Anyone in our writing community knows what a gift we have in Sally Cronin who runs so many series and author showcases for us writers. But you may not know that Sally is also a certified health nutritionist. Sally is running this current health series at her Smorgasbord Invitation – Project Resilience-101. In this post, Sally shares a wealth of information on how to stay fit, especially in our Corona times, offering tips for both mental and physical good health maintenance.

 

Smorgasbord Health Column – Project 101 – Resilience – An opportunity to get fighting fit – Round Up – Sally Cronin

 

 

I began this series 10 weeks ago with the aim of offering some strategies to increasing our resilience to disease. Not just Covid-19 but any opportunistic pathogen who feels we might make a good host.

Since then the world has struggled to return to normal, with varying success and a great deal of uncertainty. However, it is becoming clear that the experts can not find a consensus on what will happen next, whether the virus will fizzle out, or come back as a second wave or an annual event.

The fact that the supermarkets have erected permanent perspex barriers for cashiers and service industries such as hairdressing have done the same, seems to indicate that we will need to take precautions to stay infection free for some considerable time to come.

I believe that we need to take responsibility for our own health where possible, and since the majority of modern disease is lifestyle related offers plenty of scope!

What has not changed is our role in what comes next.

Our bodies may have genetic tendencies towards some specific diseases. But the vast majority of health issues are lifestyle related and involve our own decisions about what we eat and drink, how much exercise we take, and what harmful contaminants we ingest or inhale.

I am not guiltless as far as this is concerned and I was 42 years old before I starting taking back control of my body and its health. Twenty-five years on I hope that the changes I made to my diet and lifestyle at that point was enough. At 330lbs with high Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar levels, and high levels of the most unhealthy Low Density Cholesterol, I was told I would be lucky to reach 45 years old.

And if that had been today, it would have put me smack bang in the middle of the most vulnerable to the infection.

As more and more analysis is done on the pandemic and those that were infected and tragically died; risk factors have been more clearly defined. Obesity is very high up on that list.

With any respiratory infection being severely overweight is a risk. When I weighed 330lbs 25 years ago, I could not lie on my back because the weight of the fat on my chest and stomach restricted the movement of my lungs. Just walking made me extremely out of breath, and I was not getting sufficient oxygen into my system.

Other risk factors.

This leads directly into the identified key risk factors for all ages during the pandemic which include obesity, underlying health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory diseases such as COPD and heart conditions. Being deficient in Vitamin D for example has also been included in this list although there has been some doubt raised recently. However, Vitamin D is a very important element of our general health and that of our immune system, and as such it plays a vital role in limiting our susceptibility to infections.

The most at risk members of our society are those over 65 years old, not just because they are more likely to have underlying health issues, but because the human body as it ages goes through some fundamental changes in structure and function.

For example, we are more likely to become less active and our lungs . . . please continue reading

 

Source: Smorgasbord Health Column – Project 101 – Resilience – An opportunity to get fighting fit – Round Up – Sally Cronin | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

 

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