** Nearly two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the CDC has finally published an easily accessible webpage that outlines the risk factors for those susceptible to the coronovirus (see here). Please remember steroids are a treatment for respitory disease as well as a risk factor for infection. Stay informed and healthy.
** January 10, 2022 -- From Whoopi Goldberg and Savannah Guthrie to several members of Congress, journalists and politicians, alike, are coming to terms with their part in spreading the false narrative that coronavirus could be controlled. Nature does what it needs to do to keep this planet viable. It does not harm people without reason. Nature's rules for a health life are not necessarily the same as what popular culture promote. Coronavirus was here before 2020 and will continue to be here long after 2022 is over. All the vaccines in the world will not change that. Be Safe. Be Healthy.
**Update: Dec 10,2021 (reuters.com)- As of this date, the CDC has reported that of the 43 persons identified as positive for the Omicron variant, most are fully vaccinated and one third of them have received a booster.
As I sit here this morning listening to the local and national news go on and on about Omicron, the latest Coronavirus variant, I cannot keep from shaking my head in sad resignation. From the beginning of this very natural, to-be-expected crisis, Nature was not going to be cornered nor controlled. It had a message for humanity and like a good parent, it was, and still is, willing to cause some pain in order to see that this long over due reality check is delivered.
No one is sadder about the lives lost than this writer. In this small rural community, the death count does not make the evening news nor are there cameos of stressed healthcare workers pleading for people to get vaccinated.This community knows the cost of this pandemic--in friends and family that are now gone as well as the delay of future plans and the cautiousness which impacts every decision.
Neither God nor Nature is punishing humanity for indescribable sins. The responsibility for this outbreak is firmly on the shoulders of those who, like Dr. Anthony Fauci and public policymakers, promote expensive healthcare over good health habits. As is taught in public health classes, natural health is a fine-tuned balance of environmental principles. Cleanliness, proximity (social distancing) and adequate nutrition (not just food) support good health in a way that healthcare alone cannot. When any of these factors is ignored or substituted with vaccines and drugs, pandemics occur. This is the point Nature is trying to make.
With every new variant, Nature says "I told you so!" and it will continue to shake its finger at those in power until modern civilization understands there are limits to how much it will bend for the sake of man's ego. The wish to rid the world of illness and suffering may be a religious goal but in terms of how this Earth operates, it is a desire of man, not a function of Earth's creation.
In nature, illness has a purpose and that purpose is as much to support life as to hasten death. To live long healthy lives, immune systems must be tested from time to time. Exposure is not enough for there to be a strong antibody response. Ironically, modern medicine is based largely on countering the very principles of immunology. No vaccine, antibiotic or drug works well unless it works in concert with nature. To come out of this, citizens around the globe need to embrace grandmotherly wisdom that served mankind for several thousand years when healthcare was more or less non-existent.
Illness Prevention Through Nutrition
The science of health is neither complicated nor difficult to manage. That said, the current mindset downplays nutritional needs in favor of drugs and strict lifestyle guidelines--neither of which is based on nature. Health, like most natural processes, works best when moderation and the 'big picture' are kept in focus. Here, three basic suggestions and the reasons they work, are offered as one way to lessen the grip of COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status.
Protein Every Day at Every Meal
For fifty years, medical professionals have fostered a mindset that protein and fat are less desirable than plant based carbohydrates. The problem, and ultimate consequence of this strategy, is a reduction in the body's ability to repair itself and effectively respond to infection and disease. Like making chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips, a life without a steady influx of quality protein is missing something important when it comes to overall health.
As COVID-19 challenges modern medical philosophy, those who follow a "healthy??" diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and grains need to understand that no amount of vaccine or booster shots can duplicate the antibody response fueled by high quality protein. Good protein sources include red meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk (not almond milk), cheese, nuts and dried beans. Measurable amounts of protein every day at every meal are the best option for keeping cell tissues in good repair. This can also help avoid the side effects (diabetes) of a carbohydrate heavy diet. Minimum daily amounts should be calculated on weight, not age or caloric intake. A good minimum for adults is 25 grams per day for every 100 pounds of weight. ( John Hopkins Protein List )
Rethink Alcohol Use
Throughout much of recorded history, fermented liquids such as wine, ciders, ales and spirits, served to supply people with a high quality jolt of micro-nutrients. Both tasty and capable of being stored for longer periods of time, these drinks complemented a meal with water being served as a source of fluid. Today, however, changes in production and storage methods have altered the drinks themselves. Regrettably, modern vintages offer few benefits other than a mind altering buzz.
Setting morality and social recrimination aside, the bottom line is that today's alcoholic beverages are no healthier than a can of carbonated soda. They can even cause the body to pause its immune response as it focuses on ridding the system of alcohol (a complex molecule that is broken down in the liver rather than the stomach). This process can increase the risk for contracting any type of communicable disease from Covid and the flu to some types of food-borne illness and hepatitis.
The question to ask yourself is whether the risk of illness is worth the pleasure gained from the beverage.
Stick to a Routine
Particularly during this pandemic, the last thing most of us want to do is stick to a routine. That said, as a living entity, the body works best when it can depend on a predictable lifestyle. A sleep schedule, regular meals and daily down time are far better at preventing illness than public health advocates admit. While cleaning and hand washing have their place in daily life, there is such a thing as being too clean. Allowing the body to run through its built-in system of prevention allows for the immune system to create antibodies to any and every attack on the immune system.
As is evidenced by the cultural differences of daily life around the world and throughout history, there is no right or wrong routine as long as it works for the individual and can be maintained with little or no effort. Do we really believe that for five thousand years, every living person on the planet worked hard enough get his heart rate up to 100 for at least five days each week? Health comes in many forms as does ways to prevent major illness.
Forever COVID
As the world's mortality rate takes a slight jump and its population is estimated to drop for the first time since the Spanish Flu in 1917-18, what health professionals quietly keep to themselves is that the COVID virus is neither new nor controllable. In fact, seasonal variations, like Omicron, happen so regularly during the winter months, no one bothered to test for it, until 2020.
Moreover, experiments to produce a workable vaccine for animals and humans have been held in many facilities for well over 40 years without conspiracy theories and wild accusations. No vaccine has ever worked for more than a few months. That should tell all of Earth's citizen something about the future. COVID has always been here and is here to stay.
Nature now has another high powered tool to use in its goal to bring human health back into balance with the environment. As long as pharmaceutical companies promote artificial immunity over natural protection, Nature will be comfortably waiting to say, "I told you so!" when the next health crisis hits Planet Earth.
