opinion: a powerful way to combat covid

i have personally observed this among the patients i treat in the icus in ottawa, and it is also well documented in scientific literature. a study published in the lancet reported that, among the early cases of patients hospitalized with covid-19 in wuhan, 50 per cent of patients had underlying comorbidities, which included diabetes (20 per cent), hypertension (15 per cent), and cardiovascular disease (15 per cent). similarly, of the 122,653 covid-19 cases reported to the center for disease control in the united states between feb. 12 and march 28, 2020, one third of patients had at least one comorbidity, which was most frequently diabetes . additionally, 78 per cent of icu admissions and 94 per cent of deaths occurred in people with at least one comorbidity.

it is obvious that poor metabolic health can lead to poor outcomes in patients with covid-19 infections. a june 2020 lancet editorial broke it down nicely: “we have not just been fighting a communicable disease alone but also a growing backdrop of non-communicable disease (such as diabetes and obesity) that needlessly raise the death toll.” based on the emerging research on covid-19 and on my own clinical practice, it is evident that metabolic health plays a significant role in patient outcomes and must be prioritized in the fight against covid-19.

covid-19 as a catalyst to better health

why am i bringing this up? my intention is not to fat-shame; instead, it is because we can and we should be doing something about metabolic health. we can use the global covid-19 pandemic as a catalyst to become healthier people. type 2 diabetes is reversible. whether it is through approaches such as low-carbohydrate, ketogenic or intermittent fasting, people can reverse their type 2 diabetes in mere weeks while at home. yes, weeks! a randomized control trial in 2017 showed that following a short course of intensive weight loss, some patients achieved a prolonged, drug-free diabetes remission. generally, restricting carbohydrates and ensuring adequate protein in the diet is effective in improving metabolic health fairly rapidly. an a-z weight loss study in the journal of the american medical association indicates that a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet may be an appropriate approach for weight loss. there are many ways to achieve weight loss success, and it boils down to eating less, eating well and moving your body.