The Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19: Nutrition and Lifestyle Practices for Strengthening Host Defense.

The developing symptoms of COVID-19, as well as the progression of illness and fatality, are a clearly a function of the overall health status of the individual. Complex, chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are directly correlated with risk of disease severity and mortality. We explore lifestyle interventions that have specifically been demonstrated to strengthen host defense, reduce the probability and mitigate the severity of viral infection.

The Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19: Primer on SARS-CoV-2 Testing.

The ability to accurately identify whether individuals are at risk for, infected with, or have an immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is essential to address the COVID-19 pandemic from both a personal, clinical and a public health perspective. We investigate the clinical value of testing for the presence of viral RNA (a surrogate for infection) and the presence of antibodies (a proxy for immunity) to gather data to protect both individual and public health. We define the limitations and the practical clinical application of viral and serologic testing.

The Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19: Virus-Specific Nutraceutical and Botanical Agents.

As the novel infection with SARS-CoV-2 emerges, objective assessment of the scientific plausibility of nutraceutical and botanical interventions for prevention and treatment is important. We evaluate twelve such interventions with mechanisms of action that modulate the immune system, impair viral replication, and/or have been demonstrated to reduce severity of illness. These are examples of interventions that, mechanistically, can help protect patients in the presence of the prevalent and infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus.