In recent decades we have seen a significant uptick in the number of cases, the severity, and even the lack of bias in the age of individuals affected with metabolic disease. It can be and is often likened to an epidemic all on its own.  But now, in 2020, we are facing something of the likes we have never experienced in our lifetime. Due to the recent outbreak, countless studies have been conducted concluding that metabolic disease is in-fact a co-morbidity to any SARS virus given the documented outcome.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the comorbidity that exists between these two diseases introduces new challenges to many who were already struggling to survive. Many are finding it even harder to make heads-or-tails of their health and are questioning what they can do.

Why Metabolic Disease Lowers Your Immune Response

One of the multiple factors that may weigh heavily on a patient’s mind is that those who suffer from metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of COVID mortality.(1) Early studies have shown that about 25% of people who went to the hospital with severe COVID-19 infections had diabetes. Those with diabetes were more likely to have serious complications and to die from the virus. One reason is that high blood sugar weakens the immune system and makes it less able to fight off infections.(2) 

A study conducted by Tulane University found that the increased risk was found in cases where patients with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) presented more than one metabolic disease. “In predominantly black patients hospitalized for COVID-19, the clustering of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes as MetS increased the odds of mortality compared with these comorbidities individually.” The research also resolved that, as a whole, individuals with pre-existing MetS were 3.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than their counterparts without the condition.(3) COVID-19 puts stress and strain on the lungs and forces your heart to work harder to circulate oxygenated blood. If you already have heart disease, this stress may release plaque in your arteries resulting in a heart attack.(4)

Obesity or even moderate excess weight may cause an issue when it comes to COVID-19. Barry M. Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that obese people were twice as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those who were overweight or of healthy weight, and nearly twice as likely to wind up in intensive care.(5,6) In the case of obesity and weight gain, the underlying issue is the inflammation that comes with the adipose deposited in the body. In addition, abdominal obesity adds pressure on the diaphragm and lungs, which in the case of COVID-19, are already under stress to perform.

My Final Opportunity to Stress to You the Importance of Healing from Metabolic Disease

Again, we are faced with the question of what we can do to avoid becoming a statistic. There is one common theme, one common denominator we are seeing in all of the health issues sweeping the nation and the whole world. The undeniable root of all metabolic disease is lifestyle habits.  When the body is able to perform at its optimal level, issues such as viruses are easily integrated and eliminated. But, when the body is already stressed, a common cold or respiratory virus can compound into something serious. Imagine how much more of an issue a virus can become when the organs and tissues of your body are simply struggling to maintain normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.  Naturally healing from metabolic disease, and improving your immune response to fight viruses is possible and I can have the tools when your’re ready.