Coronavirus (COVID-19) support guide

updated 07/27/2020

There is so much you can do to positively influence immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. On this page, we’ve collected some of our favorite resources to help you support yourself, your loved ones, and your clients through these unprecedented times.

And be sure to get your hands on the tips I share in this Circle of Influence series. In this packet, I show you how using diet and lifestyle modification, you can support your immune system and create a strong, resilient internal environment.

download your Coronavirus Circle of Influence Packet

Resources to support you

click on a link below to go to the corresponding section on this page

What is Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Influence Immunity

Epic Self-Care Tips for you and yours

• Sleep & Relaxation

• Exercise & Movement

• Nutrition & Hydration

• Stress & Resilience

• Relationships & Networks

• For Parents

• Hope

Coronavirus and Autoimmunity

Anti-Inflammatory Recipe Ideas

Q & A with Andrea

Curated 15-Minute Matrix podcast episodes

What is COVID-19

Having context is the first step in being able to back it up, and understand how to take a Functional Nutrition approach.

• What is COVID-19?

• Is COVID-19 a Parasite?

• Mapping COVID 19 with Andrea Nakayama on the 15 Minute Matrix 

• Flatten the Curve

• CNN “Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction”

• The New Yorker “How Does the Coronavirus Behave Inside a Patient” by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Influence Immunity

Influence Inflammation using diet and lifestyle modification and the 3 Roots, Many Branches framework.

• Influence Inflammation using diet and lifestyle modification

• Immune SuperheroesHandout

• The Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19: Lifestyle Practices for Strengthening Host Defense

Epic Self-Care Tips for you and yours

Many people are asking – “what can I do right now to take care of my community?” And the reality is there is so much you CAN do, to take good care. We refer to self-care as tending to the  “core basics”, and they are a great place to sit in your circle of influence.

Sleep & Relaxation

Sleep and stress management are extremely important to immune health. Below are some of our favorite methods for a great night’s sleep, as well as some functional nutrition tools for mitigating sleep issues, and ideas for ways to relax in uncertain times.

• COVID-19 Community Q&A: How Can I Improve My Sleep right now?

• Setting Up Success for Sleep Support

• Functional Nutrition Tool: Sleep Assessment

• case study: insomnia through a functional lens, part 1

• case study: insomnia through a Functional Lens, part 2

• 6 Ways to Make Sure Your Weekends Still Feel Like Weekends – From Food 52

Exercise & Movement

Exercise and moving your body are critical for immune health and stress management. Given these unique times, there are more options than ever for finding a method of movement that will work for you and that you can access from the comfort of your home. Here are some of our favorite online offerings, those with a * have special pricing at this time:

• Obe

• Barre 3 online

• Down Dog App*

• LekFit

• Nike Training Club App*

• Peloton App*

• Gold’s Gym Anywhere*

• #152: Mapping Movement with Kelly McGonigal

And low-tech ways to get moving:

• Go for a walk – bonus points if in the trees

• Pick up a running habit – Running From Coronavirus: A Back-to-Basics Exercise Boom

• Yoga is a terrific practice for these times. Catch my 15-Minute Matrix episode with our very own Caroline Stahlschmidt for all of yoga’s incredible benefits. Many local yoga studios are offering LIVE online classes right now, which means you can get a solid movement practice AND feel a sense of community.

Nutrition & Hydration 

We have a whole section dedicated to anti-inflammatory superheroes below! These are some of the basics to keep in mind for food-based epic self-care.

• drink plenty of water! 

• include hydrating foods and elixirs
  

• fiber is key to keep elimination strong! Remember that strong elimination pathways are a key way that we CLEAR inflammation.

• blood sugar balance – favor whole-food snacks with fat, fiber, protein

• plant-based, anti-inflammatory foods Keep it simple – eat the rainbow!

• use your kitchen spices:
  

• coconut oil

• raw honey and bee medicine

Stress & Resilience

Uncertain times are stressful. At this moment we need to pull out all the tools we have to stay centered and ready to respond. Here are some of our favorite resilience-building practices:

• meditation 

• deep breathing 

• gratitude 

• create routine

• laughter

• journaling

• stress reduction

• joy

• for more mental health support

Relationships & Networks

We’ve been asked to socially distance, but that doesn’t mean we need to isolate! It’s important to stay connected – even when that means we need to get creative with how to do so!

• spend (virtual) time with friends, family and the coaching resources that provide the most support (and the least anxiety) 

• tune in to (only) the most reliable media sources

• tune in to beautiful ways that people are staying connected around the globe:

For Parents

A few ideas and support resources for all of you parents out there.

stress support for parents

• Parents Need Stress Relief, Too – New York Times

• self-care daily tip: the importance of relaxing rituals -with Andrea and Megan

activities for kids at home

• Bringing Hogwarts to You for Harry Potter fans! Activities, articles, craft videos – and more, with contributions from Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

• Radiolab for Kids  Kid-friendly stories curated by Radiolab. All in one bingeable spot!

health and wellness

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): What a Pediatrician Wants You to Know – From Elisa Song, MD

• COVID-19, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: What We Know is Reassuring – From Aviva Romm, MD

• self-care daily tip: pregnancy and immunity – from Andrea Nakayama

special back-to-school resources

• #153: Mapping Kids Back to School During COVID-19 with Dr. Larry Rosen

• Tips for navigating ‘back to school’ whether your kids are venturing out or not

Hope

Some really beautiful stories and innovations are emerging as people come together to support one another amidst the heartbreak of the pandemic. We want to take a moment to celebrate the good that these challenging times have inspired.

• students coming together in song

• Covid-19 Health Literacy Project  – In an effort to help patients from vulnerable communities know when and how to seek care, a group of medical students set out to create and translate accessible COVID-19 information into different languages.

Stories of Hope

• Stories of Hope – Curated by the Obama Foundation, stories of people from every corner of the globe carrying out selfless acts in this time of need.

• OnBeing A Listening Care Package for Uncertain Times

• Story Corps Stories to Lift Your Spirit

• Soup is Soup – A granddaughter learns cooking secrets from her grandma – Over Face Time From The Daily from The New York Times

COVID-19 & Autoimmunity

Do you have a question about COVID 19 and Autoimmunity? Please call our COVID-19 hotline at (888) 267-0336 and leave a message with your question. We’ll be addressing those in daily videos and in our community support sessions.

• #127: Special Release: Mapping COVID-19 with Andrea Nakayama

• Corona Virus and Autoimmune Disease with Andrea Nakayama on the Phoenix Helix podcast

• Community Question:  Is it safe to be “Immune Boosting” with an autoimmune disease?

Anti-inflammatory Recipe Ideas

Always focus on food first. It’s the safest way to get the nutrients we need without accidentally over-supplementing. 

• Functional Nutrition Alliance Pinterest – Visit our Pinterest page loaded with anti-inflammatory recipe ideas – hand-picked by Andrea and the team. 

• Immune Superheroes  – lot’s of ideas in this post – please share with your communities!

• Supporting gut health supports immune health bodywide, as most of the immune system lives in the gut. Some of our favorite foods for gut health are:

• Recommended vitamins and minerals that support immune health, and top food sources for each one: 

Some of our favorite recipes right now:

• Fire Cider Herbal Tonic

• Aloe Vera Juice

• Matcha Green Tea Elixir

• Chia Pudding

• Comforting Stew

• Miso Soup

• Aromatic Brothy Beans

• Sweet Sesame Bites

Q & A with Andrea

Andrea has been answering questions from the community DAILY to offer as much support as possible.  If you have a health or self-care question about the current situation that you’d like Andrea and the nutrition team to answer, please call our COVID-19 hotline at (888) 267-0336 and leave a message.

In the meantime, here are some clips from past community sessions:

• How can I improve my sleep? I’m having a hard time right now.

• How to manage stress eating?

• Supplement Dos and Don’ts

• What can I do to support my community right now?

• Immune support for autoimmune conditions

• self-care daily tip: pregnancy and immunity

• Should you be taking elderberry to support your immune system?

• Is now a good time to take a zinc supplement?

Curated 15-Minute Matrix Episodes 

Some of our favorite 15-Minute Matrix episodes that are supportive at this time. 

COVID-19 Special Releases

• #127: Special Release: Mapping COVID-19 with Andrea Nakayama

• #129: Mapping COVID-19 Brain Related Stress with Donna Jackson Nakazawa

• #130: Mapping the Self-isolation Ripple Effect with Dr. Mansoor Mohammed

• #131: Mapping Meal Prep In Less Than Ideal Conditions with Mickey Trescott

• #132: Mapping Self-Support with Allison Post (COVID-19 Special Edition)

• #133: Mapping NK Cells with Dr. Anahid Jewett

Stress Management

• #128: Mapping Radical Resilience with Sayer Ji

• #120: Mapping the Sympathetic Nervous System with Alex Howard

• #97: Mapping Meditation with Emily Fletcher

• #86: Mapping Stress with Brendan Vermeire

• #7: Mapping Forest Bathing with Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein

Nutrients & Botanicals to Support Immune Function

• #81: Mapping Colostrum with Dr. Marvin Singh

• #54: Mapping Frankincense with Dr. Mariza Snyder

• #53 Mapping the color Red with Deanna Minich

• #52: Mapping Short Chain Fatty Acids with Dr. Michael Ash

• #51: Mapping Nutrient Density with Mickey Trescott

• #45: Mapping Bee Medicine with Josh Gitalis

We hope these resources support you and your community to feel as empowered as possible during this difficult time. We will be updating this with new content often – so do check back! We are also very active on Instagram right now – follow us at @functionalnutritionalliance

Take good care,

By: Andrea Nakayama, FxNA Founder & Functional Medicine Nutritionist

Functional Nutrition Alliance provides the comprehensive online Functional Nutrition training in the Science & Art of the Functional Nutrition practice. Learn to address the roots of your clients’ suffering with client education, diet & lifestyle modifications.