What I’ve Learned from COVID-19 and How I Manage my Health Better than Before

All personal feelings aside about this global pandemic called COVID-19, I have learned more about my health in the past three months, than ever before.

There are so many political reasons (which I have chosen to share hear, as this is not a politically driven website) to why I think the whole pademic is a sham. But despite my opinons on the matter and its seriousness, there is no denying it does exist.

An living with an elderly man (my father in law) means, I have had to make certain life and health choices which will help me stay strong and healthy during these crazy times, so I don’t get sick (from anything) and then make anyone in the family sick as well.
And no, it actually doesn’t include a face mask, or any hand sanitiser either.

Again, I won’t sit here and discuss my personal opinions or share the information I have sourced on how a mask and hand sanitiser can cause more damage than good under some circumstances, but rather will chat about what I’ve learned about my health during this pandemic and ways in which you can safeguard your health naturally. Yes, even if you already have a weekend immune system, or a pre-existing medical condition.

I have always been fairly vulnerable to respiratory infections such as bronchitis and other varying sicknesses related to the chest, as I suffered from croup terribly as a child, spending most of my youth in a humidicrib at the hospital, especially as a baby.

With an immune system which function okay, but with weakened lungs prone to catching infections, when the outbreak of COVID did happen (though I dissagree personally with the numbers being told to us), I was a little worried as the systems are like that of bronchitis. And I most certainly did not want to catch something which could then threaten the life of an eldery person I come in contact with, especially the one I live with.

Although I take my health very seriously and have done for many years (more so in the last five or so), I knew there had to be key changed in my diet and lifestyle during this pandemic, to ensure I remained strong and healthy to avoid catching anything, but most of all from catching COVID.
Here’s what changes I made to ensure I would safeguard my health during this crazy pandemic and for many years to come.

Echinacea:

I started growing my own echinacea and loaded up the tea box with a variety of echinacea infused tea bags, which are either matched with honey, ginger, fennel or mint. For fresh echinacea, all I had to do was wait until the flowers of the plany started to drop their leaves, then I would cut as far down from the last leave on the stalk, dry the stems (leaves, flowers and all) and once dried and crunchy, I would remove from the stem and place into a tin or air tight container for my very own home brew echinacea tea, with a dollop of honey.

Ginger:

Put ginger in everything. I have been cooking most of mine and the families meals with ginger in it, from making delicious ginger infused sauces to have with eggs in the morning, to mixing it up in my pasta dishes and then some. Ginger is an incredible vegetable and is loaded with compenants which assist in fighting bacteria in the body, particularly with respiratory infections of any type. If you can’t handle ginger in your food, then try ginger tea with lots of honey as a great alterantive and it will also keep you well hydrated as well.

Garlic:

Much like ginger, garlic has a hoast of health benefits, all of which can help combat any bacteria in the body, which can lead to weaking the immune system and make you more vulnerable to catching something much worse, like COVID. Adding garlic into all of your cooking is super easy, as it literally goes with anything. In the morning, try mixing a little garlic with some soy and oyster sauce and then drizzle all over your eggs – so delicious.

Sleep:

Probably the most important thing ever is to sleep and allow your body to rest. I have been listening to a fabulous app at night called ‘Alarm Clock – Sleep Sounds which assists you in falling asleep and staying asleep. You can choose your favourite background ambient sounds, from a thunder storm, to a forest rain, or perhaps you like the sound of the ocean. Match that with the best type of beta waves designed to help you sleep better and a meditative guide who talks you through a guided meditation for thirty minutes before dropping off to sleep. you can choose to have the ambient sounds play the length of the meditation guide, or longer – anywhere from one hour to six hours, or more if you live in a noisy suburb or city.

Vitamin C:

Did you know recent studies show when we intake vitamin C it only stays in the body for a short period of time before it is discharged out? Vitamin C is uber important for a variety of different reasons. not only oes it support immune health and system functioning of internal organs, it also protects against varying illnesses which target cells and can also improve overall skin and haior health too. If you are unable to get the desired amount of vitamin C daily from the foods you eat, try a supplment you can take daily, ontop of the increasing eating vitamin C rich foods. These can range from broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, and other leafy greens. Plus apples, strawberries and oranges too.

Avoid Hand Sanitiser:

If you can avoid using hand sanitiser then do. Many virologists and germ specialists have claimed our hands have an organic life support system on them, which is made up of good bacteria. This good bacteria helps our hands fight off the bad stuff – much like what the good and bad bacteria does in our gut. When you use hand sanitiser, you are essentially destroying the good bacteria which is working daily to protect the spread of bad bacteria around the body, starting with your hands. Hand wipes are okay when youa re out and about. However, if you can have access to a tap and soap, this is the best way to kill off any nasties instead of hand sanitiser.

Masks:

This has been heavily debated of later, to whether or not masks actually work to reduce any spread at all. Many doctors and people in the medical profession confirm that masks don’t do what’s required top ensure particles ar not spread when you are coughing, sneezing and breathing. If you want to conduct your very own experiment. Light a candle, place a mask on and then blow the candle out. Yes you can blow a candle out wearing a mask. Which means they are not blocking out the spread at all. A great alternative is to maintain social distancing. That way, you will be out of harms way should someone be sneezing or coughing.

Fresh Air and Sunshine:

It has been scientifically proven now, that UV, sunshine and fresh air can help you combat most illnesses, including COVID. So get out and grab some while you can. Even for thirty minutes a day, fresh air and sunshine can make the world of difference for your body, and the vitamin D us great for muscle and bone health as well. So essentially you are charging the body, powering it up to fight back whatever tries to attack it. make the time, get out and breath and grab as much sunshine as you can to keep healthy.

The above health pointers may not seem revolutionary in their concepts. But you would be surprised how many of us don’t implement these basic strategies on a daily basis to safeguard our health. Small things such as getting enough rest, allowing your body to breath fresh air and enjoy some sunshine for as little as thirty minutes a day and to increase your water intake daily to stop dehydration are all things we can manage daily to stay happy and healthy.

And where I respect the whole social distancing concept to keep people healthy and away from any infections, to a point. I do believe this has been my saving grace, which has prevented me from catching anything nasty over the last three to four months.

We are currently in our flu season here in Australia, which is our winter season. And at the same time every year, I often catch bronchitis. So the fact that I have not yet caught anything (gee I hope I don’t jinx myself here) so far this year, means that the above simple health strategies I have been implementing into my daily life are most certainly making a difference into keeping me healthy. And if that’s not proof, I don’t know what is.

This story was first published on. 27th July 2020 – but seeing how relevant it is today in 2021 a year on here in Sydney. I thought I would share again.