Healthy People and the Coronavirus

Chances are your life has been significantly affected by the onslaught of the coronavirus – COVID-19 has forced the closure of schools, restaurants, gyms, salons, pretty much everything that isn’t considered “essential”. It’s an awful problem, with tens of thousands dead and many citizens suffering financially from the laws designed to protect the health of the public.

Many people have died, but many more who are infected get well – in fact, it seems that about 95% recover with no further damage or injury, while 3-5% get very ill and find their way to a hospital setting, with a percentage of those passing away. What is the difference between the 95% who are fine afterwards and the 5% who are not?

No one really knows the answer to this question, but it seems like the majority of the victims are either elderly or have a health problem that leaves them weakened and vulnerable, like diabetes, heart disease, cancer or obesity.

While it’s no guarantee, it seems logical that if you want to have a better chance to avoid serious illness, do what you can to build health and avoid unnecessary, preventable conditions. Many people with the above-mentioned predisposing factors could potentially make lifestyle decisions that might minimize the negative effects of their maladies.

Learn the basic rules of good nutrition, proper exercise, sufficient sleep, and stress reduction, so you can keep your heart, your gut, and your brain healthy – it doesn’t make you invincible, but it increases your odds of a healthy life. You obviously can’t prevent everything, but you might as well try to live in a way that gives you the best health possible.

If this time is too stressful for you to make any health changes, then once things settle down and we find more of a semblance of normalcy, it will be important to take an honest evaluation of your health. What are you doing to cause health? What actions or behaviors do you take part in to keep you as healthy as possible? In contrast, what do you do that negatively impacts your body?

We can’t be perfect and need to enjoy life, but some of us are harder on our bodies than others. It’s no surprise that the people who beat themselves up tend to be the ones who break down earlier. All in all, this scary, uncertain time is filled with a lot of unknowns, but one thing I know is that you won’t regret making the effort to take care of your body. You only get one, and if you take actions to maintain it, then the odds will be in your favor that you will feel and function much better!