What Does Food Have To Do With COVID-19?

Nov 27, 2020

In this engaging discussion, Elizabeth Boham, a physician and nutritionist specializing in functional medicine, delves into the link between diet and COVID-19 outcomes. She highlights how poor metabolic health increases vulnerability to severe illness, urging listeners to adopt healthier eating habits. Boham also advocates for food’s role in immune support, emphasizing nutrients over processed foods. With insights on enhancing the microbiome and practical food tips, she empowers audiences to leverage nutrition for overall health and resilience amid the pandemic.

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INSIGHT

COVID-19 and Metabolic Health

COVID-19 impacts nutrition, and nutrition impacts COVID-19 outcomes.
Poor metabolic health correlates with worse COVID-19 outcomes.

INSIGHT

Diet and Chronic Disease

Poor diet is a major, but often overlooked, cause of death in the US.
We react strongly to immediate threats, but chronic diet-related diseases are normalized.

ADVICE

Food as Medicine

Prioritize whole foods, protein, and micronutrients like zinc and vitamin C for immune support.
Avoid refined carbs and sugars, which impair immune function.

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What Does Food Have To Do With COVID-19? | This episode is brought to you by Four Sigmatic

If we as a population were healthier (think less obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, etc.), the evidence supports that we’d be faring much better throughout this pandemic.

Unfortunately, in the United States, only 12% of us in the US are metabolically healthy, putting us at higher risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19. Of course, a major driver of chronic diseases and the risks they create is our food system. We can’t expect to be a resilient population if we aren’t feeding our bodies real food with real nutrients we can use to function optimally.

In this mini-episode, we revisit two conversations Dr. Hyman had with his colleagues Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian and Dr. Elizabeth Boham at the beginning of the pandemic about how food and nutrition are inextricably linked to COVID-19. Dr. Boham also shares how to use food as medicine for immune support.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition and Medicine, and Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the oldest and most renowned graduate school of nutrition in North America. He has authored more than 300 scientific publications on the dietary priorities to reduce cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity in the US and globally; and on evidence-based systems innovations and policies to effectively reduce these burdens.

Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is committed to training other physicians to utilize nutrition in healing. Dr. Boham has contributed to many articles and wrote the latest chapter on Obesity for the Rankel Textbook of Family Medicine. She is part of the faculty of the Institute for Functional Medicine and has been featured on the Dr. Oz show and in a variety of publications and media including Huffington Post, The Chalkboard Magazine, and Experience Life. Her DVD Breast Wellness: Tools to Prevent and Heal from Breast Cancer explores the functional medicine approach to keeping your breasts and whole body well.

This episode is sponsored by Four Sigmatic. Right now, you can try Four Sigmatic’s Mushroom Coffee and other amazing products for up to 50% off. Plus, Four Sigmatic is giving an exclusive additional 10% off all sale products, just for Doctors Farmacy listeners at foursigmatic.com/HYMAN. This sale ends November 30th, so make sure you head over and stock up now.

Find Dr. Hyman’s full-length conversation with Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, “How COVID-19 Shines A Light On Our Broken Food System” here: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DariushMozaffarian

Find Dr. Hyman’s full-length conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Boham, Dr. George Papanicolaou, and Dr. Todd LePine, “Special Episode: Medicine In The Age Of COVID-19 And Beyond,” here: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/Medicine-In-The-Age-Of-COVID-19-And-Beyond