Bolstering the 'special ops team' inside us against COVID-19

Dr Gina Serraiocco is board-certified internal medicine and integrative medicine physician here in Silicon Valley

Dr Gina Serraiocco works on the frontline. She has seen the effects of COVID-19 firsthand and has not only diagnosed but has successfully treated over 100 sufferers of the virus.

We are seven months in to the pandemic at the time of recording healthHackers episode 52, and despite social restrictions and self-protection measures, cases are surging here in the USA. 

Dr Gina reminds us of the insidious nature of COVID-19; we are most contagious two to three days before showing any symptoms.

We are most contagious with COVID-19 two to three days before showing any symptoms

“That's the sneaky thing about this virus. Someone can look fine, be fine, even be going for a jog - and they might be spreading the virus around,” she says.

As a board-certified internal medicine and integrative medicine physician here in California’s Silicon Valley with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Sutter’s Institute for Health & Healing, Dr Gina is a major advocate of simple lifestyle changes to improve health outcomes.

While pharmaceutical companies work to develop a vaccine and treatment methods, Dr Gina focusses on helping her patients adopt evidence-based steps around nutrition, exercise, supplements and mindfulness - for supporting their immune function in the face of a virus.

Our immune system is perhaps the greatest tool we each have against COVID-19 right now.

“Think of it as having a whole special ops team inside of us,” she says.

“So when we're ‘boosting’ the immune system, it’s: how do we really make sure our special ops team are highly trained and ready to go and have all the supplies they need?“

It’s also about keeping unhelpful inflammation down.

“Let's say we have a good military inside of us, but they're fighting with each other. They're bombing and setting fires, and there's a lot of inflammation going. Well, if that's happening inside, then when an actual viral enemy comes - we're not going to be as ready to fight,” she tells me.

According to Dr Gina, one way to help those soldiers is by eating well.

“When we eat foods that are from the earth; our colorful vegetables, our fruits, our nuts - studies show this decreases the inflammation in the body,“ she says.

“I tell people: ‘If your great-great-grandma recognizes it as a food, it's a food’.”

“If your great-great-grandma recognizes it as a food, it's a food”

“If it came from a factory, if you have to open a package, if it has a bunch of ingredients that you can't pronounce - it's more likely causing inflammation and not quite serving your body and your immune system.”

Watch episode 52 to hear about the surprising effects of green tea, citrus peel and vitamin P.

What about supplements? It confuses many of us as to whether we are getting a genuine benefit or just creating expensive urine. 

“There's actually a lot of good research coming out,” she says.

“For example, we now know that when people are deficient in vitamin D, they're two times as likely to test positive for COVID.”

According to Dr Gina, daily meditation decreases inflammation in your body

Dr Gina describes a study happening at the moment in which COVID patients are being given high dose vitamin C and zinc and says the results are due next year. In the meantime, she’s made some anecdotal observations about her own patients.

“I've treated over 100 COVID positive patients now. I see that the patients who do what's being done in the study - taking high doses of vitamin C throughout the day, they've just fared much better on average than the patients that haven’t.“

Mindfulness meditation is one of Dr Gina’s expertise - and for good reason.

“We know that mindset plays a huge role in the immune system. 

“There was a meta analysis of 20 different meditation research studies, which showed regular daily meditation decreases the inflammation level in your body - the actual cytokines - the molecules that contribute to inflammation,” she says.

“There's really no wrong way to meditate,” she tells me. “It’s just about giving ourselves permission to sit down for a few minutes and just…create stillness.”

Watch episode 52 for a specific breathing exercise Dr Gina learnt from her mentor, Dr. Andrew Weil.

What about exercise?

“One research study showed that people who do moderate short exercise daily have a 40 to 50% decreased risk of cold.”

But don’t go overboard - too much exercise is associated with an increase in colds, she says.

“Thirty minutes, five days a week would be the target. You really don't have to go all out. And what I always tell my patients is any exercise is infinitely better than no exercise. If you have 10 minutes, love those 10 minutes and feel really good about it.“

An added benefit of exercise is improved brain health - a point that comes up when I ask Dr Gina about her research into preventing early cognitive decline. 

I first discovered Dr Gina’s work after watching a video of her giving a presentation relating to Alzheimer’s and dementia. You can watch it here.

“Exercise increases something called BDNF in the brain, which is like Miracle Gro for the brain.”

Whether it’s immunity or cognitive health, it’s clear Dr Gina enjoys working with the body’s own systems to prevent worst outcomes from occurring.

“Our bodies are primed to heal and stay healthy. As long as we put the good stuff in and keep the bad stuff out of the way,” she says.

I ask what it feels like to be a medical doctor during an unprecedented global pandemic. 

Her answer is simple.

“I went into medicine to serve. To serve people in good times and bad times.”

Follow Gina on Instagram.

Check out her YouTube channel.