Physicians: Prepare your body now against fall viruses
As Oklahomans endure the current rise in COVID-19 cases, medical professionals recommend lifestyle changes now that will boost their immune systems for the fall and winter months that usually see high numbers in flu and, this year, possibly increasing numbers of virus patients.
A healthier lifestyle with a proper diet and exercise regimen can improve immune system health.
Del City pediatrician Dr. Noor Jihan Abdul-Haqq said that changing one's daily diet to include more nutritious foods will help supply the body with what it needs to fight off infection.
Switching out processed foods for fresh fruits and vegetables provides the body with necessary vitamins. That includes choosing foods and drinks that are higher in antioxidants, such as green tea and turmeric, she said.
Adding daily exercise can also improve overall health.
“Strive for more regular exercise, whether it be adding a daily walk with a loved one or taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator,” said Dr. Thomas
Owens, resident at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
Individuals should also take care of underlying medical conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, which can leave people at higher risk of catching severe diseases and facing poor outcomes, said Dr. Douglas Drevets, OU Medicine Chief of Infectious Diseases.
For patients with high blood pressure, it is important to stay up to date on medication and to monitor blood pressure regularly,
Drevets said. Patients with diabetes should be communicating with healthcare providers to keep their condition under tight control. Individuals with obesity should look into appropriate lifestyle changes to prevent health concerns.
Because COVID-19 attacks the lungs, it is also important to stay away from habits such as smoking that make one vulnerable to the diseases, Owens said.
“One of the absolute best things one can do is to stop smoking; it is no easy feat. Nicotine is terribly addictive, but our natural immunity is best equipped to fight infection when we eliminate the added strains from tobacco on our lungs, heart, vasculature, mucosa, etc.,” Owens said.
The doctors discourage excessive use of dietary supplements stressing consumption of foods that contain necessary nutrients. However, Drevets said vitamin D supplements would be helpful for individuals who are unable to spend the recommended time outside, and multivitamins also can improve overall health.
“Certain supplements that advertise 'boosts in immunity' are based on incomplete theories of function, while others are released without FDA approval or proper trials,” Owens said. “As a result, many of these marketed supplements are already absorbed in sufficient quantities with a well-rounded diet, aren't absorbed at all, or have no evidence that they work as advertised.”
Overall, the physicians said it is important to know the magnitude of COVID-19 as cases increase and follow public health guidelines.
“I think the public needs to take this illness really quite serious,” Drevets said. “Masking does work and then as we go out in public, we do need to be conscientious about ourselves and about others and take the masking seriously.”