Currently, we are facing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first wave was rumored to come from a poor guy who chose the wrong entree for lunch – bat soup. However, scientists haven’t confirmed the factual origin of COVID-19. The second wave has debatable causes, but lack of vaccinations and back-to-school season are two suggestions on the table.

Prevention and treatment methods are hot topics everywhere we go. Buzzwords trigger information buttons and filters. Should we vaccinate or not? Should we mask up or not? Our healthcare is not a political topic, it is personal. I want to dive into the real-life science of this, case studies, and clinically proven ways to stay safe in these unprecedented times – our favorite phrase during this pandemic!

What Is Coronavirus Disease?

According to the CDC, “COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. Most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, but some people can become severely ill. Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience more than four weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.”

That is a general description that excludes what it does in your body and what causes it. Actually, if you search what causes it, the CDC’s definition is simply, “It is thought to spread mainly from person to person, mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Spread is more likely when people are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.”

It’s not necessarily inaccurate but still doesn’t tell you what you need to know to understand proper prevention measures. So let’s address that.

Coronavirus was identified in humans back in 1965. The disease we are currently experiencing is caused by a new variant of that virus. The thing is, viruses need to attach to a cell in order to live. If the cell dies, so does the virus.

The coronavirus has a preference for the lungs. Once the disease enters the body, it likes to sit in the lungs, and the longer it’s there, the more damage it’s doing. How can we kill the cells the virus has attached itself to before it becomes a full-blown disease?

COVID-19 Prevention

Whether you are vaccinated or not, there are a few staple things you’ll need in place to create a hostile environment for your body in the first place.

1. Reset Your Immune System

What does this look like?

Reducing unnecessary stress
Adjusting how you approach inevitable stress
Sleeping 7 to 9 hours every night
Drinking enough water (half your weight in ounces at minimum)
Eating whole foods
Getting plenty of vitamin C & D / spending time in the sun
Cutting inflammatory foods
Cutting refined or processed oils

Boosting your immune system is not going to cut it if your system is already a hot mess. If you’re normally eating an overabundance of sugar, carbs – which turn into sugar – and processed oils, your immune system has been riding the depress express for a minute. The immunity boost shots in the slim refrigerated “health” section of the grocery store won’t do a hill of beans in this situation.

2. Diet

This goes hand-in-hand with resetting your immune system. With intentional thoughts and actions, you can do this. You will need to prioritize cooking with healing herbs and whole foods like:

Garlic
Sage
Oregano
Elderberry
Bone Broths
Broccoli (clinically proven with glucoraphanin to aid in fighting COVID-19)
Carrot
Pumpkin (this does NOT include pumpkin-spiced drinks and desserts because of the sugar, andddd it’s most likely pumpkin flavoring)
Sweet Potato
Spinach
Kale
Collard Greens

Consider swapping out butter for:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (in a dark glass bottle)
Avocado Oil
Coconut Oil
Ghee

Processed oils are stripped of all vitamins and minerals, rendering them useless. In fact, when what is left of the oil enters your body, it becomes the instigator. It pointlessly triggers inflammation which makes a cushiony home for the diseases that viruses can bring about. It’s like sugar to an ant. Once the virus sees inflammation, it sees the perfect place to chill out and raise a family of hellions – disease.

3. Practice Basic Safety

Masks are a big debate right now. Should you mask up or does it even matter? I will let you make a scientifically-based decision. Being able to say yes or no based on prestigious studies is one of the most empowering things, especially in a time like this. It’s respectable.

When you breathe through your nose, there is a slew of filters. Your nasal mucous membrane and cilia are your first line of defense, catching all the icky gunk in the air before it dares to enter your body. Our mouths don’t have a filtration system (it needs it for more reasons than just viruses, but that is another blog for another day). A lot more bacteria and harmful particles have a FastPass when you’re inhaling through your mouth versus your nose, where they have to put up a fight.

One of the most effective treatments for COVID is Nitric Oxide. It’s warm, purified, moisturized air that kills off bacteria. We produce this naturally, getting 6 times more when we breathe through our noses, and 15 times more when we hum.

See the articles listed at the end for more information and case studies.

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate?

Vaccines are supposed to introduce your body to an organism in an attempt to train it for the real thing. I am a huge proponent of research. Not Facebook research; not conspiracy theory research, but factual, repetitive, evidence-based, non-biased research.

I have little to no doubt that vaccines prepare you to battle COVID. However, at this point in time, they are not even a year old and any manmade product is going to have its drawbacks. Only 5 in 5,000 pharmaceutical drugs make it past the testing stage, but the average testing phase is roughly 12 years. Even then, recalls run rampant. You see your local lawyers posting ads offering compensation if you have been hospitalized or BURIED due to the latest cutting-edge medicines being recalled.

I encourage you to do your own scientific research, look at case studies from every angle and try to understand if there is a bias and where they’re coming from. Try to get a thorough view of the risks and decide if they outweigh the benefits. It’s not about how you feel 3 minutes or even 3 months after, it’s about how your body will react to the components of the vaccine and what that will look like in 1 or even 5 years from now. Try to leave your own emotions out of it to study the facts. Health is incredibly individual. Some people might benefit from the vaccine. Some might experience worsened pre-existing conditions or new ones.

No matter what you find or what you decide for yourself, I will be proud of you for putting in the time to understand your decision for yourself instead of being told what to think or what to do.

Following the above steps will undoubtedly build your defenses against the coronavirus and COVID-19. I am not promising you won’t get it. No one can promise you that. However, your chances will lessen and if you do contract it, you will be significantly more prepared to fight it and win!

Bringing the family back to the table,