Staying healthy – for NOW, for the FUTURE and for the PLANET.
When it comes to contracting Covid and surviving it, because of how infectious it is (3-5x more than the flu), you can’t do much about not contracting it if you’ve been exposed (we will probably all get it eventually), but the stats are clear about surviving it.
The healthier you are, the more likely you are to have a mild case and not get seriously sick. In the US, 94% of deaths and in Europe and China, 99% of the deaths, were in people who had at least one of 4 chronic diseases:
Obesity
Diabetes
Pulmonary diseases like asthma or COPD
Vascular disease like hypertension, peripheral vascular disease or heart disease. These almost always occur together in various degrees of severity. Vascular disease somewhere = vascular disease everywhere
Other contributing conditions include immunosuppression from autoimmune diseases or taking medications like ibuprofen regularly, kidney disease and patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. It’s not just about age but the older you are, the more likely you are to have one of those conditions and the less conditioned you probably are so it makes sense that most people are older however, we are seeing younger people dying here. Kids are significantly less affected in all regions of the world but again, the majority of the serious cases had a chronic disease.
Why is obesity #1? Because it IS a chronic condition itself, causing inflammation in the body, insulin resistance (the precursor to diabetes silently affecting millions) and all the excessive adipose (fat) disrupts hormone function. Fat cells don’t just sit there. They generate many compounds, including inflammatory compounds and hormones like estrogen, which is why there is a direct correlation between weight and breast cancer incidence.
41% of Americans are obese and another 33% are overweight. 20% of people under 20 are obese! The vast majority of people who are obese also have another chronic condition and, even if standard blood tests like a fasting blood sugar or Hemoglobin A1C (indicator of 2-3 months blood sugar average) are normal, more detailed tests looking at insulin sensitivity are likely to show resistance. The body has an amazing way to compensate for all the stress we subject it to, until it can’t. You don’t just develop diabetes or a heart attack out of the blue. Disease has been simmering in the background. Thats what happened to me. In my case, my diabetes is an autoimmune form. Why? Who knows. Probably a combination of contaminants. I was already running marathons and, although omnivorous, my diet was pretty good.
We need to get healthier not only to deal with the present Covid situation, but to deal with its resurgence in the fall, which is almost certain, as well as any other pandemics which, and probably will, occur. We have been bracing for a multi drug resistant bacterial pandemic for years now. This in fact is what the WHO has labeled as the most concerning issue threatening humanity.
80-90% of chronic disease is of our own making. It’s not genetic. What is inherited are poor lifestyle habits. For example, 85% of breast cancer cases have no first order relatives with breast cancer nor do they have any genetic markers. Less than 0.5% of cholesterol problems are truly genetic. Poor lifestyle choices are at fault and the most important one is what we eat every day.
1) EAT as much of a whole-foods, plant-based diet as you can. It’s the ONLY one studied for decades showing improvement in just about anything. Keep the salt, fat and sugar low. If you MUST eat meat, keep it clean, wild caught, organic… but I would still recommend eliminating ALL dairy. It’s poison.
2) MOVE. Although daily exercise is great, constant movement is crucial, especially as we are cooped up at home. Small, short bursts of movement is great as well as longer, slower state activity like gardening… SHort bursts throughout the day are great.
3) Manage your STRESS. To be alive is to be stressed but it’s how we respond that is the key.
4) SLEEP well. Even one night of bad sleep has a significant impact on immune response, brain fog and blood sugar responses.
5) SOCIALIZE. Stay in touch with everyone. As much as I have developed a dislike for technology, it has helped us stay in touch.
I have a lot more information and tips, a long with MANY rabbit holes, on my website doctorchuma.com
As lifestyle pioneer Dr. Dean Ornish says, “Eat well, Move more, Love more and Stress less”. By the way, his Medicare-approved lifestyle program has reversed countless cardiac plaques and has even resulted in cardiac patients, resigned to heart transplants, reverse their disease enough to no longer need a transplant. Not too shabby.
Lastly, there was a blurb on the news this morning about how we are headed for the hottest year on record worldwide with all kinds of records already being broken. The single most impactful thing we can all do to help the planet is stop eating animals. The animal agricultural industry contributes more to global warming that all modes of transportation combined, worldwide. In addition you’ll help stop the horrible suffering and slaughter of almost 90 billion animals worldwide each year.
Stay safe and be well.
AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻♂️🌎😷