Naperville Integrated Wellness

NAPERVILLE'S TOP RATED LOCAL® FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FACILITY

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Part 1 of 3

This is a 3-part series on COVID-19 and what you need to know about it. I have no agenda. I just want to present you with information, so that you can decide what is best for you and your loved ones. 

I have not been talking or writing about COVID-19, vaccines and variants because I wanted to watch it unfold and observe firsthand how it affected the health of my patients and people around me. As a functional medicine doctor serving Chicago, I have had the opportunity to watch this virus affect the physical and mental health of many individuals. 

We get more calls than ever from people looking for help with post-COVID and post-vaccine health concerns. I’m not going to tell you should or should not get vaccinated, I still believe we should still have some say about what gets put into our bodies. Instead, I hope to shift your focus on what can’t be disputed and what can actually help you and your loved ones. 

Here some of they key points I believe everyone should know about this virus and their immune system: 

  • The issue is NOT COVID-19, its variants, vaccines, or boosters. Your immune system is. 
  • You have OTHER VIRUSES IN YOUR BODY that put you at greater risk from COVID-19 and vaccines.
  • WOMEN are more likely to have long-term effects from COVID-19 and vaccines than men, WHY?
  • HOW YOUR IMMUNE SYSTMEM RESPONDS to COVID-19 or vaccines is what you should be concerned about; not the virus or vaccine itself. 
  • If someone has a LONG-TERM ADVERSE RESPONSE to COVID-19 infection or a vaccine, they probably have other immune system problems. 
  • WORRYING about what COVID-19, vaccines, boosters, spike proteins, altered DNA, and all the other things people are arguing about DOESN’T HELP you or your loved ones. 
  • YOUR BEST DEFENSE is not a mask, vaccine, or social distancing; YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS. 
  • DOES AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE put you at greater risk? 
  • What about your DNA? 
  •  USE UNBIASED INFORMATION TO FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS REGARDING THIS VIRUS AND WHAT YOU SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT DO ABOUT IT. 

I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT TO THINK. 

 We have all had enough of people telling us what we should think these days. Nobody should be doing that. People need accurate, honest information, so they can form their own opinions. Not opinions based in fear, hate and bias. 

I want you to have enough information so you can take a step back, look at the big picture and calmly and rationally decide what is best for you. This is what the 3 part series is all about.

Part 1: COVID-19 and Vaccines

Part 2: Other viruses in your body and autoimmune disease. 

Part 3: How to support your immune system and help prevent adverse reactions to COVID-19, vaccines or trigger/reactivate autoimmune diseases. 

In this first section which is Part 1 we will talk about COVID-19 and vaccines. In Part 2 we will talk about the other viruses in your body and how they are having a negative impact on your health, immune system and triggering autoimmune diseases. Finally, in Part 3 we will discuss the things you can do to protect yourself from adverse immune reactions; be it to COVID-19, a variant, a vaccine, booster, or any other assault on your immune system. 

Your best defense… 

Your immune system is your best defense or your biggest liability. Your immune system and how you care for it or abuse it…with your lifestyle choices. This is the greatest determinant of how you will respond to a virus (any virus) or vaccine. 

What about genetics? 

You can’t change your genes, but you can usually change how they work. This is called epigenetics. Your genes basically do one thing, they make proteins. If your cells make healthy proteins then you will be healthy from a genetic perspective and if they make faulty or “bad” proteins, then you will have disease. So, focus on what you can do. You can make better choices to help your genes make better choices. 

What is Epigenetics?

“Your genes play an important role in your health, but so do your behaviors and environment, such as what you eat and how physically active you are. Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.”

https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm

Your lifestyle choices play a major role in what your DNA will produce in terms of proteins. These proteins play a major role in how your immune system functions. Your diet, nutrient status, sleep habits, exercise habits, stress management habits, drinking habits…they all affect your DNA and your immune system.

COVID-19 and Vaccines are NOT the problem…      

YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS.

Post-COVID Health Conditions

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

“Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even people who did not have COVID-19 symptoms in the days or weeks after they were infected can have post-COVID conditions. These conditions can present as different types and combinations of health problems for different lengths of time.

These post-COVID conditions may also be known as long COVID, long-haul COVID, post-acute COVID-19, long-term effects of COVID, or chronic COVID. CDC and experts around the world are working to learn more about short- and long-term health effects associated with COVID-19, who gets them, and why.”

Some people experience a range of new or ongoing symptoms that can last weeks or months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

  • Fatigue
  • Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities (also known as post-exertional malaise)
  • Difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes referred to as “brain fog”)
  • Sleep problems 
  • Changes in menstrual period cycles 
  • Chest or stomach pain (digestion issues) 
  • Shortness of breath
  • Headache
  • Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)
  • Joint or muscle pain
  • Pins-and-needles feeling (or other nerve-related symptoms).
  • Dizziness on standing (lightheadedness)
  • Rash or hives 
  • Mood changes including anxiety or depression 
  • Change in smell or taste 
  • Post-exertional malaise (PEM): this is when your symptoms get worse following even mild physical or mental exertion, with symptoms usually getting worse 12 to 48 hours after the physical or mental activity and lasting for days or even weeks. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html

Why does this happen? 

“Many viral infections can trigger post-viral syndrome, with individuals who have weakened immune systems (or poorly regulated immune systems) appearing to be at heightened risk. It remains unclear why the effects of a virus can linger in the body. Some theories suggest that the virus ‘overloads’ the immune system, preventing healthy immune system resolution for weeks, months or years. Continued inflammation, mediated by proinflammatory cytokines, could be at play.”

https://sma.org/post-viral-syndrome/

It can also trigger the “reactivation” of viruses that were already in the body. Most adults have viruses that are never killed or eliminated by the immune system. We will discuss these viruses in Part 2 of this series. 

The main issue is that the immune system over-reacts to the virus or vaccine. It is not a healthy, regulated immune response. This is the same issue with an autoimmune disease. Autoimmunity does not mean you have an overactive immune system; it means you have an immune system that is poorly regulated. Any appropriate immune system response should ultimately lead to increased health, healing, and wellness. Inappropriate responses lead to reduced health, chronic disease and even death. 

WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER LONG TERM EFFECTS, WHY?

“A new study from the Mayo Clinic found that women are more likely to experience long-term symptoms of COVID-19, also known as “post-COVID syndrome.” That’s when people have lingering symptoms of COVID-19 for months, even more than a year, after getting infected. Out of the first 108 patients in their care, researchers found that 75% of long haulers were women.”

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/post-covid-symptoms-women-differ-distinctly-from-men/

Women are also much more likely to suffer from autoimmune diseases.

COVID ‘Long Haulers’: Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

“Mild or moderate COVID-19 lasts about two weeks for most people. But others experience lingering health problems even when they have recovered from the acute phase of the illness. In such patients, there is no longer live coronavirus running amok in the body. If tested, the person would test negative for the coronavirus, but they might be severely debilitated, nonetheless.”

Heart problems after COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 infection can leave some people with heart problems, including inflammation of the heart muscle. In fact, one study showed that 60% of people who recovered from COVID-19 had signs of ongoing heart inflammation.”

Neurologic Problems after COVID-19

 “Some individuals develop medium to long-term symptoms following COVID infection, including brain fog, fatigue, headaches and dizziness.”

Autonomic nervous system problems after COVID-19

 neurologic symptoms, including continuing headache, fatigue, brain fog, difficulties in thinking or concentrating, and insomnia. “COVID-somnia” is an increasingly common complaint among COVID-19 survivors. 

Your autonomic system also plays a major role in regulating your digestive system and hormonal system. 

Mental health issues after COVID-19

After surviving COVID-19, some people are left with lingering anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-long-haulers-long-term-effects-of-covid19

Spike Proteins…what do they do? 

There has been a lot of talk about spike proteins but lets keep this simple. Viruses need way to access our cells. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) uses what are called spike proteins to accomplish this. We don’t need to give the topic any more significance than that. Maybe “spike proteins” just sounds more ominous. 

Viruses need our cells to reproduce themselves. They hijack our cells, thus infecting them, and use the cell to make more of its kind. 

“To successfully initiate an infection, viruses need to overcome the cell membrane barrier. One of the key biological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, as well as several other viruses, is the presence of spike proteins that allow these viruses to penetrate host cells and cause infection.”

https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/covid-19-rna-coronavirus-research-428952/#:~:text=COVID%2D19%2C%20short%20for%20%E2%80%9C,in%20ribonucleic%20acid%20(RNA).

Vaccinate or not? 

Let’s just go over what a vaccine is and what it is supposed to do. I think there is a lot of confusion around this topic. 

“Vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.”

Oxford English Dictionary

Vaccines are used to stimulate the immune system to make antibodies. If you get COVID and produce antibodies then you have been “vaccinated by nature.” If you currently have antibodies, then getting vaccinated does not make much sense…because you already have the purpose of a vaccine, which is antibodies. 

Below are 2 questions taken directly from the CDC website regarding vaccinations and COVID-19. 

You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19? 

“Getting sick with COVID-19 offers some protection from future illness with COVID-19, sometimes called “natural immunity.” The level of protection people get from having COVID-19 may vary depending on how mild or severe their illness was, the time since their infection, and their age. No currently available test can reliably determine if a person is protected from infection.”

If you make antibodies and you still have them, then you have the “protection” that a vaccine confers. Vaccines themselves do not fight or prevent infection. They stimulate your immune system to make antibodies and these antibodies are your protection. 

How long does protection from a COVID-19 vaccination last? 

“We don’t know yet how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. Recent studies show that protection against the virus may decrease over time. This reduction in protection has led CDC to recommend that everyone ages 18 years and older get a booster shot after completing their primary vaccination series.”

Are booster shots the same formulation as existing vaccines? 

“Yes, they are the same; but the dose may be less. “

The “protection” they are talking about are antibodies. Here is the bottom line, we don’t know how long antibodies are going to last if you get infected or of you get the vaccine. It all depends on your immune system. This is why the CDC recommends boosters (which is just getting vaccinated again). You could get COVID again if you were infected or if you were vaccinated (1, 2 or more times). 

So you will need to choose for yourself which route your prefer to take. You can have adverse reactions to being infected and you can have adverse reactions to being vaccinated. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html

 COVID -19 Part 2 will cover other viruses that are already in your body and how autoimmunity plays a role in the overall immune system response.

The purpose of functional medicine is: 

Understanding how the body works, knowing how and where to investigate health issues, knowing what to look for, understanding the significance of what is found and creating a plan of action to reverse and correct the root cause the health problems.

My wish for you…health, happiness and a better quality of life! 

If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Sexton go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations. 

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. This article is for information purposes and is not a substitute professional healthcare services. Contact our office for more information.

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