Quick Show Notes – Recast: COVID-19: ICU Doc Loses 30 lbs to Reduce His Risk, with Dr. Tom Psarras (Metabolic Health Week)

Key Takeaways
Dr. K and Dr. Psarras discuss how cardiovascular disease and certain metabolic profiles are significant risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection, particularly in younger people.
Seeing so many young patients hospitalized inspired Dr. Psarras to make significant lifestyle changes to reduce his own risk of severe infection and to get healthier going forward.

Dr. K and Dr. Psarras advocate for lifestyle changes to be included in the public health toolbox of things that the population can do to protect itself against COVID-19 (along with other tools such as masking, social distancing, etc.).

Lastly, they highlight the present and future heroes of the pandemic and discuss the path forward.

A Closer Look
COVID-19 cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors
As the pandemic started to spread all over the world, anecdotal evidence began to indicate that patients with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases were much more susceptible to having severe COVID-19 infections and poorer outcomes.
This association has since been shown in larger studies indicating their roles as important risk factors for serious infection.

How COVID-19 inspired Dr. Psarras to get healthier, and how he got there?
Dr. Psarras was seeing many patients who weren’t all that different from himself, in their 40s or 50s, with these risk factors, admitted to hospital or intubated in the ICU because of a serious COVID-19 infection.

Having a BMI over 30 himself, he knew he would not be immune to these risks and set out to change this. By thinking about his relationship with food, he realized that, like many people, he was using food as a support system. Being in such a demanding career, after a difficult shift in the ICU or after a long call, he could eat the equivalent of 2 or 3 meals before going to bed. By acknowledging that this was a problem, he was able to develop a plan that worked for him, realizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
He crafted his own unique plan by picking the aspects of a variety of approaches that were most suitable to him. This plan is centered around not eating after dinner, a sort of intermittent fast until the next day, as well as incorporating healthier foods into his diet, especially low glycemic index foods.

He admits that the first two weeks were challenging, but after that, his body started getting used to it and it became easier.

This approach has worked incredibly well for him thus far, having already lost over 30 lbs.

Lifestyle change as a public health tool to fight the pandemic:
Dr. Psarras and Dr. K would love to see public health units across Canada promote healthy lifestyle changes as an additional tool that can be used to help protect Canadians from serious COVID-19 complications.

It’s important to note that these are modifiable risk factors. This is something that people can change right now, that will not only help protect them from serious complications but also improve their health for many years into the future.

The heroes of the pandemic and the path forward:
Dr. Psarras highlighted the bravery shown thus far by all healthcare professionals, PSWs, cleaning staff, etc. who, despite often being at higher risk of contracting the virus than physicians, continue to selflessly provide amazing care.

He believes that the heroes of this pandemic will now start to shift from frontline workers to other professions such as teachers and educators who play such a vital role in ensuring the proper functioning of society.

Lastly, he and Dr. K discussed the importance of using data and science when making decisions as we learn to live with this virus for the time being. It will be important to look at the cost and benefit of each decision and minimize the risk where possible to allow things like schools to open, which are of paramount importance to kids, families, and society as a whole.

About Dr. Tom Psarras​​:

Dr. Tom Psarras is a Physician, Internal Medicine & Critical Care Medicine at Montfort Hospital.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/psarras_tom
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-psarras

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