Here we go again…maybe? As a country, our COVID-19 numbers have gone back to moving in the wrong direction. We enjoyed a slight plateau, even a bit of a drop in cases, for a short while. However, we have reversed that trend, which has the unfortunate consequence of generating another one of these emails from me :) Previously, I’d written about the likelihood of a “second wave”. This is not a second wave though. What we are seeing now is the extension of the first wave, moving into regions beyond where the pandemic first struck the US. More than half of all states are seeing rising case numbers ..read more

What have we learned? I was recently asked by a patient, “So what’s new with COVID? Is there anything we’ve learned recently?” Ok, maybe I’m paraphrasing a bit, but that was the gist of it. The question made me realize that perhaps it’s a good time for a quick review of where we stand now. To keep it simple(r), I’ll do this in a bulleted fashion. The degree of risk after infection is dependent on a patient’s baseline health. Those with pre-existing conditions and certain metabolic health concerns are more likely to suffer severe illness or death. Conversely, if you are healthy, fit, and ..read more

In today’s email, I’m going to take a look at one of the main risk factors during this pandemic. A patient’s metabolic health when infected is a primary determinant of how they will fare. It’s a dense topic with far-reaching implications, so the goal here is to simply start to look at this issue. Also, as a Podium patient, you now have a resource for antibody testing wherever you live! In today’s email: Risk of Obesity LabCorp Antibody Testing Obesity and COVID One thing we continue to see with this pandemic is that a patient’s experience with SARS-CoV-2 is often related to their health ..read more

Did you think I forgot to send an update last week? Since I’d hit you with 2 emails the week prior, I figured it was best to give it a rest. My goal is not to overburden your inbox. I just want to get you some useful and unbiased info as things continue to evolve. Depending on how circumstances progress, emails like this may move to being biweekly at times. Today, I’m going to dig into the issue of immunity and all the questions that surround it. We’ll also take a look at the effects of Vitamin D status on those that contract COVID-19. For your reference, all of our prior COVID Email Updates h ..read more

A Pandemic of Misinformation This is definitely the part of the pandemic that has sickened me the most. The internet seems to be overflowing with misinformation on every aspect of coronavirus physiology, prevention, and treatment. Some is surely well-intended but entirely misguided. Others seem to be doctors and health practitioners using the current situation to gain followers and/or sell products. I assure you, the doctors and scientists who are making the greatest contributions toward solving this problem are not relaying their findings to the general public via YouTube. The pace of researc ..read more

In today’s email: Long Term Complications of COVID Is A Second Wave of Infection Coming? Stay Positive and Make Progress Long Term Complications Gone are the days of considering COVID infection to be “just a bad flu”. We recognize that the mortality rate, even with the most conservative estimates, is many times that of influenza. Fortunately though, it does seem to be considerably lower than initially thought. In addition to mortality (death), we need to also consider morbidity (injury) from the illness. A forty-five year old who suffers a massive stroke may not die from COVID, but the ..read more

Lockdown continues, but there are some shimmers of hope starting to peak through. The Tour de France is scheduled for September. The PGA will fire back up in June. MLB is kicking around some ideas for getting back to work as well. It could very well be the case that none of this happens as they are planning, but it’s great to see some movement toward a return to (what is likely a new) normal. This is a good time to look back and remind ourselves of personal goals which were set at the outset. What were your goals for yourself during this time? How is that looking right now? I want to than ..read more

When I started sending these emails, I didn’t really think about what it would look like in Week #6. I just wanted to get some information out to you, my patients. But here we are, plugging right along with our social distancing. Importantly though, I’ve been encouraged to hear all that you are doing to take advantage of this time! Podium patients are sleeping more, training with intention, paying better attention to their diet, and maybe enjoying an extra drink at night. (Three out of four isn’t bad!) I want to thank each and every one of you for your understanding during this time! As s ..read more

By most expert estimations, we are heading into some difficult and critical weeks. As we do so, don’t forget our initially-stated goal of using this time to strengthen your body and mind. We’ll keep seeing lots of bad news in the press, but there is some positivity as well. As I’ve talked to patients in the past week or two, almost everyone has commented on how they are enjoying more family time and a different pace to their life. I’ve been reviewing sleep data as well, and Podium patients have added about 35 minutes to their nightly rest, on average! Let’s not sugar-coat this situation, but l ..read more

If there is one thing we know with certainty, it that there is no certainty at this moment. The medical, social, and economic landscape seems to change hourly. Given that, and due to requests from many of you, I’m going to send out updates irregularly, every week or so. And while I’m typically a stickler for grammar, punctuation, and multiple edits, these updates will be a bit looser, coming to you as I finish typing them. Please forgive the errors I’m sure to make! Here’s the latest update. In it, I will address the following: The Young and Healthy are Getting Seriously Ill My Thoughts on ..read more