December 31, 2019 the first person in Wuhan, China had pneumonia of unknown origin.
January 20, 2020 the United States had its first case of COVID-19.
February 11, 2020 COVID-19 was also named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
As of March 30, 2020 the United States has 161,647 positive cases for COVID-19.
We are in the middle of a pandemic that has led to uncertainty, fear, frustration, disbelief, and anger.
Our day to day activities look different. We are social distancing, homeschooling, working remotely, and just trying to stay strong for one another and our families. While there is so much heartbreak, lost lives, and grieving that is happening around the world, we must remain hopeful and remember the good that is happening around us.
Scientist are working together around the world and around the clock to figure out a treatment for COVID-19. There are currently at least 12 potential COVID-19 treatments being tested including Remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, stem cell therapy, blood plasma transfers, and more.
Companies are stepping up during a time of need. For example, Dyson designed a ventilator in just 10 days and is mass producing 15,000 ventilators (5,000 of which will be donated) to address the shortage and urgent patient needs. Another example is Ford working with GE Healthcare to make 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days.
The government signed a $2 trillion stimulus package to help with the economic devastation associated with COVID-19.
Everyone is feeling the impacts of COVID-19 and YOU are not alone!
While there are so many things we cannot control right now, there are a few things we can control. How we fuel our body, how we move our body, how we treat one another, and how we let this impact us moving forward.
Here are 6 tips to keep you as healthy as possible during this tough time:
- Improve gut health by reducing processed sugar and increasing fiber. About 70-80% of our immune system stems in the gut, maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is essential for a healthy immune system. Sugar feeds the bad bacteria and yeast in the gut and fiber or prebiotics helps nourish the good bacteria. If you are someone that loves numbers, try to keep sugar under 20 grams (what you can read on food labels, not including fresh berries or oranges) and fiber above 30 grams. The SAD or Standard American Diet supplies as low as 5-10 grams of fiber per day so if you are struggling to hit 30 grams here are some high fiber foods to incorporate: acacia fiber, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, cruciferous vegetables, organic psyllium husk, inulin, berries, lentils, beans (or chickpea pasta like Banza- so good!). If you struggle to get probiotics or prebiotics from food- I recommend supplementing with a broad spectrum probiotic and fiber.
- Use this time to catch up on sleep. Having optimal sleep supports a healthy immune system. Aim for 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. If you are struggling to fall or stay asleep, focus on good sleep hygiene; turn off electronics 30-60 minutes before bed, start dimming lights, and do a calming activity such as reading a book, writing in a gratitude journal, or taking an epsom salt bath. If that doesn’t help, try Knock it Out which is a natural supplement by Ora Organics. If you are still having trouble, I highly recommend booking an appointment with us (virtual is great!) to help navigate the root cause of your sleep trouble.
- Reduce stress. There is no doubt you are experiencing a great deal of stress right now. Remember, stress is a perception and if we can reframe our thought process around the stress it will not have as many negative impacts on our health and immune system. I recommend checking in on your stress levels on a daily basis using an easy 0-10 scale; 0 is no stress and 10 is the worse stress you could ever imagine with the goal to be keeping your stress around 5/10. If you are currently feeling stress levels at 7/10 or above, first sit back and take several slow deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds and slowly exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds repeating for 4 rounds. Next, ask yourself an important question “is this something I can control?” if it is write down 3 steps you can do to improve the outcomes; if not, write down your thoughts and next to it come up with one positive. Everything has a silver lining!
- Support a healthy immune system with vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin D whether its through food (the sun- hello give me some vitamin D) or supplementation. Some of our favorite supplements include: Ultra Potent C, Zinc, and vitamin D3 + K2.
- Add movement to your day- go for a walk or hike, do some intervals in your living room, overhead press a paint can from the garage. Every little thing you do matters! Our Director of Operations, Megan Armstrong has been working on uploading videos for you all on YouTube. Check them out here! Go Megan!
- Connect with the ones around you, even if it is virtual! Have real conversations with the ones you love. Check in on them and see how they are feeling. Technology is an incredible platform for virtual communication- you can FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, or throw virtual parties with the Houseparty app.
We are all in this together.
AND we are are here for you whether you need a virtual sick visit, Functional Medicine consult, health coaching, nutrition consult or virtual personal training. What better time than now to invest in your health!
In good health (now more than ever!),
Founder of STAT Wellness
