It is March 23rd 2020, and as I write these words, it seems already too late to kill this coronavirus problem in the egg. Big containment measures are being implemented all around the world, that we don’t know yet how successful they will be. So how can you best prepare yourself today, for a situation where the spread of the virus gets out of control? Here are the Doctor’s eight lifestyle hacks to brace yourself against this coronavirus.
Basic precautions
Take precautions the smart way
I see people wearing masks at the supermarket, but at the same time holding their trolley with bare hands.
Based on what I can gather from reading medical sources, it is not clear how efficiently a mask will protect you from being infected. There are a couple of reasons anyway why you should leave masks alone for now:
- We only are at the beginning of this. It is going to get much worse, with the peak probably by May or June. And we are already out of supply in masks! Leave the masks for when we reach the peak!
- There are people who really need masks in their daily jobs. Think cashiers at the supermarket, or health care professionals. Leave the masks to those who really need them.
If you want to use masks anyway, learn how to properly handle them as instructed on the WHO website.
This virus is not airborne. It is carried by bodily droplets ejected by infected people sneezing or coughing, or talking to you from too close. Once ejected, those droplets will ultimately fall on the ground or a nearby surface.
Baring a situation where a guy sneezes at your face, you main chance of being infected is by touching such a surface, then later putting your hand on your face. It’s surprising how many times a day we are touching our face, without being aware of it.
Lifestyle hacks, #1. Take precautions the smart way:
- Keep your distance from other people, and stay away from those who appear to have symptoms
- Leave the dwindling supply of masks to those in the healthcare system who really need them
- Instead, worry about your hands. Don’t touch your face when you are out. And when you come back home, wash your hands and face immediately with soap.
Don’t propagate false information and panic
Be careful about what journalists say, because some of them don’t know jackshit and repeat and deform what they think they have understood. Be suspicious about “news” that have been forwarded to you.
For instance, there was think online magazine that was announcing that the cure had been found. It turned out that 1) it is not a cure, merely a treatment to reduce symptoms, and 2) it is still being tested, so this info is far from confirmed. This is a typical case of media distortion. A simple Google search was able to debunk the bullshit in less than 5 minutes.
In another instance, there was this email from self-proclaimed “researchers” who claimed that the virus didn’t resist temperatures higher than 25 C. Simple application of common sense tells you it’s not true: the virus thrives in the human body which is notoriously at 37C.
Lifestyle hacks, #2. Don’t be that guy who forwards false news without applying basic critical judgment first. False information creates confusion, can be harmful, and contribute to the ambient panic. Apply your common sense, and double check everything first.
If you are looking for information, go to the official sites such as WHO or CDC or any official health authority, who know what they are talking about. They will be the first to post serious information as soon as it is confirmed.
Do not go to a hospital or doctor unless absolutely necessary
In the coming weeks the healthcare system is going to be overwhelmed. Or maybe it already is, depending on your country. They just don’t need to deal with another common cold. Let them work on the very serious cases.
Plus, hospitals are going to be full of sick people. You don’t want to run a chance to actually catch the virus, unless you have something really serious.
Lifestyle hacks, #3. If you have symptoms, it’s better to call your local hospital (they must have a hotline) and follow their instructions. If they deem your symptoms are serious enough, they will tell you to come. Else, you are much better off at home.
Now let’s look at your only real defense against the virus.
Your immune system, and how to boost it
In a nutshell, we are talking about vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin D. If you are like most people in the Western world, you are likely to be deficient in some or all of these. And now is not the time to be deficient.
Get your daily sun exposure
There is ample medical evidence that being deficient in vitamin D leads to weak immune system. The main way our body synthesizes vitamin D is via direct skin exposure to sunlight’s ultraviolet radiation – more specifically UVB.
The amount of time spend in the sun to get your daily dose, depends on many things. How much skin is exposed? What period of the year is it? What latitude are you in? Are you white skinned or black skinned? How high is the sun in the sky? What is your altitude?
To give you an idea, here are a few examples.
- Sun high in the sky, cloudless day, shorts / tee shirts, white person, early spring, London: you need about 10 minutes of sun exposure.
- Same, on an overcast day: 45 minutes.
- If you are a black skinned person, however, you will need to multiply these amounts by 6, due to higher skin melanin.
- If the sun is lower than 45 degrees on the horizon however, the UVB radiation will be refracted in the atmosphere, and it is not effective
- And UVB do not pass through glass, so you need to be out in the open.
For your specific situation, I would recommend you take a look at the following sun exposure calculator.
So it is going to be more or less difficult to get your daily it D synthesis from the sun. But this is not the time to be vitamin D deficient anyway. Take any chance to synthesize vitamin D.
Lifestyle hacks, #4. Get as much sun exposure as you can.
Have a daily walk outside of your home, expose your skin to the sun, 10 to 20 minutes a day at least, every day.
Eat eggs and fish, and have some milk
Apart from getting some sun, the other way to get vitamin D is via food. The best sources of dietary vitamin D are fish (especially salmon and sardines), cow’s milk, and eggs. For instance, one egg (yes, including the yolk!) will provide you 8 to 10% of your daily need in vitamin D. If you can’t have enough vitamin D via sun exposure, then get as much vit D as you can from food sources.
Lifestyle hacks, #5. Get more vitamin D by eating more fish, and having eggs every day. Get one glass of full fat, organic milk every morning.
Hopefully lifestyle hacks #4 and #5 should take care of your vitamin D levels (which are otherwise likely to be low). But the next pillar of a good immune system is vitamin C.
Eat broccoli, bell peppers, parsley, kiwi fruits for vitamin C
Here I am not talking about the supplement tablets. And not talking about canned foods, too.
For your best health, you should be getting your vitamin C from fresh vegetables and fruits. In addition to all kinds of vitamins, they will also provide you with much needed minerals, such as potassium.
While everyone thinks of orange juice, some vegetables are much more effective sources of vitamin C. Below are some of the vitamin C super-stars.
Note: In brackets I show the amount you need to eat to get your recommended daily vit C needs (data sourced from Wikipedia).
- Bell peppers (103 g)
- Broccoli (93 g)
- Parsley (62 g)
- Cauliflower (172 g)
30 grams of parsley, for instance, will provide you with 50% of your daily vitamin C needs! You should start incorporating fresh parsley in your every day nutrition.
And now regarding fruits, here are some vitamin C champions:
- Strawberries (141 g)
- Pineapple (172 g)
- Oranges (156 g)
- Kiwi fruits (89 g)
Eat spinach, carrots, and kale for vitamin A
Vitamin A is also associated with good immune system.
Geeks note: Not any vitamin A, though. We are talking about the retinol-like vitamin A. If you look it up, search for ingredients high in “Retinol Activity Equivalent” (RAE).
The best source of vitamin A are
- Sweet potatoes (93 g)
- Carrots (108 g)
- Spinach (171 g)
- Kale (132 g)
Again shown in brackets are the quantities required in order to get your daily need in vitamin A. Data sourced from the World’s Healthiest Foods. The amount calculated are based on “Retinol Activity Equivalent” needs and will differ from Wikipedia.
Lifestyle hacks, #6 and #7. Keep a strong immune system by having plenty of fruits and vegetables, every day, from the lists shown here. They will boost your vitamin A and C intake, as well as bring you the minerals essential to your health.
Do some daily gym at home
The next best way you can support your immune system, and hormonal system in general, is by keeping a decent amount of muscle mass around your body. Now is not the time to be physically weak anyway.
I really miss my barbells! And if you are a gym enthusiast like I am, you know the feeling. There are a few things that still can be done at home with minimal equipment, though. Here are a few ideas.
Home workout ideas
Do the repetitions (reps) goal in whatever combination of sets / reps suits you to reach the goal.
- Push-ups. Do 50 every day. If you are advanced, you may want to to try the deficit pushups: have two stacks of books of equal height separated by about shoulder width. You place each hand on one stack, then perform your push ups, still touching the ground with your chest on each rep. The stacks force you to go down deeper and increase the range of motion, making it harder.
- Chin-ups. Do 25 every day. If you do not have a chin-up bar, try the following. Place a chair about 120 to 150 cm away from a table. You start the exercise with your shoulders on the floor, beneath the border of the table, and your feet on the chair. Grab the border of the table from beneath, make your body straight like a plank, “chin-up” yourself until you touch the beneath of the table, then slowly come back down.
- Dips between two chairs. Do 25 every day. You can place two chairs back to back, separated by about shoulder width. Test the stability first, and make sure the chairs do not slip away. Hold the back of the chairs with straight arms, then dip in between, and back up. Make sure you go deep enough, with your shoulders beneath your elbows.
- Squats. Do 50 every day. Place your feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly out. Squat down, keeping yourself balanced over mid-foot, until the crease of you hips reach below the top of your knee caps, then squat back up. This is “full depth” squats. For a loaded version, use a backpack loaded with books.
These are just ideas! It is time to be creative.
Lifestyle hacks, #8. Keep a good amount of muscle mass on you. Do some home workouts daily. Now is the time to be physically strong, rather than weak.
Bonus: Two covid-19 special recipes and one more hack
Recipe 1 – The Doctor’s vitamin C booster salad.
I personally love this salad. The longest part of the preparation is to cut the vegetables. In terms of vitamin C (as per Wikipedia data), it represents 115% of your daily need per serving.
For four persons, have 500 g of tomatoes, 300 g of cauliflower and 200 g of bell pepper. Cut the veggies in small pieces (typically like 2 or 3 cm wide) and mix them in a large salad bowl. Chop 30 g of parsley and add to the mix.
I like my cauliflower raw, but you could otherwise stir fry it lightly otherwise, or bake them in the oven.
For the dressing, mash two cloves of garlic, and mix it with 30g of olive oil. Add salt, pepper, herbs of your choice. Stir well. Add to the salad bowl and mix up. You’re good to serve!
Recipe 2 – The Doctor’s immune booster juice
This is literally a liquid salad.
In a blender, add some cauliflower, kale and parsley in equal quantity, and fill up two third of your blender capacity. Add some berries (strawberry if you can), some ground cinnamon and ginger for the taste. Add some water and blend the mix thoroughly. You need to add the ingredients progressively in the blender as well as water, so you can control the thickness of the juice.
Put in the fridge and serve fresh.
And one more hack!
No need to wait for a raging pandemic to implement a healthy lifestyle. You should worry about having your daily requirements in vitamins, minerals, micro and macro nutrients all the time!
Lifestyle hacks, #9. Embrace lifestyle hacks #4 to #8 as a normal part of your everyday life. Even after the pandemic is over.
Give up the junk food for good. Give up takeaway food for good. Start preparing your food yourself. Have less pizza, pasta, bakeries, bread and sweets. Have way more fresh vegetables every day. And worry about keeping a healthy amount of muscles on yourself.
Parting thoughts: where this is headed.
I was initially of those who thought that this would be killed in the egg, like it happened for SARS and MERS before. But we are past that, now. As I write, it remains unclear whether the containment measures taken all over the globe will be effective in containing the spread. I think the most likely outcome is something like this:
- In some countries, the disease never really starts. It seems that the virus doesn’t like hot and humid, sub-tropical countries – much in the same way as common cold. Look at the spread in the Philippines, which is over 100 million people, and sanitary conditions are less than ideal. It is surprisingly low.
- In some countries, they successively curve the spread down under control. They did it in China, South Korea and Singapore. Some other countries, hopefully, will also succeed.
- And some countries where the spread gets out of control…
The question now becomes, if some countries are “clean” while others are out of control, how long will the “clean” countries be able to shut their borders without doing some significant damage to their economies and standards of living? Then it is only matter of time before the disease comes back in.
It is going to get much worse before it gets better
At this stage, a global contagion seems unavoidable. We are then looking at 15 to 30% of the world population infected. Well, I will be glad to be proved wrong by events.
In any case, the worse is still to come. The current rate of growth in new cases (outside China), is around 20% new cases per day. At this rate, the number of cases multiplies by 10 every two weeks… It means that the peak of the virus should be around May or June.
Once there, though, things will get better. Recovering people will have the antibodies, making it harder for the virus to spread further. And in a year from now, a vaccine should eventually be available.
So brace yourself for what is coming in the next two months by applying my eight lifestyle hacks now!
Yours,
