Journal of Metabolic Syndrome

COVID-19 World Tour: Glucose fan-support

Abstract

Jake Van Wyk, Nick Banfield and Kelly Gibas*

In this unprecedented period of quarantine, countless questions are purported about COVID-19. While the scientific community searches for answers, the rest of the world is desperately waiting for evidence-based methods of prevention. Yet, one method has been known in virology for decades; viral replication depends on a glucose environment in the host. In fact, pre-existing metabolic dysregulation cripples the immune system and increases susceptibility to pathogens. According to figures by the US Department of Health (30 March, 2020), diabetes, pre-diabetes, kidney disease and obesity mark the most dangerous comorbidities in COVID-19 deaths. Patients with chronic metabolic comorbidities including strokes, CHD/CVD, unregulated diabetes and hypertension comprise 95% of New York and 99% of Italy’s COVID-19 deaths Older adults and those with serious underlying medical conditions are at the highest risk for developing the most severe complications from the Coronavirus. Complications arising from comorbidities often have their deepest roots in poor nutrition. Reversing metabolic pathology to increase systemic immunity via reversal of glucose dependency and restoration of metabolic inflexibility has been well established in the literature. The lethal impact of COVID-19 and of future viral pathogens could be greatly diminished by stabilization of metabolic fuel flux through nutritional modifications, which are easily measured and tracked via reductions in the following inexpensive blood tests: HgA1c, HOMA-IR (Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance-fasting blood glucose/fasting insulin), triglycerides and the triglyceride/HDL ratio. Establishing self-efficacy through patient-centered biological education with implementation of bio-individualized lifestyle coaching holds great promise to slow the worldwide trajectory of underlying metabolic conditions associated with poor COVID-19 prognosis. This review examines the physiological mechanisms of metabolic flexibility, the importance of the nutritional status of the host in viral infection and the influence of glucose dependency on viral replication, namely COVID-19.