COVID-19 Update: Only One in Eight is Metabolically Healthy, Are You?

RVAchironeuro • July 27, 2020

Hello again everyone:

This topic has broad implications beyond reducing Covid-19 risk. As you know, we have previously spoken about the ‘Elephant In The Room’ which is about the fact that those who have poor health have seriously greater risk of infection (of any type) and poorer outcomes, including death. It is estimated that at least 60% of the U.S. population has one or more chronic diseases, 70% are overweight or obese, and now we find out only 12.2% of us are metabolically healthy. This means that a whopping 87.8% (7 of 8) are at serious risk for not only Covid-19, but disability and death from all causes such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases and on and on.

“Characteristics associated with greater prevalence of metabolic health were female gender, youth, more education, never smoking, practicing vigorous physical activity, and low body mass index. Less than one-third of normal weight adults were metabolically healthy and the prevalence decreased to 8.0% and 0.5% in overweight and obese individuals, respectively.

Conclusions:  Prevalence of metabolic health in American adults is alarmingly low, even in normal weight individuals. The large number of people not achieving optimal levels of risk factors, even in low-risk groups, has serious implications for public health.”

Bottom Line: These facts are truly alarming. In light of the fact that this pandemic is probably going to be affecting our lives for at least another year (as past and similar pandemics have done, including the second wave), there is plenty of time to improve your metabolic health. What’s more, in most cases these issues are not that difficult to reduce or resolve. There are two urgent reasons to do this: one is to reduce your risk and severity of infection during this pandemic, and the other is to protect your future health and reduce your risk of disability and death from all causes. Where to start? This is a very short and partial list to give you a place to start right away, however, these are the fundamentals and I have listed them in what I think is the order of importance, but that can be different for each of us:

  • Eat right: this includes intermittent fasting, what & when you eat are crucial & NO sugar or processed ‘food’.
  • Do not put toxic things into your body
  • Exercise: move your body every day, and get outside often.
  • Reduce and manage stress: meditation/prayer/mindfulness.
  • Get high quality sleep: have a sleep habit and stick to it, avoid blue light at night, read more
  • If you have excess belly fat, get rid of it: major health issues are associated with elevated abdominal adiposity.
  • Supplement a multi-vitamin, Vit. D3 with K2, and a probiotic at a minimum.
  • Maintain social relationships: perhaps get a health partner for accountability

I have previously written a large number of newsletters/blogs on how to eat right that you can easily search on our website, and this truly is the foundation of our health. We simply cannot eat processed foods, sugary things, trans fats, refined carbs, bad fats, inadequate fruits and vegetables and nuts and seeds, frequent/daily alcohol, smoke anything, consume artificial flavors and colors and additives, eat and drink from plastic anything, and think we are getting away with it or doing something that is Ok or good for us. Make sure you start there and stay there. When it comes to living your best life, there are few things as important and being metabolically healthy. Invest in yourself as this is both your true health insurance and your best long-term strategy…and you can do this by simply taking one step at a time.

If you ever feel overwhelmed by what you see that you need to do to get your health back, you might benefit from reading this book: ‘Tiny Habits’ by B.J. Fogg, PhD …forget big change…start with a tiny (doable) habit and success will follow…to achieve ANY goal that you choose, small changes or upgrades will change everything sooner or later…probably faster than you imagine!

 

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Health News Update: Inflammaging is Bad News

By Mark Smith • August 25, 2025
Hello everyone: I think I have mentioned inflammaging before but never really focused on it. So, let’s dig into this interesting topic. Inflammaging is when chronic, low-grade inflammation develops with age as dietary and environmental stress accumulates, contributing to the development of all of the various age-related diseases and health issues. It results from a loss of control over systemic inflammation, which tends to come from an unbalanced and dysregulated immune system. One of the key drivers of inflammaging is diet…which means that one of the key tools to slow and reduce aging is our what we eat as well as what we don’t eat. In this paper, the authors reveal that the typical Western Diet (what science calls the Standard American Diet or S.A.D.) is the best example of a pro-inflammatory diet pattern. “ Conclusion: Inflammation is a key physiological process in immunity and tissue repair. However, during aging it becomes increasingly more chronic. In addition, we found that certain foods such as saturated fats have pro-inflammatory activity. Taking this into account, in this review we have proposed some dietary guidelines as well as a list of compounds present in foods with anti-inflammatory activity. It must be taken into account that the amounts used in the studies that detect anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds are very high, and the intake of a single food to achieve its anti-inflammatory power is not feasible. (My Comment: what this means is that it is the overall dietary pattern that matters the most.) However, the combination of foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could exert beneficial effects during aging and in pathologies associated with inflammation and in reducing the detrimental effects of foods with pro-inflammatory activity. Therefore, we can conclude that the compounds in our diet with anti-inflammatory activity could help alleviate the inflammatory processes derived from diseases and unhealthy diets and thereby promote healthy aging. Thus, we can use diet not only for nourishment, but also as medicine.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389628/ anti-inflammatory diet and health aging https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-guide-to-inflamm-aging Bottom Line: We all must age, and how we do so is largely under our own control. To create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not that difficult, especially if you put it all together in stages. Start with a clean, whole-food, unprocessed plant-based food plan. And to begin, first focus on what you can add into your menus and use those additions to sort of crowd out the things that are more inflammatory…sugar, refined grains, processed and pre-packaged things. Set realistic goals such as going plant based one or two days a week, or even one meal…just start and gradually work up. It has to be doable so don’t stress. Next, start moving and doing regular exercise at least three times a week…and find what you enjoy doing and focus on that. Then add activities that de-stress you, whether that is socializing, church, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. Overall, shift your attention to giving love to things that love you back. Sugar, drive-thru and processed food like thingies do not love you back but apples or kiwis or berries or veggies do. Sitting around does not love you back but going for a short walk after a meal does love you back. Hang out and give love to the people you really like to be with, they will most always love you back. Create a love you back lifestyle and see how you feel.

Health News Update: Blocking Internet on Smartphones Improves Mental Health

By Mark Smith • August 18, 2025
Hello everyone: I frequently hear about mental health issues with the people in our practice. They could be experiencing depression, or anxiety, feel flat, can’t focus or sustain attention, or may not feel well in general. These comments can come from anyone of any age…I can hear from parents about their kids, or it may be themselves experiencing these feeling. So, when I read this paper, it felt important to share it because we all seem to have mobile phones. Here is how the paper is summarized: “Concern about how smartphones affect users is widespread: half of American smartphone users—and 80% of those under age 30—worry that they use their device too much, and correlational research suggests that smartphone use is negatively related to mental health and cognitive functioning. However, few large-scale experiments have tested for causal effects. We report such an experiment, finding that blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks reduces smartphone use and improves subjective well-being (SWB) (including life satisfaction and positive affect), mental health (more than antidepressants), and sustained attention (as much as being 10 years younger). Despite the many benefits mobile internet offers, reducing the constant connection to the digital world can have large positive effects.” https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites&utm_term=randomized%20controlled%20trial&utm_content=randomized%20controlled%20trial&_kx=fARhTo_gi8X3B_2-MaeO_RyzUl9tvT3tr4re-Dy7cNQ.my75y6 Bottom Line: It seems like a smartphone ‘timeout’ can be very beneficial for mental, emotional, physical health and can be an important part of stress reduction. The world today, with nearly instant communications, the almost constant bad and anxiety promoting news, and the fast pace of data consumption can add up to significantly stress us out and pull us down…or just simple keep us distracted. From what I can see, a ‘timeout’ may be just what the doctor ordered.

Health News Update: Diet can Alter Your Disease Trajectory

By Mark Smith • August 11, 2025
Hey there everyone: As you know, inflammation causes, perpetuates, and/or aggravates every known human condition, including aging. As we age, we become more vulnerable to non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, dementia, arthritis and more. How we eat can massively reduce our inflammatory burden and promote health as we age. It is your choice. One reason that I keep writing on this is that I keep running into the mindset that these diseases are inevitable and that there is nothing we can do about it. Plus, because there are so many different diets for sale out there, it becomes hard to know what to eat. What is important for you to know is that there is a growing scientific consensus about what to eat, but the media rarely mention it and our public health authorities don’t either. It definitely seems like money is more important than our health. So…consuming an overall low-inflammatory diet is what the science is adding up to show it is the healthiest way to go, plus it actually gives you power over your future. This is a great article worth the time it takes to read it as it is pretty comprehensive. Bottom Line: “To adopt an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern, it is recommended to replace refined grains with whole grains, substitute healthy fats (such as nuts, seeds and fatty fish) for saturated and trans fats and increase the consumption of colorful fruits and vegetables while reducing the intake of sugary and processed foods. Additionally, choosing lean protein sources like fish and legumes over red and processed meats, using herbs and spices (such as turmeric, ginger, garlic and cinnamon) in place of excessive salt and sugar and consuming probiotic-rich foods (such as yogurt and kefir) instead of processed and sugary snacks are advised. These dietary adjustments can help mitigate inflammation and promote overall health.” https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/overview-of-antiinflammatory-diets-and-their-promising-effects-on-noncommunicable-diseases/AA3166846841DCC1B219C063F52E2A7F (anti-inflammatory diet)
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