My wife works on the other front line of this war: retail marketing in a store which has not been required to close (a home center). She mans a cash register four hours a day. Traffic has more than doubled, and has been ceaseless since the stay-at-home orders went into effect.
She has regular customers who live nearby who have been tested positive shortly after she has helped them shop -- like the next day. These customers were demonstrating symptoms in the store -- coughing, etc.
She has not yet demonstrated symptoms.
Fatigue, yes. But running a cash register non-stop for four hours wears you down a bit.
Mild sinus, yes. It's one of the hay-fever seasons here.
No loss of taste.
No persistent cough.
No fever.
We hear on the radio things like how a famous baseball player had only loss-of-taste as a tell-tale, but tested positive, and has been indicated as a possible course of infection for some others.
(My wife does wear a mask, and the company has installed clear vinyal shields, of sorts, between the customer side and the cash register side.)
Why doesn't everybody get sick?
Well, we know one reason. People with immune system issues tend to pick this virus up.
I have immune system issues. I have been exposed. I have not developed any more symptoms than my wife.
My wife is actually a nutritionist by training, and she keeps the family menu properly balanced.
People who get enough balanced nutrition tend not to get this virus.
People who get enough rest tend not to get this virus.
People who get enough exercise (but not so much as to mess up their health) tend not to get this virus.
So, how should we protect ourselves?
Continue this charade of universal quarantine?
Actually, many people who have been working too hard and not getting enough family time are now getting plenty of family time and plenty of time to take care of their own health -- as long as the money holds out.
This is a good thing.
So, here's what to do.
- Don't get back on that treadmill. I'm not talking about work, I'm talking about meaningless competition.
- Get enough rest. Enough varies from day to day and person to person, five hours today, maybe six tomorrow, maybe seven yesterday for me. Probably not the same for you.
- Get enough nutrition. Balanced nutrition.
- green and other colored leafy vegetables,
- and other vegetables (stem and root) of various colors,
- also, tubers (potatoes, etc.) of various shapes, sizes, and colors,
- a variety of grains,
- enough protein from both animal (meat, fish, etc.) and plant (legume, etc.) sources,
- natural sources of unrefined sugars,
- and liquids that aren't mostly sugar.
- And clean, natural sources of minerals (calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, etc.).
What to keep on hand for early unclear symptoms?
Supplements may help, but preferably of digestible, natural source.
Then there are things like one of my favorite decongestants --
- a tablespoon of cinnamon
- a tablespoon of fresh ginger root
- a cup of 100% apple juice
Another tea-like thing that can help, my sister likes an infusion of sage. Powdered sage from the spice rack helps, but don't just sprinkle a little into a cup of boiling water. At least a teaspoon per half-cup, and, again, boil it together, let it cool. Squeeze some lemon in. Again, be patient enough not to scald your throat or tongue.
Tea? Stay away from commercial teas. Likewise, coffee. The stuff you buy in the store is made to make you buy more, which is actually an attack on your immune system. That's why they say you're supposed to drink it hot enough to scald your throat and tongue.
Stay away from commercial tobacco, too, for similar reasons. And commercial alcohol.
If you have to have those, get tobacco that isn't sugar-processed. Steep your own teas from the leaves and your own coffees from the beans, etc. And get wines and beers that haven't had all the good esters, etc., removed.
Marijuana? See above about tobacco. Grow your own if you have to have it, and don't process it for strength.
Coca? Get the leaf. If you can't get the leaf, do without. Coca products, especially when you buy them on the street, have everything good processed out, and all that is left is stuff that attacks your immune system.
Cacao mass, on the other hand, is good, if it isn't loaded down with refined sugars. Chocolates generally have sugar in them. Get pure cacao mass, instead.
Poppy seed? See above about coca.
Synthetic stuff like LSD and just about everything that "alters your mood" also wreak havoc on your immune system. Find healthy substitutes.
Substitutes for those stimulants and mood-altering substances --
Yes, get pure cacao mass instead of chocolates and coffee. If it's too bitter, eat raisins and other dried fruit with it, or fruit in season.
Poppy seed, you can buy. Sesame seed works well, too.
Substitutes for Coca? Ginger root and cinnamon can substitute for certain things, but, surprisingly, so can mustard greens and cabbage leaf.
Substitutes for tobacco and marijuana? Collard greens are good. Likewise cabbage leaf and chard.
Just, don't smoke the greens, and be careful about chewing the raw leaf. Much better to cook the greens like spinach, or mix it into your stir-fry. Collard goes well with pork and beef. Mustard greens go well with fish and fowl. Experiment to taste. Both go well in noodle soups.
And garlic. Garlic is actually a great mild stimulant and mood altering substance, and it goes well with lots of foods, including soups, both cooked and raw. Fresh garlic, of course, is best, whether you cook it into a dish or mince it raw into your salads.
Soups.
Salt. Unless you live in west Texas or Arizona or other desert-like places, ease way back on salt, add more vegetables instead. Most of the nutrients in soups are in the broth. That's why chicken noodle soup is good for respiratory problems. So, when you make a soup, keep the amount of salt minimal enough that you can drink the broth instead of throwing it away (and all those good nutrients with it).
Likewise other things that you salt, then throw away because it's too salty to eat.
Sugar. Quit adding refined sugar to things that don't need it. Sugar in soups binds the nutrients and makes them far less available. If you want to sweeten the soup, add corn, carrots, sweet potatoes, and other things with plentiful natural sugars.
Oatmeal in soups is really good, and so is barley.
Oats. Quit buying the quick oats. The difference between a minute in the microwave and three is not worth the reduction in nutrition. Rolled oats are best, although they do take three minutes or more.
Fruit. You know the white pulp that surrounds the juicy parts of oranges and lemons? It's good for you, and you can actually learn to like it if you learn to cut the refined sugars back. (The full rind is also good, if you know that the fruit has been grown without insecticides.)
Microwaves. I've recently discovered the 200 watt setting. Doubles the time, but the cooking is more even, and the nutrients don't tend to get cooked out as much.
Ways to alter your mood?
If you want to alter your mood, learn how to meditate. If you believe there is a god, learn how to talk to the god you believe in. Prayer and meditation can both be healthy mood altering habits, if you learn to clear your mind of the influences that try to profit by making you feel bad about yourself.
If you can't stand to be alone enough to learn how to pray or meditate, at least find good friends, friends with whom you can have fun without imbibing unnatural stimulants. (Finding good friends works better when you try to be a good friend.)
What am I saying?
Healthy living is a good way to protect your health.
Is it such a surprise?
(I guess I should forestall the complaint that some will have, "What about people who are living healthy and get sick anyway?" No, there is no 100% promise. But you've got much better chances of not getting sick, and much better chances of recovering, if you live healthy to start with, and that does include this current pandemic.
And to those who will complain that I seem to be saying mean things by omission or whatever about the immuno-suppressed, and others who are already fighting with other influences that are attacking their immune systems, I beg the contrary:
The more people there are who don't get sick, the less of the virus itself there is to spread, and the less danger there is to those who, for reasons beyond their control or not, don't have as strong immune systems to depend on. It is rather the more offensive to fail to live as healthily as you know how.)
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