With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and doom and gloom in the news headlines, we felt compelled to send a message of hope and encouragement to our patient base.

You may have recently seen that COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing nationwide and, in particular, in specific communities. The numbers are certainly on the rise in Grand Junction. We understand that some of this is due to an increase in testing. There is also increased utilization of the new rapid test with a much higher false positivity rate than the typical 4-6% with the PCR testing that most counties had been using. For example, in Ohio, they are now doing 60,000 tests a day and have switched over to the more rapid testing with a higher false positivity rate. The positivity rate is currently 8.4% among those tested, yet their hospitalizations are low, and their number of deaths continues to fade.

We see similar trends in Colorado with increased cases yet declining deaths.

Our encouragement would be to take the "case "numbers with somewhat of a grain of salt. It's more important to look at hospitalizations and death rates from COVID-19. Also, something to consider would be flu infections and flu deaths. Those numbers have wholly fallen off and have flatlined this year. We know we have not cured the flu in 2020. Those numbers are likely getting counted in with the Covid infections and Covid deaths. Also, we are looking at the weekly US deaths from all causes. As you can see from the graph below, we are almost back to normal. (orange line)

Rimrock Wellness Center considers itself to be a partner with you in your health and wellness. While masking and social distancing is debatable on its effectiveness, we find other prevention steps to be essential to consider. Our approach to infectious diseases like cold and flu has always been the same; if you are sick, stay home. Wash your hands as frequently as needed during the day and take personal responsibility for your health. This means being proactive with your health and wellness. Below are some health and wellness recommendations for your consideration.

Obesity:

It is undisputed that the number one risk factor for complications and death with COVID-19 infection is obesity and metabolic syndrome, which includes insulin resistance and prediabetes. People with diabetes are at an even more increased risk. To that end, we recommend gaining and maintaining a healthy body mass index.

Stress management:

We also recommend maintaining low levels of stress as we know that stress increases our cortisol output, which depresses our immune system.

Nutritional Supplements:

There is new and emerging evidence to support the maintenance of adequate Zinc (1,2) and Vitamin D (3) levels in the blood. Both are important for the prevention of COVID-19 infection, and those individuals with sufficient levels that do contract COVID-19 have much better outcomes. Other supplement recommendations would be Vitamin C and Quercetin (4).

Rimrock Wellness recommends an adult daily regimen of:

1000 mg of Vitamin C

5000 IU of Vitamin D3

500 mg of Quercetin

20 to 50 mg of Zinc

We plan to roll out our Covid-19 Defence Supplement Package in the next couple of weeks, so look out for that in our office and on our website store https://www.rimrockwellness.com/shop-online

Additionally, adequate sleep, a healthy diet (such as the Paleo diet, which is generally low carb), and stress management would be very beneficial in preventing as well as treating COVID-19.

Lastly, we cannot forget the importance of a properly functioning nervous system that controls and regulates the immune system. Chiropractic adjustments precisely correct nerve interference in the spine and help maintain normal nervous system function. Staying consistent with your and your families' chiropractic care can help keep a properly functioning immune system and properly working immune system.

1. https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/10/26/zinc-for-covid.aspx

2. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.07.20208645v1

3. https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgaa733/5934827

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7318306/