View the Show Notes For This Episode Get Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hyman Sign Up for Dr. Hyman’s Weekly Longevity Journal Get Ad-free Episodes & Dr. Hyman+ Audio Exclusives In today’s episode of my series I’m calling Health Bites, I am tackling a topic that has left an indelible mark on the world: the COVID-19 pandemic. As we navigate through new variants and climbing cases, it's crucial to unravel the reasons why so many Americans got so sick and died during the pandemic. We dig into the questions of why we as a nation were so susceptible to COVID-19’s deadly effects. I also explore why and how Functional Medicine steps in where conventional approaches stumble. This episode is brought to you by AG1, Rupa Health, and Seed. Get your daily serving of vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, and more with AG1. Head to DrinkAG1.com/Hyman and get 10 FREE travel packs and a FREE Welcome Kit with your first order. Streamline your lab orders with Rupa Health. Access more than 3,000 specialty lab tests and register for a FREE live demo at RupaHealth.com. Seed is offering my community 25% off to try DS-01® for themselves. Visit seed.com/hyman and use code HYMAN25 for 25% off your first month of Seed's DS-01® Daily Synbiotic. In this episode, I discuss (audio version / Apple Subscriber version): Why the U.S. had some of the worst COVID-19 outcomes (7:07 / 5:24) The conventional medicine approach to the COVID-19 pandemic (25:46 / 22:41) My take on COVID vaccines (28:30 / 25:25) Optimizing our immune system to prevent serious infection and disease (39:09 / 36:04) Preventing and recovering from illness using diet and lifestyle (47:19 / 44:14) Supplements to support your immune system during cold and flu season (57:00 / 53:55) Strategies for COVID infection and exposure (59:34 / 56:29) Long-COVID (1:02:51 / 59:46) Connect with Dr. Mark Hyman on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices