We are all familiar with the adage “health is wealth” but with the onset of the global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, this maxim is now in question. Every day we hear about seemingly healthy individuals who become quite sick from this virus. Why is that?
It’s clear that those at the highest risk for severe illness and death are over the age of 65, obese, and have existing comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. And yet we also read about younger individuals with no known health issues who experience significant symptoms or even die. And what about the large percentage of people who have antibodies to the virus but exhibit no outward signs of illness? Is it all just random or is there more to the story?
The coronavirus attacks when one’s immune system is weakened – as happens when we are compromised with leaky gut, inflammation, blood sugar imbalances, and poor dietary and lifestyle choices. For many people, there are no obvious signs that they are immuno-compromised and vulnerable, so it can appear the virus is attacking randomly. This, however, makes no sense. When something isn’t fully understood, it appears random, and as scientists and researchers acquire more data, randomness typically falls into predictability.
What if the individuals who don’t get symptoms of COVID-19 have a more balanced immune system and those who get symptoms but fully recover have less than optimal but still functional immunity? If any part of this is true, it begs the question: how can we strengthen our immune resilience? Even if we ultimately discover additional factors that contribute to one’s susceptibility besides compromised immunity, doesn’t it make sense to optimize our health, our well-being, and our immune function right now? And is this not more critical than ever before?
I’ll admit, this isn’t a popular idea. Most are living in fear that COVID will “get” them. So few people are willing to do the hard work required to optimize gut function, eat nutrient-dense foods, cut out sugar and gluten, get adequate sleep, prioritize exercise, manage stress effectively, and take the right supplements to support their biochemical individuality and specific weaknesses as determined by lab testing.
It’s far easier to wait for a vaccine. But a vaccine, when it comes, will arrive with its own laundry list of problems and there will be those who can’t or won’t take it. It’s far easier to believe that conventional medicine will somehow circumvent humankind’s extreme departure from the vitality of our ancestors. Unfortunately, our planet is too far gone and so are we. There is no magic pill that will make this all go away. If we want to be among the survivors of COVID-19, it’s going to require each of us to step into personal responsibility for all aspects of our life.
Herd immunity happens when the majority of us have been exposed to the virus and, unless our plan is to never re-enter society without a mask and gloves, we will all likely come in contact with it.
So yes: it’s safe to say that immune resilience is the new wealth.
And immune resilience isn’t about the building up of conventional medicine’s war chest of drugs. It’s about coming back into balance with nature. Our lives depend on it.
