Feature Dr. Loy Anderson, herself a survivor of COVID-19, reports that while a healthy lifestyle may mitigate the severity of this virus, it does not guarantee immunity. In fact, several of her own patients were hospitalized with the disease.
Engulfed! A World in Crisis Photo by Callie Brown
Reports from Burman alumni describe how dealing with a massive pandemic has affected their professions and their workplaces
So I will share just a few things I know for sure. I know for sure it is not a hoax, a terrorist attack, or a political ploy— though it has certainly been adopted by all kinds of groups for political reasons. I know for sure that most people are recovering, and that most people who are dying from COVID-19 have at least one if not more underlying chronic health condition. And I know for sure that the only true defense is a strong and healthy immune system. It therefore stands to reason that, if nothing else, COVID-19 should be a wake-up call for the need to optimize one’s health—not just to lower the risks of contracting or even dying from it, but to lower the risks of a host of other chronic lifestyle-related diseases as well. Yet at least two out of three people in the United States, where I practice, have one or more chronic health conditions. My mission is to help people discover any underlying problems. I teach my patients how to support and
Infectious diseases can spread with extreme rapidity, threatening the health and lives of regional communities or global populations.
Editor’s Note: The news is grim. Here’s a small sampling: Refrigerated trucks, converted to serve as temporary morgues, are pulled up beside hospitals. Hundreds of thousands of families world-wide are in mourning. People are out of work; companies are fighting to survive. Schools and universities struggle to transition from face-to-face instruction to online learning. And Florida police report they are using helicopters to stop “COVID parties” where people apparently mingle to try to spread the virus. Because our society has experienced so many changes in response to COVID-19, we asked five alumni how the pandemic has shaped their professional practices.
Loy Anderson, MD Thriven Functional Medicine Clinic From Great Falls, Montana, Loy Anderson writes, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, is certainly very real and has affected us all, some in small and some in very big ways. One of the most devastating effects (aside from those caused by a faltering economy) is the disease’s effect on people’s mental health, largely due to fear, helplessness, and isolation. I by no means consider myself an expert on COVID-19. Even the best infectious disease, virology, critical care, and epidemiology experts continue to learn more about this pernicious virus.
nourish their minds, bodies, and spirits so they can heal. I show them how to improve and optimize the immune system, which, by very definition, God gave to defend and protect us, allowing us to go forth in the world with boldness and confidence. One of my favorite Bible verses says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” II Timothy 1:7
I believe our health is our most precious resource, and our best tool for living a life of freedom and confidence, one that is pleasing to our Creator. 5
