Coronavirus exposed how unhealthy Americans are. When there are, "underlying factors" that contributed to the loss of lives, it wasn't that people died because of Covid, it's because they already had a weakened immune system that couldn't fight off infection. Individuals who were/are healthy have a much higher degree (over 98%) of overcoming the disease. As flu season approaches, we should be looking at those underlying contributing factors and make some changes while we still can.
So what are some of those underlying causes that contributed to Covid deaths and continues to contribute to death?
One in three people have high blood pressure. That means 70 million people are at risk for a heart attack.
The average person eats 3 pounds of sugar A WEEK. Sugar is in everything, and it is contributing to Alzheimer, Diabetes, and heart disease. Sugar also contributes to harming your immune system by increasing inflammation which makes you vulnerable to disease.
Chronic stress is deadly and can increase heart disease by 15%. Fear, worry, or pessimism manifests in stress and lowers your ability to fight off disease.
Grief and loneliness contribute to the release of stress hormones. Repeated stress over a long period of time damages the body and mind.
Sleep deprivation is another area challenging Americans.
This are some simple steps you can do to increase health so you can fight off illness:
Stop Smoking and limit or stop alcohol consumption.
Eat green veggies or have a salad every day to replace nutrients depleted by blood pressure medicine.
Symptoms of excessive sugar intake are fatigue, confusion or brain fog, weakness in arms and legs and whole-body aches. Pick one item in your diet that has high sugar and remove it. Do it again.
Find a place where you can meditate or pray. Forgiveness reduces stress. Having a friend or companion who you can do things with will make a huge difference in improving healthy living. Socializing, laughing, and someone to hug releases chemicals in the brain that improves functioning. Physical touch, tenderness, and compassion for others elevates positive emotions and decreases the impact of stress.
Walk 10,000 steps a day. Healthy living starts with physical activity. Take a walk daily, take the stairs (20 minutes 3x week). Cardio and resistance bands or weight training gets you on the road to health. Excessive sitting creates chronic sickness. Exercise moves blood flow through your body and moves negative toxins out of your system. Do something you enjoy. Hang out with people you like, and even if you don't like the exercise, you are more likely to work out if you are talking and laughing with others.
80% of our health is determined by our gut health. The more diverse bacteria in our gut, the healthier we are. A balanced diet helps you have a balanced gut, mind, and body. Eat food that has color. A burger and fries don't give your body any beneficial nutrients. If this is a staple to your eating, you are damaging your health and can get leaky gut, insulin resistance, and develop cancer, heart, and other diseases. Eating foods of multiple colors, red, green, yellow, orange, blue and purple feeds both your mind and your body. Water Cress is the new superfood. Eat yogurt, pickles, and sourcrout. When you eat healthy you will benefit in weight loss, mental clarity, and have more energy. It all starts with what you put into your body.
If you are sleeping less than 6 hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep, you are sleep deprived. When you get under 6 hours of sleep your blood supply has lower production of T-Cells, which is your natural protectant against infections. An hour prior to going to sleep, turn off technology. Make sure your bedroom is dark and cool. Try to go to bed and wake up routinely at the same times, even on the weekend. A sleep routine will train your body when you are ready for sleep.
Our gut influences our brain and can make us more sensitive to our environment and elevates anxiety, depression, and emotional destabilization. Antibiotics are in the food we eat because it's in the food of the animals we eat. When we eat beef, pork, lamb, and chicken, unknown chemicals enter our blood stream and are destroying the good bacteria in our gut. Our digestive system becomes damaged. Limiting the amount of animal products, add probiotics and prebiotics, and eating more colorful fruits and veggies will help heal your gut over time.
Drink water. If your urine is dark yellow (and you are not taking vitamins), or brown, you are not drinking enough water. Your urine should be pale yellow in color.
Adding these vitamins to your daily routine is a simple place to begin the change of healthy living:
Multi Vitamins - (missing in our foods)
Vitamin C & D (immune support)
Omega 3 - Fish Oil (fights depression)
Echinacea - (fights colds and flu)
Probiotics & Prebiotics- (gut health)