The root cause of the pandemic is our neglect of our relationship with the natural world, other animals that we share this planet with, and our ecosystems that our planet depends on.

Covid has affected people differently depending on diet, lifestyle, genetics, and other factors. With varying incubation periods, it makes it easy to unknowingly spread. By now, I can assume that we’ve all been exposed to covid indirectly or directly. If we think this through, the logical thing to do next is to create conditions for which the immune system can properly do its job and make it unwelcome for the invading pathogens to multiply.

What does fiber have to do with covid?

The immune system is a balance of both good and bad germs, and about 90% of it is in the gut. Health is determined by which germs we feed. Since it can take 1-14 days for the virus to incubate and multiply, it makes sense to eat fiber rich foods that feed the good germs and seal leaky guts. While you’re at it, make sure to get proper chewing stress as James Nestor recommends in Breath. Carrots are an easy option that give you both fiber and chewing stress. Dr. Tom O’Bryan in You Can Fix Your Brain recommends daily cruciferous foods to enhance liver’s ability to break down toxins. Eat mushrooms and probiotics. Remember, penicillin is basically a fungi that kills bacteria.

• Eat more fiber rich foods, such as carrots and cruciferous vegetables.
• Reduce gluten, which is known to cause intestinal impermeability and leaky gut.
• Reduce sugar, which feeds the bad germs.
• Reduce dairy, which can plug sinuses.
• Eat mushrooms and probiotics. Try reishi or lion’s mane extracts.

Nasal and oral health

Since covid is a respiratory illness, it makes sense to look into optimal ways of breathing and lung health. Nestor wrote that the perfect breath is 5.5 seconds. 5.5 seconds inhale, then 5.5 seconds exhale for total of 5.5 breaths per minute. Make it a habit to breathe through the nose using diaphragm, especially when exercising (except swimming). Use medical tape, about the size of a postage stamp, to close upper and lower lips together. Stretch the lungs and expand oxygen capacity. According to Hanli Prinsloo, who holds multiple records in freediving, lungs are like squishy balloons. What stops you from taking bigger and bigger breath is muscle tension over the chest, ribs and back. Increase lung volume by opening the intercostal muscle and stretching the side while you breathe.

• Breathe in and out through nose.
• Lengthen the breath from the typical 3.3 seconds to 5.5 seconds.
• Use diaphgram and stretch the intercostal muscles to expand lung capacity.
• Gargle warm saltwater in back of throat and swish around teeth and gums.
• Rinse nose with saltwater and do nose holds, if congested.
• Alternate nostril breathing is a restorative breath that lowers heart rate, blood pressure and stress.
• Nose humming widens capillaries and increases oxygen absorption.

Go outside and get earthed.

Our earth is held together by electromagnetism. The sun’s energy is split into positive and negative electrons. The positive stays up in the ionosphere 60 miles up, and the negative charge comes down to earth, mainly in the form of lightning. However, the conveniences of modern life have insulated us from absorbing these electrons, and we no longer have direct skin contact with the earth. So when we have static buildup in our bodies from our plugged in environment, the electron deficiency causes an electrical imbalance. Without a way to discharge the excess positive electrons from our devices, the absorbed electromagnetic radiation lead to chronic inflammation.

To get grounded and neutralize the effects of EMF buildup, stand or sit somewhere where you can have direct contact with the skin of the earth. Barefoot on dirt, grass, sand or concrete. We need electrons from the earth to neutralize issues of electrical imbalance from our modern, wired world. (per Earthing)

Don’t forget the basics.

• Wear a mask, social distance, don’t touch your face, wash your hands, take off your shoes inside, self quarantine if possible.
• Drink plenty of water, at least 1/2 oz per body weight (ie 50 oz of water if you weigh 100 lbs)
• Get plenty of sleep. Reduce caffeine. Take a calcium and magnesium supplement. (per End of Alzheimer’s)
• Vit C and D supplement
• Use positive thoughts and language around health. Mentally rehearse in your mind and see yourself in excellent health. See your body’s immune system working in coherent synchrony.
• Keep your core strong.

This may or may not prevent covid. No one knows. Our health is the next frontier. The medical system is highly overburdened, and we can do our part by being proactive in our own health care. This will only increase your ability to fight it off, and hopefully stay healthy, not get sick, or recover quickly if you do.

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I like to think that when we hunker down in our homes, we are activating our survival circuit and boosting our longevity. The pause in our social routines is giving our over-stressed post Industrial Revolution ecosystems a much needed break.

Stores run out of toilet paper? Use what you have. You can turn old clothes, towels, sheets, whatever you don’t use, and cut them into scrap pieces. And when we emerge from this global hibernation, let’s be more thoughtful of what we buy. Let’s not buy toilet paper made from old forests. Let’s make things run more efficiently. Let’s get recycling up and running here in the states. Waste by definition is not efficient.

Stores run out of food? Eat less. Fast one meal a day. Use up the unused ingredients stuffed into the back of the cupboards. And don’t eat late at night, which is a dangerous habit that can lead to Alzheimer’s, according to Dr. Dale Bredesen, author of End of Alzheimers. Eating late at night does not give the body a chance to “induce autophagy and remove accumulating amyloid and various damaged protein debris.” Autophagy is a word that keeps coming up in the health and longevity literature. Dr. Sinclair describes autophagy as a metabolic process which digests old proteins and reuses cellular components. This global social quarantine is a form of planetary autophagy, in my opinion.

In the meantime, breathe through the nose and use the diaphragm to pull air into the lower lungs. Nasal breathing warms/humidifies air, filters germs, and creates nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is produced inside the nasal cavity and the lining of the thousands of miles of blood vessels throughout the body. It plays an important role in opening and closing of the lungs and blood vessels, writes Patrick McKeown in The Oxygen Advantage.

Gargle with warm saltwater. Drink lots of water, about 1/2 oz per lb of body weight.

Avoid sugary foods and drinks. Sugar lowers immune system by 50%, writes Dr. Elisa Song, a holistic pediatrician in her blog Top Ways to Boost Your Child’s Immune System. Blood shows lab evidence of a lowered immune system within 30 minutes of eating simple sugars (like glucose, refined sugar, and fructose), and causes a 50% reduction in your white blood cells’ abilities to kill germs. White blood cells are our “army” cells that fight off germs.  This effect is most noticeable 2 hours after ingestion, but is still present 5 hours later! And to echo a yoga/meditation teacher friend Marguerite B, it’s no coincidence that flu season kicks into high gear during Halloween and the holidays.

We will get through this. And when we’re on the other side of this, I hope we are kinder, more loving, more efficient, and more resilient.

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Fasting creates a metabolic process known as autophagy, where cells digest old proteins and other genetic material for metabolism. This is cellular decluttering. Fasting activates longevity pathways, according to Dr. David Sinclair, Harvard Professor of Molecular Genetics and author of Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To. “One surefire way to stay healthier longer and maximize lifespan:  eat less. Not malnutrition or starvation, but allowing our bodies to exist in a state of want is unquestionably good for our health and longevity.” 

If you look at the world’s longevity regions known as the Blue Zones, fasting is practiced periodically throughout the year. There are many ways to fast. Time restricted eating aka intermittent fasting is currently popular, with fasting times between 7pm-12noon. The idea is to eat within a 7-8 hr window.  Skip a meal every day, eat less, and eat when hungry not because it’s time to eat.  Hunger activates genes that extend lifespan.  You can also fast by drinking your veggies and greens.  Humanity is being called to fast.  This is a win/win for our health and for our planet.  By fasting, we reduce consumption levels, alleviate the strain on the broken global supply chain, and we live longer, healthier lives.

Breathwork.  Oxygen is the most important nutrient.  We take an average of 20,000 breaths per day, and our bodies rely on oxygen for just about everything.  Breathing even plays a role in crooked teeth, and proper breathing is the foundation of Dr. Steven Lin’s Dental Diet. He wrote that “the flow of air through the nasal passage stimulates the maxilla (upper jawbone) to keep growing outward and helps to lower and broaden the palate….  A normal nasal passage is designed to slow down airflow in the sinuses; to warm and humidify the air; and to allow it to mix with nitric oxide, which increases oxygen intake in the lungs.  When people breathe through the mouth, their lungs get dry, unfiltered air and no nitric oxide.  That means their body is constantly starved of oxygen, the lack of which can damage their heart muscles, brain tissue, and potentially every cell in their body.”   Practicing better ways of breathing can strengthen our jaws and airways, and get more oxygen in our lungs and body. Increasing oxygen can change the biochemistry in bodily fluids and also help make bones and teeth grow properly. Sleep with your mouth closed!

Connected or circular rhythmic breaths that engage the diaphragm and upper chest include techniques such as transformational breathing, holotropic breathwork, and the Wim Hof method. Hof, also known as the Iceman, holds 21 Guinness World Records for extreme athletic feats, and has shown that he can directly influence his immune system. In a 2011 Radboud University study, Hof was injected with E. Coli bacteria and did not get sick.  Other breathing exercises to explore are yogic pranayama such breath of fire, alternate nostril breathing, or pausing with inhalation and exhalation. 

Exposure to hot and cold temperatures is extremely good for you.  Less than comfortable body temperatures get you out of the thermonuclear zone, the small range of temperature that doesn’t require your body to do extra work. Sweating reduces blood pressure and helps flush out toxins such as plastics.   Additionally, the cold activates longevity genes known as Sirtuins.  Take a cold shower.  Goose bumps and chattering teeth are good for you. 

Vigorous exercise engages the greatest number of longevity genes, according to Dr. Sinclair.  Exercise lengthens telomeres, the endcaps of chromosomes that protect the DNA from damage. 

Eat a plant rich diet.  Avoid eating mammals.  Everyday, eat cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli sprouts, and bok choy, as recommended by Dr. Tom O Bryan’s How To Fix Your Brain and The Autoimmune Fix protocol.  They also fit nicely with Dr. Sinclair’s view that molecules found in cruciferous veggies help boost longevity genes. 

Reduce glucose intake. Yeast cells with reduced glucose have exceptionally compact DNA and live longer.   Stay away from refined sugary foods and drinks.  Soda is like drinking from the fountain of aging.  Drink water, at least 1/2 oz per body weight. A 100 lb person should drink approximately 50 oz of clean water each day. Make sure you’re getting enough absorbable micronutrients, especially Vitamin D, A, C, K2, Calcium, Zinc, and Omega 3 Fatty Acids.

Also, remember to wash hands and get a good night’s sleep. Stay healthy. Be well.

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