Corona virus – can nutrition help?

Corona virus – can nutrition help?

This winter’s flu season has taken a dramatic turn with the arrival and rapid spread of the Covid-19 corona virus.   A few weeks ago I highlighted some of the key nutrients we need for all-round immune support.  These nutrients are essential in the fight against flu.  But is there any evidence to say nutrition can help fight coronaviruses?

The short answer to this question is yes!  In a fascinating paper from the US, researchers explore the interactions between compounds in foods and the way our immune system deals with RNA viruses – including coronaviruses.

Immune nutrients

The compounds examined in this paper include:

Ferulic acid: an antioxidant found in many different plants

– Phase 2 inducers like sulforaphane.  Phase 2 is one of the detoxification pathways in the liver.  It requires plenty of glutathione, one of our most important antioxidant nutrients.  Sulforaphane can increase glutathione levels.

– The minerals zinc and selenium

– Anthocyanin compounds in Elderberry

– Phycocyanobilin in Spirulina: a type of cyanobacteria grown on freshwater lakes and sold as powder, tablets, or capsules

These compounds have multiple benefits for our immune defences.  This is seen through their modulating effects on immune cells and signalling molecules, and by providing powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant protection in the lungs and airways.

Nutrition and the elderly

A key observation of this paper is the way in which zinc and n-acetyl cysteine have been shown to support older peoples’ immune systems against ‘flu.  In a small-scale 6mth controlled trial involving 262 elderly people, those receiving 600mg of n-acetyl cysteine twice a day* experienced significantly fewer days of ‘flu and spent much less time confined to their beds, compared to those taking a placebo.

And, although the rate of infection was comparable between the two groups only 25% of the virus-infected subjects in the NAC group developed symptoms, compared to 79% of those in the placebo group.

*(This is quite a high dose, and not recommended unless advised by a nutrition practitioner)

Zinc and PPI medications

The benefits of zinc supplementation for the elderly were spotted as a by-product of another trial: the AREDS1 trial for eye health.  AREDS1 used a vitamin and mineral supplement with zinc in.  As the authors note: “…This effect might be pertinent to the significant 27% reduction in total mortality observed in elderly subjects who received high-dose zinc in the AREDS1 multicenter trial”.  It seems a supplement trial for healthy vision had an unexpected and positive effect on flu deaths!

Many older people take PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) medications like Omperazole, Lansoprazole, and Nexium, to manage acid reflux and heartburn.  These drugs suppress the production of stomach acid.  This can bring short-term relief from heartburn and reflux but it has a knock-on effect on nutrient absorption.  Using these medications for months on end can significantly impact zinc levels – and as a result, immune function.  If you or someone you know has been taking PPI meds for more than 3 months, it’s a good idea to have your zinc levels assessed either with a GP or via a nutrition practitioner.

So the big question now is where to find these amazing nutrients?

Zinc: poultry, shellfish (especially oysters – if you can stomach them!), red meat, pumpkin seeds, nuts

Selenium: Brazil nuts, shellfish, liverMixed nuts

Spirulina: use capsules or tablets, or add the powder to smoothies, pesto, and dark chocolate bark (this has to be the easiest and most enticing way of taking spirulina ever known)

Elderberry: keen foragers can make their own syrups.  The rest of us can find it in supplements such as ‘Sambucol‘ and Pukka Herb’s Elderberry Syrup

Sulforaphane: found in cruciferous veggies like kale, broccoli, and cauliflower

Ferulic acid: widespread in foods including oats, rice, pineapple, nuts, bananas, spinach, beetroot

Keep your diet as varied and interesting as possible and if you feel the need for more personalised advice, get in touch with your local Registered Nutritional Therapist.  York-people, you can find yours here!

Reference: M.F. McCarty and J.J. DiNicolantonio, 2020. Nutraceuticals have potential for boosting the type 1 interferon response to RNA viruses including including influenza and coronavirus Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2020.02.007

7 Steps to Mindfully Manage Acid Reflux & Heartburn

7 Steps to Mindfully Manage Acid Reflux & Heartburn

It’s a familiar situation: you’ve been dashing round all day grabbing food on the go when suddenly, heartburn starts. Ouch.

Heartburn (also called acid reflux) is caused by stomach acid escaping up into the oesophagus (the tube that runs from your throat to your stomach).  Normally, a ring of muscle called the Lower Oesophageal Sphincter (LOS) tightens up to keep food and acid safely in the stomach.  However, certain factors can affect this ring of muscle, stopping it from closing properly and allowing some acid back up into the tube.

The oesophagus isn’t equipped to deal with this acid and it goes into spasms.  Sometimes the spasms and pain are so bad they are mistaken for a heart attack.  Other symptoms include a sour taste in the mouth, a sickly burning sensation at the back of the throat, bloating, nausea, and a sudden increase in saliva.

Having an occasional bout of reflux ( eg once every few months) isn’t too concerning as the trigger is usually easy to identify and resolve.  Eating a large celebratory meal with a few drinks for example, or indulging in some unusual foods on holiday.  But if you’re experiencing reflux more than twice a week, it’s possible you could have GORD – GastroOesophageal Reflux Disease.

 

What causes heartburn & reflux?

Several factors make heartburn and reflux more likely to occur.  Pregnancy, for example, and being overweight.  Both these conditions increase pressure on the LOS, making it easier for small amounts of acid to escape back into the oesophagus.

Caffeine, chocolate, mint, peppermint, and alcohol can reduce the tone of the LOS, preventing it from closing properly.  That’s all kinds of alcohol by the way.  I’ve often been asked if there’s a special type of wine or woman clutching stomach, heartburnparticular beer that doesn’t relax the LOS, but sorry, the answer is no!  Other foods can worsen the irritation caused by reflux: this group includes spicy foods and citrus fruits, which is why curries and orange juice are often a problem.

An important thing to note here is that none of these factors causes excessive amounts of stomach acid to be produced.  It’s rare to have too much stomach acid.  In fact, most people with reflux and heartburn have too little, and that’s another part of the problem…

 

Stress & Digestion

Aside from foods, the biggest single trigger for heartburn and reflux is stress.

Stress disrupts your entire digestive process from start to finish.  Imagine your digestion is like a factory production line.  Each part of the line can only do its job if the part before it is working properly.  So, if the very first part of digestion isn’t up to scratch, the stomach will suffer.

The very first part of digestion isn’t chewing or swallowing food, it’s SEEING and SMELLING the food.  Even HEARING it being cooked (sizzling pancakes anyone?).  This stage is called the Cephalic stage after the Greek word ‘kephos’ meaning head.  It’s all about the senses of smell, sight, and sound.

When we use these senses, we trigger nerve impulses that go down the vagus nerve into the digestive system.  These impulses tell the stomach to get ready for the arrival of food, to get busy producing gastric juices!  If we skip this stage as is the case when eating on the go, food arrives in the stomach with no warning and the stomach struggles to deal with it.

Eating on the go usually goes hand-in-hand with feeling busy and stressed.  The problem is, our fight-or-flight stress response runs in direct opposition to our rest-digest-heal response.  We cannot do both things at the same time: we cannot digest food comfortably whilst being stressed.

This is what happens;

acid reflux and heartburn diagram

How to manage heartburn & reflux mindfully and naturally

Now you know what might be causing the problem, let’s look at simple ways to deal with it.

1. Make time for eating
As we’ve just discussed, eating on the go is a big trigger for heartburn and reflux so the most important step is to make time to eat.  This can be 10 minutes, so long as that’s 10 minutes with no phone, emails, or TV.  Just you and your food.

2. Take 3 slow deep breaths before eating
Deep breathing instantly down regulates the stress response and switches your nervous system into rest-and-digest mode.  Look at your food whilst taking these deep slow breaths, enjoy the smell and sight of your meal.  Engage these important cephalic senses!

3. Chew!
It’s amazing how many people simply hoover up food.  Like some kind of alien with a suction tube rather than a human with a mouthful of teeth.
Chewing stimulates even more of those important nerve signals, and also helps us to know when we’re full.  If you think you’re over-eating, try chewing more to reignite your satiety signals.  women eating relaxed happy mindful eating

4. Avoid foods that relax the LOS
Alcohol, mint, peppermint, caffeine and chocolate.  I know there’s a lot of ‘treat’ foods in there, but think about how much better you will feel.

5. Enjoy a small bowl of bitter salad leaves before your main meal
Bitter foods like rocket, watercress, mustard leaves, dandelion leaves, mizuna, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice stimulate the gastric juices.  Use the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar in a simple dressing with olive oil and black pepper for a delicious green salad starter.
*Please do not do this if you already have an active stomach ulcer or gastritis or are taking H2 blockers or PPI medications*

6. Eat larger meals earlier in the day
The speed at which your stomach empties is partly controlled by diurnal rhythms.  It empties slightly faster in the morning than in the evening.  You’re also more likely to be upright and moving round during the day: lying down after an evening meal makes it easier for acid to flow back up into the oesophagus.
Experiment with having a smaller evening meal, and eat more at breakfast and lunch instead to see if this eases your symptoms.

7. Enjoy an overnight fast
Fasting is the only way for your digestive system to have a rest and do some ‘housekeeping’.   Does that sound weird?  Well, the billions of bacteria in your gut have a lot of maintenance work to do, keeping your gut lining healthy.  The easiest way to give them chance to do this, and for your stomach to have a rest, is to fast overnight for 12 hours.  So, if you finish your evening meal at 7.30pm, don’t eat again until 7.30am the following morning.  Herbal teas and water are okay, just no food.

Which steps can you take?
Have you found your own natural way of managing heartburn & reflux?
Do share in the comments below or pop over and join the Facebook Group!