These three maladies (
hypertension
,
diabetes
&
coronary artery disease
) are the three most common medical problems that I seen in my clinic, and they affect 85% of my practice population. All three are caused and driven by
hyperinsulinemia
. The higher your insulin response to starches or sugars, the more likely you are to have hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
Insulin Raises Cytokine Levels
This elevated insulin in response to any starch or sugar, hyperinsulinemia, causes a rise in C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6). These two cytokines are responsible for mediating the inflammatory response to illness, injury and stress in the body. These two hormones are ALWAYS chronically elevated in patients with hypertension (elevated blood pressure), pre-diabetes, diabetes, coronary heart disease and obesity.
C-Reactive Protein
CRP is a reactive protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation. It is an "acute phase reactant" signaling the body's immune system to respond to stress, inflammation or infection. The presence of insulin directly raises CPR. In my clinical experience, CRP normalizes within about three days of insulin returning to a normal level.
Interleukin-6
IL-6 is a cytokine. It stimulates increased body temperature, regulates fevers and stimulates immune cells to function when infection or inflammation occur. This dual acting hormone is produced by a number of cells, but predominantly by the adipocytes (fat cells), and has a negative feedback on the livers ability to sense the presence of insulin. Elevated insulin levels over time cause increased size of fat cells. This causes abnormally high levels of IL-6 production from the adipocytes and decreases the signal of insulin on the liver - leading to insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and diabetes. Elevation of IL-6 often persists until the fat cells shrink back down to a non-obese size. IL-6 can also stimulate elevated CRP as well.
Risk of Death
Patients with elevated IL-6 and CRP were at much greater risk of mortality when exposed to COVID-19. Those that died, all of them, from this viral infection had IL-6 and CRP levels twice as high as those who recovered from the illness. That is profound.
Temporal changes in laboratory markers from illness onset in patients hospitalized with COVID-19
What does this mean?
What does this mean to you and me? It means that those with elevated IL-6 are more likely to experience a severe complication if exposed to this virus. That means that 85% of my practice is at higher risk of mortality. That's what got my attention. Hopefully, it gets your attention.
What can you and I do?
What can be done about it? Follow a ketogenic lifestyle. A dietary approach that lowers CRP and IL-6 may be the perfect prevention. Over the last 16 years of using ketogenic lifestyles, I have seen this pattern improve thousands of times. The presence of ketones immediately suppresses the production of IL-6 and improves the stimulus for CPR production at the liver. Cutting out carbohydrates lowers insulin back to a normal baseline within 3-7 days for most people. CRP returns to normal within three days of fixing your diet. And, IL-6 begins to decline immediately. In my obese patients, it can take 18-24 months for IL-6 to return back to normal.
Additional Measures
Don't stress. The overly hyped fear mongering produced in the media in the last two weeks raises your stress level. Turn off the T.V. and stop listening to the 24 hour news cycles. Over the next couple of weeks, while the risk of the virus is the highest, the following precautions are also essential:
- Follow good hand washing practices
- Limit exposure to those who may be carrying this illness through social distancing
- Get good sleep
(six or more hours of restful sleep)
- Use a complete pharmaceutical grade vitamin
- Spend 20-30 minutes outside
- Do something physical
for 20-30 minutes 5-6 days per week
Above all, enjoy some bacon. Seriously.
If bacon isn't your thing, then have a nice rib eye. Either way, based on the data above, your ketogenic lifestyle is the very best thing you can do to avoid serious infections, including COVID-19.
DocMuscles
|