There’s a lot of fear about the COVID pandemic Most people who get sick from the virus have mild cases. Would it help to calm your fears if you had an idea of what your risk for hospitalization would be? It helped me. 23 and Me offers a Hospitalization Risk Assessment survey to answer that question, Check it out here. There’s no genetic testing involve ed in taking the survey. It simply asks you to answer several questions pinpoint your risk of hospitalization should you get sick from this SARS virus.
More from Dr. Linda ...I think genetic testing is a good idea, both for ancestry and for health reasons. I found out that my maternal line is descended form Utzi, the pre-historic man found frozen in the Swiss Alps. That was cool to know. And I discovered that the stories about being descended from American Indians has no basis in fact. Some people say they don’t want to know what conditions or diseases may be lurking in their genes. That’s just putting your head in the sand. Have you heard of genetic expression? It means that the way you live affects whether a troublesome gene will ever express itself in health problems. Forewarned is forearmed. There might be some and simple modifications you can make to your diet, lifestyle or supplements you may take that can prevent a health challenge from happening.
On the other hand, if you do have a serious problem and live a righteous clean life it can help you understand why everything you do to take care of yourself isn’t getting you the level of health you desire and deserve. You might give yourself the gift of this valuable information. One of my patients who emigrated form Poland found an aunt and related family she had never met living just across the SF Bay from where she lives. That is precious.
One of the ways Dr Ng from the University of Hong Kong says you can decrease your risk of hospitalization with COVID is to make sure you have a healthy microbiome. That’s the population of good bugs that should be living in your intestines. In our last newsletter I recommended a nutritional supplement to help you do just that. You can read all about it here. As always, I am at your service for your best health! Dr Linda
Fun Fact: There are more microorganisms in your GI tract than there are known stars in the universe!
Comments