Exercise May Be 'The Most Important Medicine' for COVID-19: Study

"Exercise is the most important medicine for COVID-19," according to a recent review published in Current Sports Medicine Reports.

Over 6.4 million deaths globally have been attributed to COVID-19 as of September 2022. Vaccinations, boosters, handwashing, social distancing, and masking have proven ineffective for many, with fully vaccinated individuals becoming infected and experiencing anywhere from mild symptoms to adverse outcomes, including extended hospital stays and even death.

As new mutations continue to arrive, some researchers believe it's time to focus on using exercise as a first-line strategy in preventing and treating COVID-19 and long COVID. According to a recent American Journal of Preventative Medicine study, "Public health leaders should add physical activity to pandemic control strategies."

Clinical Evidence

According to the review in Current Sports Medicine Reports, by consistently meeting exercise guidelines, people can reduce hospitalization for COVID-19 by up to 42 percent, ICU admission by up to 38 percent, and death by up to 83 percent across major demographic subgroups and those with and without chronic conditions.

There are now over 25 studies and a meta-analysis reporting that those who were consistently inactive had more detrimental effects from COVID-19 than those who were regularly physically active.

A 2022 review published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science found that severe COVID-19 risk reduction in physically active groups can be attributed to exercise-induced immunoprotective effects, including reduced chronic inflammation. Researchers wrote, “Scientific consensus groups, including those who submitted the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, have not yet given this area of research the respect that is due.”

The Current Sports Medicine Reports study found that regular physical activity with at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity weekly exercise, or 75 minutes of high-intensity weekly exercise, gained the most significant benefit, with an 11 to 22 percent lower risk of contracting the infection.

Stuart Hoover, a naturopathic practitioner, told The Epoch Times, “Most of our population is inactive and obese, and in that situation, the body’s immune system is not up to par.”

Impact of Exercise on Organ Systems

It’s important first to understand the impact of exercise at the cellular level, starting with exerkines and their effect on all body systems. Exerkines are signaling molecules released from skeletal muscle, brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue, neurons, the heart, and the liver in response to exercise. They come in many forms, such as hormones, proteins, metabolites, and nucleic acids. These exerkines play a potential role in improving cardiovascular, metabolic, immune, and neurological health.

Even in the absence of COVID-19, exerkines have the potential to treat cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity. However, through molecular signals and pathways, exercise releases exerkines that can lessen the effects of COVID-19 and long COVID on organ systems.

Cardiovascular System

COVID-19 causes several paths of dysfunction in the cardiovascular system, including increased incidence of blood clots and high blood pressure. Additionally, COVID-19 causes inflammation in coronary arteries, which can speed up plaque formation and cause blockages in the heart. In long COVID, inflammation leads to increased problems with blood vessels that result in deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding events.

Exercise has an anti-inflammatory effect, which may help alleviate systemic heart tissue inflammation from COVID-19.

We know that COVID is a disease that affects the circulatory system, and people who exercise have healthier circulatory systems, so they are better prepared to weather a COVID storm,” Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and associate professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine, told The Epoch Times.

Multiple exerkines are released during exercise, promoting blood vessel growth, production, and function while repairing cardiac tissue, improving blood pressure, and preventing chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Respiratory System

The COVID-19 virus enters the body through the respiratory tract. Once infected, the virus replicates and spreads throughout the upper and lower respiratory tract.

Defending against COVID-19 requires healthy immune and respiratory systems. Increasing aerobic capacity can immediately affect the immune system through three mechanisms:

• It increases the amount and function of immune cells, including T lymphocytes, neutrophils, macrophages, and monocytes.
• It increases immunoglobulin IgA, which, alongside immune cells, can fight lung infections.
• It regulates inflammatory proteins with a short-term increase to fight lung infections and a long-term decrease to inhibit a reduction in lung function.

“The more we can move blood, the more we circulate robust immune cells. They’re hitting more areas of the body and finding more bacteria and viruses to attack,” Mr. Hoover said.

Exercise can even produce antioxidative effects by releasing myokines, proteins that can protect against oxidative stress-related disease and benefit the respiratory system when battling COVID-19.

Neuroendocrine and Nervous System

Neurological consequences of COVID-19 can be mild to severe, ranging from headaches and loss of smell to hemorrhagic stroke and Guillain-Barré syndrome. There have also been autopsy reports showing widespread brain lesions in the COVID-19 deceased.

Long COVID can cause devastating neurological symptoms in the brain, including tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo, brain inflammation, chronic fatigue syndrome, and anxiety and depression. Neurological symptoms can result from either the neuropathic effect of the virus or an indirect impact of neuroinflammation.

Specific exerkines released during exercise can enhance the growth and development of brain tissue and improve mood and cognition, helping to make exerkines a necessary medicine to oppose the detrimental effects of COVID-19 and long COVID.

Additionally, some of the neuro-specific exerkines released with exercise also affect the neuroendocrine system by increasing insulin uptake and mitigating the adverse effects of COVID-19 on glucose control, further evidence that exercise is a necessary medical intervention to alleviate the impact COVID-19 has on the neuroendocrine system.

Immune System

A robust immune defense is essential in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Many people with a delayed immune response can experience both pronounced COVID-19 symptoms and long COVID.

The T cell-mediated adaptive immune response is a major determinant of the clinical outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The thymus gland produces T cells; however, the highest T-cell production happens in childhood, and eventually, the gland is almost entirely replaced with fat tissue. T cells go on to survive, stored in the lymph nodes, and become active when an antigen is introduced into the body, like a virus.

Older people often have ineffective and nonfunctional T cells, making them more at risk for severe infection. “The most severe outcomes of COVID are associated with age, so we’re seeing most mortality in older people, and at any age, people who exercise may fare better,” Mr. Noymer told The Epoch Times.

People with exhausted T cells experience a delayed protective immune response during the initial infection, which causes an increase in viral load. As the virus load gets higher, T cells compensate by sending out cytokines that signal other immune cells to assist in fighting the virus. Unfortunately, this can result in a cytokine storm, an intense inflammatory response that can lead to immune cells attacking healthy areas of the body.

Exercise increases and mobilizes immune cells into the bloodstream and may directly stimulate the immune system. Exercise also releases different myokines that specifically target the thymus gland to increase T-cell output, ultimately protecting T cells from the effects of COVID-19.

Mechanisms for Repair of COVID-19 Organ Damage

A hallmark of debilitating and deadly cases of COVID-19 has been multi-organ damage, including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and spleen. Exercise releases stem cells to repair damaged heart and skeletal muscle tissue. Exercises also stimulates bone marrow to generate immune cells and release cells that help grow and heal blood vessels.

Another vital mechanism to heal damaged organs is autophagy, the cellular recycling process. The COVID-19 virus damages mitochondria, a cell's powerhouse and the body’s primary source of energy production. With every exercise session, the damaged cells of all body systems go through autophagy, cleaning up nonfunctioning, damaged mitochondria and other cells to optimize energy production and maintain skeletal muscle health.

Additional Recommendations

“I don’t know any doctor who would say exercise will hurt you,” Mr. Hoover said. “People with adrenal issues or prone to cardiovascular events need to approach exercise more slowly, but we all have to start somewhere.” He suggests increasing intensity as the body adjusts.

Research continues to show the cellular and molecular pathways and mechanisms that exercise impacts and their effects on all body systems. Such findings reinforce the assertion that physical activity can help mitigate COVID-19 infection and address currently “untreatable” symptoms of long COVID.

Mr. Noymer cautions: “It’s important for your readers to keep in mind that exercise will not prevent COVID infection entirely. Age is the most significant factor in severe COVID, and Father Time comes for us all, regardless of how much we exercise.”

Reposted from: https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/new-evidence-suggests-exercise-may-be-the-most-important-medicine-for-covid-19-post-5488292

Healthy Lifestyle and COVID: Additional and Updated Evidence

Exercise (before COVID)

Reference links on Exercise and COVID-19 studies are available on this dedicated webpage: c19early.com/ex. 

A meta-analysis of the 61 studies shows statistically significant improvements for mortality, ventilation, ICU admission, hospitalization, and cases. 

Most studies analyze exercise/physical activity levels before infection, comparing regular/moderate exercise and lower/no exercise. Risk may increase with more extreme activity levels.

Diet

As of September 2023, there are more than 25 published studies on diet and COVID-19. This is an interesting development as diet related studies were not featured on the C19early.com's home-page previously.

What kind of diet are these studies referring to? 

• The Perez-Araluce study refers to a Mediterranean diet.
• The Vietnamese Nguyen study refers to a 'healthy diet' that is defined by a higher intake frequency of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and fish.
• The Iranian Moludi study refers to a 'high inflammatory' diet as a risk factor to a more severe COVID-19.
• The Merino study of more than 500,000 participants in UK and USA showed lower risk or COVID-19 cases and severity for higher healthful plant-based diet scores.
• The Kim study in 6 countries also showed plant-based diets were associated with lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19.