Three years ago, a virus changed our entire world. Since then, we have had on our minds, what can we do to protect ourselves? How can we optimize our immune system using lifestyle medicine? That is what we are discussing with today’s guest, Dr. Joel Evans. Joel Evans is a board certified OB/GYN and international lecturer, is the director of The Center for Functional Medicine in Stamford, CT. He is also senior advisor to Amy Mack, the CEO of IFM, and the co-director of the IFM Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery: Patient Care in a Pandemic course on COVID-19. He now leads the IFM response to post-acute COVID-19 and has co-authored two recently published papers on the pandemic, with a third recently submitted for publication. Join us as we discuss how functional medicine approaches COVID-19 and how lifestyle medicine can help to optimize your immune system. 0:00 - Introduction 3:45 - What is the IFM? 9:56 - Sleep and vaccine efficacy 12:16 - How does our terrain impact our immune system? 14:09 - Dealing with new variants 16:48 - Metabolic health and COVID 18:11 - Future variants of COVID 21:13 - What can you do if you get COVID? 25:52 - Microbiome and COVID 30:22 - Long COVID 34:05 - Nitric Oxide and Anticoagulation 35:59 - Protein intake and nutrition 38:08 - Ideal vitamin D levels 39:26 - Where are we headed with vaccines? 43:36 - Dr. Evan’s morning routine 48:34 - Taking supplements onto a desert island 50:37 - How to learn more about Dr. Evans