The Best Way to Prevent Disease, That We Have Ignored

Niko Maheras

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, we were all instructed to stay home and avoid contact with people.  Only go out for food, medical services, and your job (if yours was deemed essential by the powers that be).  People isolated and interacted less with others.  They became more stressed, anxious, and frustrated.  When people are in this kind of mental state, confusion results and ultimately leads to poor decision making. 

Out of fear and ways to combat stress, people have been buying more frozen foods, processed foods, and shifting to a generally unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.  We have been taught and inherently know this is not good for the body and mind.  While the bulk of the news cycle seems to be fear-based, about wearing masks and social distancing, and the religious-like anticipation of a rapidly produced vaccination, very little, if any, attention is being given to encourage lifestyle improvements.  This is astounding considering making healthy changes is something EVERYONE can do on their own.  The best weapon against disease that all of us have regardless of race, creed or color is our immune system.

The first and most important item to stress should have been to set up one’s body for success in any way possible.  Eating as healthy as you can, getting exercise and sunlight, and sleeping enough are the basics for good health.  It is only logical that these are the foundations upon which all other treatments and medical interventions should be based. People will have to choose whether to adopt these practices on their own, but to promote a healthy first line of defense within the individual is to provide oneself with the best chance of survival.

For too long, America has been a leading example of what NOT to do in terms of obesity, diet, and health.  We know that chronic illness and comorbidities, many of which result from bad habits, amplify and make coronavirus (and ANY disease for that matter) more deadly.  Now would be a really good time to assess the quality of one’s diet and lifestyle choices, not that every day is not.