If you look at today’s media, you see that it’s massively polarized: some people believe that the coronavirus is going to kill us all; other people believe it’s just a mild cold; some people think it’s naturally occurring; while other people think that it’s a bio-engineered threat. I’m not here to argue any of these. Honestly, in looking at all these different points of view, I try to find common truth in all of it, so that we can all unite and move forward in a positive direction. So here you will find a holistic view of coronavirus.
I guess you could say that my political view is unity, rather than division. I learned a long time ago that people have their own unique point of view for a very good reason. All people are unique. So, that being said, I think all sane people can agree on one thing, that is, a properly functioning immune system will help us defend ourselves against the coronavirus, and any other virus, bacteria, fungus, or parasite that may try to infect us in the future.
Let me give you a little analogy.
When you’re driving your car, do you wait until you’re totally out of gas before you gas up? Hopefully, you answered no to this question. Most people would say that they gas up when they’re around a quarter or half tank so that they don’t run out of gas. Your health is a lot like this analogy. It’s better to take care of it before it breaks down.
Some Coronavirus Statistics
I just read a study out of New York https://www.foxnews.com/health/nearly-all-ny-coronavirus-patients-suffered-underlying-health-issue-study-finds that showed that 94% of those hospitalized due to COVID-19 had some other disease that was complicating their case. Of them, 53% had hypertension, 42% were obese, and 32% had diabetes. The reason why I bring this up is that these diseases are almost entirely preventable. I read study after study showing that diet, exercise, and proper sleep hygiene can reverse these diseases by 70 to 90%.
I can also tell you from experience in my own practice, these diseases are closer to 90% preventable. Almost all people who have these diseases who make the proper changes to their diet, exercise, and sleep will reverse these diseases. Also, when I poll my patients, I would say upwards of 90% of them are not concerned about the coronavirus, but are instead concerned for a friend or loved one who has one of these other diseases that is known to make coronavirus infection outcome much worse.
While the coronavirus Is a horrible thing, I also look at it a little differently. After being studied extensively for a couple of months now, it’s obvious that if we were healthier, the consequences of the coronavirus would be much less severe. It’s almost as if mother nature is telling us to get healthy again. I mean, what if this virus were much more dangerous, like the Ebola virus? I for one see the coronavirus more like a warning shot across our bow, nature warning us that we better change our direction. So, what can we do?
Number One: Diet
It seems like there are 1 million diets out there. I for one favor the Paleo diet because I’ve seen it work the best with my patients, as confirmed by the results, and the follow-up blood work. But as long as your diet keeps you at a healthy weight, normalizes blood chemistry, normalizes blood sugar, and normalizes blood pressure, have at it. A diet’s benefits should be clearly shown by a decrease in symptoms, and improvement in blood chemistry.
Number Two: Exercise
With exercise, you can kill two birds with one stone. Exercise itself strengthens your immune system. If you do exercise outside, like walking, jogging, or running, you’ll also up your production of vitamin D, which has been shown to strengthen your immune system. Two birds with one stone, win!
Number Three: Sleep Hygiene
You can click here for my article on sleep hygiene, or you can just Google “proper sleep hygiene” to see one of many millions of articles on the topic. Basically, get to bed before 10, sleep for at least seven to eight hours, in a cool, dark room, with your cell phone on airplane mode, or better yet off. There, sleep hygiene in a nutshell.
Number Four: Correct Nutritional Imbalances (with functional blood chemistry and nutrition response testing)
It blows me away about all the “controversy “of using vitamins A, C, D, zinc, and other nutrients for the immune system. A simple blood test can tell you all this information. If you’re deficient in any nutrient, your immune system will not be up to par! Of course, we do these at our office, but if you don’t want to come to our office, or are in a different area, feel free to just Google the services in your local area. As an aside, functional blood chemistry I predict will be the wave of the future because it can help screen for and prevent disease before it happens.
There you have it, my political position. I can see valid points on either side of the argument. However, no matter which side of the coin you are on, I think we can all agree that it’s time to get better control of our health.
Yours in Health
Dr. Keith R Sheehan, DC
