COVID-19 is a deadly virus that targets the lungs of infected patients causing severe breathing difficulties. It is lung specific, ie the virus only has cell receptors for lung cells. It causes your lungs to gum up which means breathing becomes laboured as you struggle for breath.
The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose, mouth, or eyes when you touch them with your hands or through an infected cough or sneeze that lands on one of these three openings into your body. The secret to preventing infection is to avoid touching your face and to avoid close contact with other people as you do not know who could be infected.
People with type 2 diabetes (T2D), high blood pressure or obesity are more likely to become severely ill or indeed die if they are infected with COVID-19. However, a recent study published in the journal Cell Metabolism shows that patients who have good control over their blood glucose levels have a much better chance of surviving a bout of infection with COVID-19.
The study was carried out in Wuhan, a city in Hubei province in China, where the pandemic started. The trial involved collecting health data from 7,337 confirmed cases of COVID-19 who were admitted to 19 hospitals in Hubei. A total of 952 of these patients had T2D, of whom 282 had well-controlled blood glucose levels.
The study found that patients admitted to hospital with T2D and coronavirus needed more medical assistance and intervention than persons without underlying medical conditions. T2D patients were also more likely to die or experience the degradation of vital organs.
The study also found that T2D patients who had well controlled blood glucose levels were less likely to require medical intervention and/or ventilation. In addition, those who were controlling their glucose levels properly were significantly less likely to die and much more likely to improve their COVID-19 health outcomes compared to those who had poor control of their blood glucose levels.
So, as you can see, the answer to the question is very simple… keeping your blood glucose levels under control will give you a much better chance of surviving if you do become infected.
If ever there was an incentive for diabetics to get their act together and start beating their diabetes this must be it. Perhaps it is about time we stop being blasé about this silent killer and begin following a low-sugar, low-fat diet.
Research into the relationship between type 2 diabetes and various coronaviruses is ongoing.
