April

I feel so unqualified to write anything right now but I believe I need to share my thoughts with you. Over the last five years I have gone through a transition of learning to live a healthier life. But that of course is not a guarantee against this new virus. But then again, a healthier lifestyle was not a guarantee that made me immune from so many things that are out of my control that could happen to me anyway.

The COVID-19 virus like many other diseases will eventually affect you or someone you love or know. As I reflected on this I thought about how I felt about various health issues over the years as my biological clock continues to advance. I never worried about cancer or heart disease until I crested fifty and both diseases took the lives of family members and good friends.

I am not here to argue genetics or environment, but I am going to urge you to try to adapt a healthier lifestyle. Can you mitigate your situation, of course you can. If we all agree that by eliminating certain foods from you daily meals and adding a small amount of physical exercise you can change your danger to certain diseases, if that is true, than is this time any different?

This is where I step out on a branch, it’s scary and to be honest with you I am scared of heights. I have a triathlon coach who is an incredible strong athlete. Coach Lisa is in her thirties and has finished at least 15 full distance Ironman triathlon races in the last ten years. She currently lives in Italy and recently got sick. In speaking with her, she talked about how this illness took its toll on her. Her description of how she felt was scary to me. Lisa described her illness and general feeling at the time as to just finishing multiple Ironman races. She is slowly regaining her strength and her lung capacity and on the road to recovery.

So with that being said, what can we do? Like anything in life, position yourself to be in the best possible health you can be in. Give your body a fighting chance. It is an incredible machine that God created. It adapts, it fights and it survives. But it is a machine of sorts. It can only run on what is being put into it. I liken it to a high performance racing motor. With a high performance and high compression engine you need to run a higher octane fuel. You don’t typically put the cheapest gasoline in an engine that is designed to run on aviation fuel. It doesn’t work for long if you do.

Our bodies are no different. Begin to make small changes. Again, this is scary for me because I am not perfect. In my own health journey there have been huge changes and many positives results, but I have also suffered many setbacks and daily failures that are frustrating to me. So the only way to tackle will be to take on one thing at a time.

If you can manage this, now is the time to eat better. When I say eat better, I am talking about cleaner. Less garbage style foods, less fast food, and less processed foods. I will give you some basic examples. Start your day with a healthy smoothie. There are many recipes out there for simple healthy smoothies. Try one. Or if you like oatmeal, make your own, and please don’t add the brown sugar. Add some raisins or dates to it, or even a little honey. If those don’t peak your interest, how about whole wheat toast with tomatoes and avocados? Delicious I tell you, simply delicious! These are my favorite ways to start the day. You get the idea, make better food choices to start the day and I would be willing to bet that you will continue during the day to start making better choices.

Now the next subject is highly debatably, but what subject isn’t it? Here is a simple list of vitamins or supplements that you might consider to keep your body in a healthier state. Some of these suggestions come from a triathlon coach I keep up with.

• A DAILY MULTI VITAMIN
• VITAMIN C
• VITAMIN E
• GLUTATHIONE LIPOSOMAL
• VITAMIN D3
• ASTAXANTHIN
• TURMERIC
• KRILL

Maybe you are already taking some of these and that is great! This is not rocket science, so don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Remember this is not a guaranteed prescription that wards off a virus, but it will keep you body in a good position for a possible fight. And that is exactly what virus do. They attack your body. So try to put yourself in the best position for the fight that might take place.

My other advice for you now is also simple and again, not rocket science. Here is a basic list of things that you might consider having around your house at this time.

• Gatorade or other types of sports drinks that give you potassium, sodium, glucose and other         vital nutrients.
• Throat lozenges, apple cider vinegar, honey
• Fresh fruit and vegetables if possible
• NyQuil, Vicks Vapor Rub, Delsym cough syrup
• Tylenol NOT Ibuprofen: For pain and fever, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is preferred. For now it is probably best to avoid drugs like ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and aspirin. Studies and information are inconclusive about the safety of NSAID’s at this point but that may change in the near future

I have given you some options and maybe you have already stocked up on similar items. That is good and could help in this time. I realize this is article it beginning to be too long, so what I really would like you to do is this. Stay hydrated. Drink your water! Drink warm tea with lemon and honey. Take your vitamins so you can keep your immune system up at this time. This is not the time to go on a crash diet. You want to strong enough to endure a loss of appetite if you get sick. Try to get outside if at all possible and walk or ride your bike safely. I would suggest nothing so serious that you put your body into a depleted mode, but simple daily exercise is vital. And finally, wash up and follow current CDC guidelines about the best ways to protect yourself.

We will get through this and we will continue to learn together on how to be healthier
Stay in healthy and in peace

Paul