The Pandemic is a call to action

As we approach the FIFTH month of this life altering COVID-19 Pandemic in America…

While all of us are clearly susceptible, you know by now that the CDC lists two categories of people who are most at risk of severe illness: older adults and people with underlying medical conditions -- which is a pretty broad category and most definitely includes those with autoimmune disease, particularly those with active autoimmune flare ups and/or who are on immunosuppressant medications.  

Now more than ever we are seeing clearly just how much poor health impacts us in the present, not just the future.

It’s no wonder that America is being hit with a shockingly high number of cases.  According to diabetesresearch.org, 34.2 million Americans have diabetes.  The CDC says that about 42% of adults are obese, about 18.2 million adults age 20 and older have Coronary Artery Disease, and that nearly half of adults in the U.S. (108 million, or 45%) have hypertension.  The CDC also tells us that, though it boggles the mind how this is still possible, nearly 40 million U.S. adults still smoke cigarettes.  

A statistic that hits closer to home is that NIH estimates that at least 23.5 million Americans have one or more autoimmune diseases -- another agency, the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, doubles that estimate to an astounding 50 million. 

But enough with the statistics - we all know that we don’t need numbers to tell us how unhealthy many of us are.  And that’s scarier now more than ever.

With diabetes and heart disease, it can be a slow burn to get to a place of being really sick.  It’s easier to ignore the threat of these diseases and continue to eat and live poorly when you might be a couple decades away from a definitive diagnosis or major complications.  But as we’ve seen with something like COVID-19, the deadly impact of being unhealthy can be immediate.  While these risk factors always increase the chances of major health events, those with even mild diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc. are the ones who are now at greatest risk TODAY, not years down the road.

And as I learned first hand with autoimmune disease, the disease can become active overnight, and is often turned on at least in part by unmanaged stress, something that is clearly prevalent in our world right now.

It just goes to show us how important it is that we take our health super seriously, today and every day.  We not only want to prevent autoimmune disease, cancer, and other diseases in the future, we want to prevent being more susceptible to a virus right now.  With or without a pandemic we want to feel good, be strong, and be able to live life to the fullest.

There is no guarantee that COVID-19 won’t make any of one us sick, but let’s stack the odds in our favor that if it does find us, our bodies and immune systems will be as prepared as they can be to handle it.  This is not the time to sucker punch our immune system with junky, sugary, processed comfort foods, no matter how much we all want to be comforted.  This is also not the time to stress out our liver with alcohol (I definitely had to give myself a talking to about this a little while back). 

Instead, indulge by allowing yourself to sleep in (since there’s still not that much to get up for anyway!) or by having an occasional guilt-free, hours long Netflix binge.  Watch or listen to things that make you laugh - such as Jim Gaffigan.  He’s a hoot!

Keep your body moving.  A daily walk along with yoga and body exercise a few times per week will do wonders for your fitness and your stress levels.  Pray/meditate.  Eat extra helpings of life-giving vegetables and fruit.  Take a warm bath.  Stay hydrated.  Keep in touch with family and friends via the plethora of electronic tools we have available (I keep thinking how much worse this would have been if it happened in the ‘90’s before the technology explosion gave us so many ways to communicate).  

And a special note for those who are suffering with autoimmune disease and are on immunosuppressant drugs right now.  As your immune system is compromised, be extra careful and be extra cautious, but be brave. 

Even if you don’t have any active disease and are not on any medications, let’s keep it that way!  This is still a moment to make changes now that will keep you well, pandemic or no pandemic.  

If you haven’t had “the moment” yet, let this be the moment that inspires you to take back control of your life.  You can do this by making radical changes to your diet and lifestyle, so that you can move towards real health, which includes getting off the medications that have the potential to hurt more than they help.   

For all of us, let’s not just grit our teeth and bare it through however long this pandemic lasts.  Let’s take this moment in time as a call to action to look at our lives and our health and determine what needs to change now.  I am with you and believe you can do it!  Read more about this here and here.