From the Desk of Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC.....

COVID-19 can sometimes overwhelm young and old immune systems and in some cases can result in ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome’ pneumonia and death (CDC (2020). The risk is greater for older people who may simultaneously be dealing with cancers, heart disease, diabetes, emphysema or other health issues.  As we age the immune system deteriorates  (immunosenescence) which reduces the response of the adaptive immune system that needs to respond to the virus infection (Aw, Silva & Palmer, 2007; Osttan, Monti, Gueresi, et al., 2016).

Severity of disease may depend upon initial dose of the virus

In a brilliant article, How does the coronavirus behave inside a patient? We’ve counted the viral spread across peoples; now we need to count it within people, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and cancer physician Siddhartha Mukherjee points out that severity of the disease may be related to the initial dose of the virus.  Namely, if you receive a very small dose (not too many virus particles), they will infect you; however, the body can activate its immune response to cope with the infection.  The low dose exposure act similar to vaccination.  If on the other hand you are exposed to a very high dose then your body is overwhelmed with the infection and is unable to respond effectively.  Think of a forest fire. A small fire can easily be suppressed since there is enough time to upgrade the fire-fighting resources; however, during a fire-storm with multiple fires occurring at the same time, the fire-fighting resources are overwhelmed and there is not enough time to recruit outside fire-fighting resources.

This blog is based upon research on breathing that Dr. Erik Peper, Ph.D. began in the 1990s, This  research helped identify dysfunctional breathing patterns that could contribute to illness. He developed coaching/teaching strategies with biofeedback to optimize breathing patterns, improve health and performance (Peper and Tibbetts, 1994; Peper, Martinez Aranda and Moss, 2015; Peper, Mason, and Huey, 2017).

Because of the Corona virus scare, people have been asking what they can do about it.  In addition to being a doctor of chiropractic, I'm also a certified clinical nutritionist, certified functional medicine practitioner and have been helping chronically ill people for 36 years.

Who is at risk with the Corona virus?  Those whose immune systems are compromised, and people who are malnourished.  Also, older people are more susceptible. If you are not immunocompromised or malnourished, you aren't going to die.  And there is no reason to panic.

Here's some of the things you CAN do:

In the closing days of World War I, a deadly form of influenza ("flu") appeared. The influenza pandemic of 1917-1918 claimed more lives than the war.

One day you woke up, looked at the piled-up candy wrappers on your bedside table and the running shoes that haven’t seen the light of day since you bought them and decided today was the day. Today was the day you decided to turn your life around and start living a healthy lifestyle. Have you abandoned your goal yet? If there are so many barriers to healthy living, how can we possibly meet our goals? It turns out that we're not doomed to failure, we're just going about the pursuance of our goals all wrong. Here's how you can set a goal you can stick to no matter what time of year you set it.

People are slowly coming to understand that while CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) both come from the Cannabis plant, they are quite different compounds.

Namely, unlike THC, CBD will not make you high.

Cannabinoids are compounds that interact with the body's endocannabinoid system (ECS), a complex, body-wide cell-signaling system designed to help maintain homeostasis, or balance in the body.

You can learn more about the ECS and CBD in my other posts on my blog.

Your endocannabinoid system (ECS) is active even if you don’t use cannabis

This confuses a lot of people. If the ECS has nothing to do with using cannabis, then why was it named after the plant?

For years, the topic of CBD for medical use was controversial. However, now that it has been approved for general use in the US, CBD (cannabidiol) is now widely researched and used for a variety of health conditions.

CBD is NOT psychoactive. While both cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) come from the Cannabis plant genus, they are quite different compounds:

• THC is known for its psychoactive effects (ie: the "high" feeling).
• CBD is not a recreational drug and doesn't offer the psychoactive effects of THC.