I was doing my morning meditation using the Calm app, where the theme was World Health Day. To me, every day should be “health day” but we need constant reminders of what we should be doing and remembering. Breast cancer awareness month, world pizza day, diabetes week, Mother’s Day (every day should also be Mother’s Day by the way)… Physical and mental health really need a kick in the ass given the horrible health statistics in this country, and most developed countries for that matter. Canada is not that far behind. The US, of course, is the least healthy developed society on the planet with the lowest life expectancy rate and highest chronic disease rate. I’ve quoted many stats in the past like a 42% obesity rate and another 30% overweight population (that’s ¾ of the US population overweight or obese!!!) along with almost half of Americns on statins. Heart disease and “adult diabetes” in kids and teens… This pandemic has done nothing to kick people in the butt to get healthier. More people have put on weight than have lost. In addition to all the Covid deaths, cardiovascular deaths have also risen, not to mention more violent crime, especially gun violence. Although people argue that they are exercising less because of Covid (a cheap excuse if you ask me), as the saying goes, “you can’t out-exercise your mouth”! One of my other favorite sayings is “If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way, if it’s not, you’ll find an excuse”.
The media does not help either. I don’t know if it is my imagination, but there seem to be even more ads for pharmaceuticals and processed food than pre-pandemic. These industries have a captive audience and they are taking full advantage. Just like the shysters taking advantage of people after hurricanes or the telemarketers abusing naive elderly people and robbing them of their savings.
During my obligatory news update this morning, I was so shocked by a Coke commercial that I rewound it several times to make sure I got the wording right. It shows an elderly man, laying by a pool in a warm climate, no mask, no distancing, lounging in a chair as a young person was watching him with envy as he drank his diet coke. Below is the transcript.
“They say only old people drink Diet Coke. Maybe they drink it because it tastes good. Or maybe, they do it because their secret to making it through this life is drinking and doing whatever they want. So listen to your elders. Drink up”.
And the saddest part is that people believe it.
This is a purely evil message. On so many levels. Full of chemicals which destroy the gut lining, sugar sweetened beverages are the most significantly impactful Standard American Diet component which contributes to obesity and the “0” calorie artificially sweetened beverages are even worse. I have lots of info on my website as to why that is the case, but it is absolutely true. Coke recently also launched a series of ads promoting how environmentally friendly they are because of their recyclable cans and bottles. What a load of crap. Although it’s important to recycle, it’s more important not to buy, buy, buy in the first place. Less than 3% of what you put in the recycling bin actually gets recycled. The rest is thrown out and it ends up in the oceans, landfills and in our own bodies as microplastics.
How frustrating to hear such crap in the media. How insulting to our elders. If my grandparents, immigrants from Ukraine, who worked their fingers to the bone and struggled to survive to make a life for their families, heard such nonsense, they would be appalled.
“Drinking and doing whatever they want” is what got us into this mess in the first place. Not just the pandemic, caused by people keeping animals not meant to co-mingle, all for the purposes of eating them, but also the now self-propagating climate disaster we are facing, not to mention the social problems our societies face. Looking out for and helping others is the key.
Back to eating and drinking what you want, the attitude that “I can eat a little more steak or consume a little more sugar since I am on a statin or a diabetes medication” is very narrow-minded. The drugs lower the numbers, not the cause of the disease, which continues to flourish in the body. No study has ever shown that diabetics who normalize their blood work with drugs, but don’t change their lifestyle, have any improvement in death from cardiovascular disease, the #1 killer of diabetics. Fix the problem, don’t just manage the disease.
The same attitude of selfishness is what is allowing the pandemic to continue to flourish. Masks are partly to protect you, but they are mostly to protect everyone else. This pandemic will “normalize” somehow, but we will just experience another one if we do not stop thinking about ourselves in selfish ways. Vaccination protects you, and protects everyone else, but you STILL need to be careful. 95% effective means that 5% still get sick. How many get a much shorter course after exposure is not clear. We do know that vaccination also lowers transmission, but again, it is not 100% and when less than half the country is not yet vaccinated and there is an upsurge in variant viruses, less responsive to vaccination, we MUST continue to be careful.
The mantra still remains in effect:
MASK UP. Can you let up if all parties are vaccinated, probably, but know your audience.
DISTANCE. Can you let up if everyone is vaccinated and careful, sure, but again, do so carefully and in controlled situations.
WASH your hands. Hygiene is still important.
VENTILATE. As part of the relaxation on masking and distancing, ventilation is such an easy way to increase safety. Gather outside. Keep windows open. Use fans and filters.
VACCINATE. Even if you had Covid. Especially if you have long term symptoms. Studies show that at least 40% of “long-haulers” experience improvement in symptoms after vaccination. We don’t know why, but it helps. If you have concerns about vaccines, educate yourself or ask questions. The vast majority of concerns are unfounded, bolstered by media hype. Get whichever one is offered. My dad sent me a link to a great YouTube video by a Canadian Pulmonologist summarizing the vaccines.
GET HEALTHY!!!!! Will an occasional Diet Coke kill you? No it won’t, but if most people really take stock in what they consume daily or weekly, in my experience, thay are almost always surprised by how much poor-quality food they consume. With improved weather, one more barrier to movement and exercise is gone. Get out there. Don;t be silly and wear a mask if you are riding a bike or walking in the park with no one around. Don’t be paranoid but do what makes sense, not only for you, but for everyone.
Stay safe and be well.
AC ✌️ 🌱