Until a few days ago, I didn’t personally know anyone who contracted the virus. At least I did not “knowingly” know anyone.
I knew a lot of people who knew someone who might know someone, but nobody I was “real” friends with.
This week I heard from several people I personally know who have been diagnosed.
All took extraordinary precautions to avoid getting the virus. Yet, despite their best efforts, they contracted it.
Some are rolling with the punches while others are incredibly upset, blaming others for their lot in life. The fact is, you can do everything right and still contract COVID-19.
It’s not so much who to blame as it is looking at what you can to do minimize your risk of complications when you hear, “You’ve tested positive.”
Additionally, you can’t put your life on hold waiting for things to go back to the way they were. That is NOT going to happen. The sooner people realize this, the sooner they can get on with their day-to-day living as well as redefine what “normal” now means. But I digress.
One friend told me she had been incredibly careful, self-isolating, washing her hands frequently, not really needing to social distance since she stayed away from people and it was when she finally went out to the market (with her mask on) it got her. Within two days she had a sore throat, body aches and chills. That was her first indication something was wrong.
After 2 ½ weeks of bed rest, due to lack of energy and difficulty breathing, she is on the mend. However, there is no way of knowing the long-term impact the virus will have on her health.
From what she told me during our phone conversation; the experience was grueling.
There are others who are going through similar experiences. Feeling fine one day and without warning, they are experiencing symptoms. Most start with a sore throat, body aches, headaches, and chills.
Side-note: If you have these symptoms, you best consult your doctor or healthcare professional.
None of Us are Immune
The reality is this; none of us are immune from contracting COVID. What we have some control over is how severe it might be.
Sure, there’s always the exception of someone who was incredibly healthy, fit, ate right, did everything right and died suddenly. But for the most part, this is by far, the exception, not the rule.
As a rule, if you minimize the underlying health challenges, you minimize your risk for complications. To deny this fact is quite honestly, insane.
But a quick look around and we see there is a lot of denial going on.
Health challenges like being overweight, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, clogged arteries and hypertension increase the chances of complications, even death.
According to data released by Louisiana, New York and New Jersey, the most common conditions prevalent in deceased COVID-19 patients are hypertension (49.7%), obesity (48.3%), chronic lung disease (34.6%), diabetes (28.3%), and cardiovascular disease (27.8%).
Knowing this, why would we not do everything in our power to minimize the risk of complications? Actually, that’s not hard to answer.
It’s a known fact that being overweight, let alone obese, increases our chances of what are now common diseases. It is also a known fact that fast food, sugary foods and sodas, lack of exercise, animal and dairy products increase our chances of being overweight, but rather than do something about it, many people choose to deny their role in their health… or lack thereof.
Granted, it doesn’t help to have food manufacturers pour millions of dollars into promotional campaigns to convince us that their food is harmless. In many cases we are led to believe their product is healthy when in fact, it’s poison to our system.
As a matter of fact, as far back as 1992, the industry spent $42 million of beef checkoff money spreading the slogan “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”
Was it effective? Actually, yes! Very effective.
Consider this quote from the industry’s own website: “In the minds of the many consumers hearing that question [‘What’s for dinner?’], a dominant answer has been planted: Beef. It’s what’s for dinner. Not just planted, in fact. Watered, nourished and cared for over the past two decades.” In 2015 the beef industry was planning to spend $39 million of checkoff revenues on promotion and research, “consumer public relations,” “nutrition-influencer relations,” and countering “misinformation from anti-beef groups.” One of the checkoff websites, www.beefretail.org, is full of ideas on how to make people buy (and eat) more beef. Some examples: organizing cooking demonstrations on university campuses and student contests, providing in-store samplings of easy beef recipes, and employing influential chefs.
“Milk does a body good” is another great example of a misleading campaign. Milk does NOT do a body good. It does incredible harm.
A recent commercial by Babybel cheese attempts to convince people that cheese is a great choice; a healthy choice; the fun choice. But not just any cheese… Babybel cheese.
This is the voiceover message:
“In the world we were living in, everything was made to be appealing. Constantly tempted, life was sweet, bittersweet. All we needed was a little help. To realise another life was possible. To realise that this world actually hid another reality. And gave us the courage to change. To change for good. To change for goodness. Babybel, join the goodness.”
How incredibly misleading, but many people are completely in the dark about this.
With approximately 65 percent of the human population having a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy, people are sicker now than ever before and dairy products have a lot to do with this fact. Lactose intolerance in adulthood is most prevalent in people of East Asian descent, with 70 to 100 percent of people affected in these communities. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/lactose-intolerance
Yet, people continue to consume dairy products despite how it impacts their health and increases their chances of disease AND complications if they contract COVID.
There are people waking up to the lies we’ve been fed. The very lies that have made us sicker by the day. The very lies that have impacted young people with diseases that previously were only seen in older adults, but are incredibly common among school aged children such as Type II diabetes.
Nothing is 100%, but…
The fact is, although we can do everything right, we can still contract the virus. Yet, the severity is something we can keep in check. Sure, it’s not 100% guaranteed we won’t have complications, but the foundation of our health is something we do have control over by what we eat, how hydrated we stay, our level of movement and exercise and managing our stress levels.
There is a lot we CAN do. There is ample evidence that food consumption either works in our favor or against us. To deny this simple fact is a form of burying our head in the sand.
Without a doubt, a diet void of ALL animal and dairy products is much better for our health than one in which consumption of meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and cow’s milk is present.
The closer to whole food, plant based, the better. The science on this cannot be denied. Some of the best resources to learn more about a plant-based diet are Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger, The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and Forks Over Knives documentary. This is a starting place.
Six Foundational Steps to Better Health
When you lay a solid and healthy foundation, you increase the quality of your life on all levels. Areas to focus on are 1) food consumption 2) exercise 3) meditation 4) hydration 5) circle of influence 6) gratitude
Food Consumption
There is no doubt whatsoever that what you consume has a direct impact on your health. There’s plenty of evidence this is true.
In this post http://plantbasedeatingforhealth.com/are-you-burying-your-head-in-the-sand-with-your-health/ I go into much more detail on this.
Eating a whole food, plant-based diet is incredibly healthy and eliminates the energetic impact animal-based products have on one’s system.
When you consume animals that have been raised in cramped environments that are breeding grounds for fear, anxiety, torture, death and disease, energetically you are taking these on. The elimination of animal and dairy products is likely one of the greatest steps you can take to improve your health and your emotional and spiritual well-being.
Exercise
One of the most important things you can do for your health is to get some form of exercise. At a minimum, 20 minutes a day will benefit you.
A simple walk around the block is far more beneficial than sitting on the couch exercising your fingers on the remote control to switch on Netflix. Okay, okay, I do like Netflix, but I also LOVE exercising and what it does for my mind, body, and soul. If I had to pick one over the other, exercise would win any day of the week.
Of course, you can do more than 20 minutes. Myself, I usually run 3 – 5 miles a day. Pre-pandemic, I hit the gym 3 – 4 days a week in addition to my running.
This morning, I went out to a beautiful area to get my run in. While running, I tuned into an Annie Lenox station. During the short run (2 ¼ miles) I enjoyed Annie, Stevie Nicks and George Michael. With each song, I found myself reminiscing on the past and giving thanks for the present.
Meditation
It has been proven that meditation is one of the powerful ways to minimize stress and anxiety. There is scientific evidence as to the benefits including improved mental health, focus, concentration, improved immune system, clarity, and overall calmness in otherwise anxiety driven situation.
Not sure how to meditate? A quick visit to YouTube with the search term, “Meditation for beginners” will bring up ample choices.
If you’ve never consciously meditated in the past, start with a 5 – 10-minute meditation. That may seem like an insignificant amount of time, but, you’ll likely be amazed at how you feel after a short meditation.
Meditation also has benefits for your physical health which, at this time, is critical to minimizing complications should you contract COVID-19.
Hydration
Your body depends on water to survive. We can go without food a lot longer than we can go without fluids. Yet, the type of fluids we consume impact our health one way or another. Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to work properly. Your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste, and lubricate your joints. Water is needed for overall good health.
First thing in the morning, consume at least 8 – 16 ounces of water. You’ve gone hours without fluids and this one tip will get you started on the right foot for the day. Throughout the day, have a water readily available. If need be, set reminders to drink 8 ounces of water at least 8 – 12 times.
Circle of Influence
Who you surround yourself with is key to an overall great state of mind. Take a quick inventory of your closest friends, co-workers, business partners, spouse, and virtually anyone you spend any amount of time with.
Do you hang out with negative people who are constantly bickering, looking for the bad in every situation and gloom and doomers? Or do you surround yourself with people who lift you up, are grateful and overall, look for the good in life rather than the opposite.
Granted, some people you cannot avoid. What you can avoid though is taking on their attitude. Attitude is a choice. As has been said, “It’s not what happens that matters. It’s your response to a person, place or thing that does matter.”
Gratitude
Years ago, I heard, “a grateful heart can’t be a hateful heart.” With the amount of anger, hate and fear exhibited by many people, one of the best ways to personally combat this is to focus on what you have to be grateful for.
Although your gratitude won’t cure the world of all that ails us, it will allow you to live in a much calmer state of mind.
Our body has a chemical reaction to gratitude. Focusing on what I am grateful for has become part of my everyday mindset. I start my day with a morning ritual that includes focusing on what I have to be grateful for. When we focus on what we are grateful for we tend to have more to be grateful for.
Read more about morning rituals CLICK HERE
Use Each 24 Hours Wisely
Here’s the deal, we are all given 24 hours in a day. How we fill the hours determines our quality of life. Sure, there are “must do’s” in everyone’s day. We can go through our day with resentment, fear, anguish, and anger about our lot in life, thereby damaging our immune system. Or we can choose to have an attitude of gratitude and know that often the roadblocks in life are there to serve our highest good. We are only privy to a small glimpse of what life has in store. There are mysteries, surprises, and forces at work for us.
As has been said, “The Universe is conspiring for my good in all things at all times.”
When we believe, to our core, that the Universe is conspiring for our good, amazingly, life becomes an exciting journey no matter if we are washing the dishes, cleaning our home, talking with a friend, walking in nature or simply saying, “Thank you. Thank you for my health. Thank you for my abundance. Thank you for my creativity. Thank you for all the good in my life. Thank you.”
