Today, as I click on the Reprogrammed homepage, the words that I wrote about our current healthcare system – displayed front and center – hit me hard:
“Individuals living in the modern world currently find themselves amidst a mediocre health paradigm. While technological advancements now allow for truly miraculous treatment options, the growing reliance on these technologies to overcome lives spent making unhealthy choices is insufficient and unsustainable.
An alternative approach to healthcare is to understand how our choices lead down the now common path to poor health & modern disease. With this understanding, we then have the power to change our projection, leading to a life of good health, relatively free from the healthcare industry and its many challenges.”
While these words are written, specifically, to address the problem of the high rates of non-infectious, modern disease, as I read these words that I wrote years ago, I cannot help but notice that they apply to the problem we have on our hands, today – that of the COVID 19 pandemic.
About that problem:
I am currently isolated in my apartment – I have stopped going to work; I stocked up on groceries and supplies so that I don’t have to go to any stores. I am staying away from others, with the sole purpose of slowing the spread of this virus so that our healthcare capacity is not overwhelmed by individuals seeking life-saving treatments.
This month, and very likely, in the months that follow, we will be seeing those around us get sick, and of those who get sick, many will end up fighting for their lives. Most of us will be okay – but for too many, this is a life-threating situation.
And in this healthcare crisis, I am reminded of my own message: when things get really bad, our healthcare system does a great job of saving the lives that it can. It does not, however, have the ability to solve the problem – to keep us from getting sick, or to save us all when the burden is too high.
Right now, we are facing a threat that has come on within a span of months. Currently, within this span of weeks, we are seeing it impact our own lives as we are being told to upturn these lives so that we can gain some amount of control. As this one particular virus overburdens our system, time is not on our side and we must hustle to do that which we can.
The hard truth is though, millions of lives are being significantly impacted in negative ways, and for millions more, this threat is their very lives.
The only question that remains is, What can we do about it now?
Taking Action in Healthcare Crisis
Here’s another hard truth we all understand: in the world we live in, we will always have those among us that are forced to battle a serious illness. It is a part of being human – our bodies decline over time, and every once in a while, a disease is diagnosed of which we have no control. Sickness, frailty – it happens, and we will always need a medical system that has the ability to handle that which we cannot control.
But what about the rest of us – those who are not facing a serious illness? What about us who have every ability to make healthy choices to support a healthy body – if only we choose to make that healthy decision.
Do we have the ability to take control with our decisions, today, so that we can help both ourselves and our healthcare system?
Right now, as we find ourselves faced with this particular healthcare crisis, I urge you to spend just a bit of all that newfound free time to think through these happenings as they pertain to your ability to take control of your health.
As for myself – I am at home thinking about this from two very important perspectives:
- First, how can my actions lead to helping out the health of our world with the current COVID 19 crisis?
- Second, how can I use this time to make myself healthier, so that in the future, I can be less of a burden on our healthcare system?
Let’s talk about that healthcare burden for a moment. Today we are all being forced to see the COVID 19 healthcare crisis front and center. Except for the small amount of control we do have (some simple things like staying away from other humans, washing our hands regularly, and not being the jerk who takes all of the toilet paper and hand sanitizer) we have no choice but to hunker down and hope for the best. The problem is already here. We must now ride it out.
What we are not all forced to see – at least for today – is a second healthcare crisis brewing right under our noses. This healthcare crisis is the one I spoke to in my opening words on the Reprogrammed homepage: that of the extraordinary rates of poor metabolic health and its progression to modern disease.
Chances are we are all familiar with this problem. It is all around us – clear to see; and given the rates of disease, I know that many of you are dealing with it first hand with symptoms and interventions that range from carrying around excess weight, experiencing low energy, brain fog, migraines, and other life-hindering symptoms… all the way to insulin injections, chemotherapy, surgeries, and other life-altering treatments.
The list goes on and on and the rates continue to increase. And this, my friends, is a significant problem.
Let me be more specific – it is a multi-trillion-dollar problem and is one that is taking control over the lives of too many individuals. It hits the individual financially as they struggle to pay their healthcare bills; it takes over the lives of individuals as they spend more of their time and energy focused on managing symptoms, while they get less time and energy to spend time living the life that they want to live.
Unfortunately, the problem gets worse when we look at a different level – that of the burden on our nation’s healthcare budget. The burden of poor health and modern disease is accumulating as a significant debt, one in the trillions and counting into the tens of trillions (see notes for the full story).
Shall we keep going? What about the problem from an economic perspective, as companies lose productivity from their employees taking regular sick days or extended leaves of absence as they go in and out of treatment. This goes for small business and large: if your employees are constantly battling their own health, they have less time and energy to do the job.
I’ll stop there, although the list continues for as long as you care to read on (see notes), and turn our attention to what matters right now.
The point is, this is a problem because, as we are witnessing today, our healthcare system has a capacity. Our economy – it can come crashing down. Another way to say this – our world, including its healthcare and economic systems – they have their breaking point.
Currently, we are witnessing the economic crash from COVID 19. We have yet to see how deep it goes, but one thing is for certain: businesses, small and large, are being significantly threatened. And that will be felt by everyone.
And then there’s the even more painful side. Here in this country, we are facing the beginning of a healthcare breaking point. This breaking point shows up as ventilators and ICU beds are taken up and those who need immediate medical attention are unable to receive it.
Times are tough, and they are likely only going to get worse. But, if we pay attention, there is a very important lesson we can learn.
And with that, as we work to get through this current healthcare crisis, I ask that you take some time to consider letting this lesson sink in as you consider the part that you can play, both in this current crisis and the one that is threatening to break us in the future.
Now, understand that I do not ask this of you to send you into a deeper fear spiral about a second wave coming in our future. I understand that our current reality is plenty painful and that another layer added to our already scary and uncertain paradigm is not what we are looking for right now.
I ask this of you because it is our reality, and in times of crisis we have a choice: we can choose to ride this out with as much ease as possible – hiding behind endless Netflix binges, baked goods, and bottles of wine until we make it out on the other side back to our same old routines and habits; or, we can stand up and ask what we can do to play our part so that this does not happen again.
Even better, understand that I only ask this of you because, as bad as things seem, there is really good news about the solutions to overcoming both the current crisis and the crisis that is still building momentum before hitting us hard at some point in the future.
So what’s that good news?
The truth is, you have a significant amount of control over the problem because you have control over your own health. You have the ability to make choices each and every day that will either lead to a healthy body that supports the life you want to live, or that will lead to an unhealthy body that hinders your ability to live out your life as you are forced into the healthcare system.
This is good news because it means that by taking control of your role in this global problem, you also have the opportunity to take control over your own life by creating a body that supports the life you want to live.
That sounds like a solid opportunity to create some positive impact to me. If you’re on board, I invite you to join in.
With the rest of this article, I will take you through options that you have to create this positive impact. I will address the question of what exactly we can do – How we can take action, starting today, to make this world a healthier place:
- How can our actions lead to helping the health of our world with our current crisis?
- How can our actions lead to the prevention of future healthcare crisis?
- How can our actions make ourselves healthier so that in times of crisis, we know that our own health will be just fine?
To get you started, I’ll clue you in on the specific actions that I am taking in my own life. Then, I’ll let you know about some other ways that you can take action in yours.
Here is what I am doing this month to address the immediate (COVID 19) problem:
- Staying in my apartment and away from others so that I do not participate in spreading coronavirus and over-burdening our healthcare system.
- Heading out into nature to get vitamin D and aerobic exercise, because both of these support my immune system
- Yes, there is an understanding that there is a slight problem with (2) interfering with the logic of (1), but I understand the trade-offs and make sure my outdoor excursions are to unpopulated areas (hello backyard wilderness!), doing my very best to keep a distance from anyone I may pass on the trails.
- I am completely avoiding alcohol, one well-established immune system suppressant. This one is quite easy – since I am not allowed to go into social situations with others anyway, the alcohol went away from day 1.
- I stocked my kitchen with real, whole foods and have no access to any industrially processed junk foods. The real, whole foods will support the health of my body (including my immune system), while the complete elimination of junk foods will keep that burden off of my body when the time comes to fight this thing.
- Expanding on the food focus – I have completely eliminated sugar (sugar as in all forms of refined carbohydrate, whether it’s the sweet stuff or the stuff found in grain-based products). Sugar, in any form, is an immune-system suppressant.
- Expanding on the food focus further, I am adding in extra amounts of immune-boosting foods: garlic, ginger, turmeric, sauerkraut, bone broth. This isn’t a full list – there is a long list that you can access with a google search, but these are the ones that I decided to focus on.
- Working on closing my eating window. This one is important and there’s a fair chance you don’t know much about it, so let me explain.
- My “eating window” is the window of time during the day for which I consume all of my calories. Generally I eat all of my meals and snacks in around a 12-hour window (7 am until 7 pm). Right now, I am working on shortening this window as much as possible.
- Here’s the logic on this one: when we eat, the body is put under a significant burden as it processes this food. When it is focused on doing this, it has a decreased ability to perform other important functions, such as building a strong immune system to fight off coronavirus.
- The goal here is to minimize the eating window to maximize the fasting window so that my body has more time to improve immunity. What I don’t want to do is shorten my eating window so much that it becomes an added stress on my body (see the next point). This is an art – one I manage by listening closely to my body. I eat when I am truly hungry, and I don’t eat when my body is telling me it’s hungry but is really just bored (at least, that’s the idea; the implementation of the idea is a work in progress).
- Most importantly, I stop eating after dinner. I eat as early as seems reasonable (5 or 6 pm), and then I stop ingesting all calories. This allows my body time to digest before I go to sleep so that my body can focus on getting good, deep sleep, which may be the most important thing for my immune system right now.
- Regular meditation and overall increased time to relax – Stress is a major immune-system suppressor. With the world turned upside down and so much uncertainty in the air, it is easy to spend the day stressing over everything. I am putting forth a strong effort to minimize stress with my own mindfulness and meditation practice, adding in extra periods of time for:
- focused meditation practice
- time to relax and be still, putting away all technology and simply focusing on my thoughts and feelings
Here is what I am doing this month to address the future health of my body:
- Using my time spent at home to focus on building all of the above into habits and routines.
- Using my time spent confined at home to dial in on my diet, exercise, and mindfulness routines.
The key to a life of good health is consistency. The key to consistency is habit and routine. I am viewing this forced time at home as a great place to kick off many of those habits that I have been hoping to establish while polishing some of the good health habits that I have already created.
What are some of those habits and routines?
First and foremost, I am focusing on cleaning up my diet. Generally, I am pretty good at eating aligned with my principles outlined here on my building a healthy diet page. What tends to hinder my ability to hit 100% compliance is social situations. Well, it turns out that this month, I am not allowed to enter any social situations and so I have chosen to treat that as an opportunity to kick out refined grains, sugar, and vegetable/seed oils. I currently have no items in my apartment containing these industrial ingredients, and I am fully stocked on real, whole foods.
My intention with this period of time is to completely ditch any physical or psychological dependence on refined grains and sugars and to give stricter attention to my discipline for saying no to all industrial not-so-foods.
Second, I am focusing on specific exercise routines to hone in on those areas of fitness which I have been neglecting. For me, I know that I am a very physically active individual and that general fitness is not a problem. I run and rock climb regularly, and occasionally lift weights and do some yoga or stretching.
What I do struggle with is consistently lifting weights and consistently working on my mobility, and therefore, my intention with this period of time is to get into routines where I focus on strength and mobility. For the strength part, I have my own simple routine that involves a pull-up bar, a set of bands, and my own body weight, and I have chosen this routine based on the muscle groups I wish to focus on for my specific hobbies (running and rock climbing). For the mobility part, I have chosen one platform to follow along with. More on this to follow shortly.
If you are interested in focusing on your own healthy habits and routines, allow me to make a few suggestions:
First and foremost, your diet is a golden opportunity to become a healthier individual. I understand that for many, this may be a tough time to regularly access fresh produce and other real, whole foods. However, I bet that if you give it some effort, there are plenty of healthy options. Some of those include:
- frozen fruits and vegetables
- frozen meats and canned fish
- eggs
- bulk items: nuts & seeds, oats, beans, rice
- fresh produce when willing and able to brave the grocery stores
Second, one area that you can capitalize on during this period of forced time spent at home is sleep. Having good sleep habits is an important foundation for good health. If we sleep well, we have the energy to make tougher decisions during the day. If we sleep well, we give our bodies time to fight off any threats to good health (a deadly virus, for example) while building up a strong immune system. I recommend that you use this time to go to bed early and to wake up without an alarm.
Third, now is a fantastic time to build routines to stay (or get) physically active. The internet is overflowing with at-home workouts right now. If you are interested in finding specific workouts that meet your own specific goals, the internet is your best friend.
Or, if you are looking for a simple set of exercises to improve the most essential muscle groups, I suggest you keep it simple and focus on the following:
- push-ups
- planks
- pull-ups
- squats
For the mobility part, this is where I need to phone a friend. My resource for this period of time is the amazing Jen Esquer. You can find her at docjenfit.com. She has graciously provided the world with a free month of her monthly subscription, The Optimal Body. She is also running a free 14-day challenge on her Instagram page, where you can also find a wealth of free content. With her platform, you will have everything you need to stay physically active and improve specific functionality (strength, mobility, cardio, etc.).
A second great resource for your strength and mobility needs is The Ready State. They offer a monthly subscription with a free trial and have all the videos you could ever imagine needing addressing any sort of strength or mobility question you could ever have.
Fourth and finally is the practice that keeps me grounded amid all of the chaos in the modern world, especially the chaos that is the world right now – a mindfulness and meditation practice. Given this time of crisis, I would recommend that every individual seriously consider having some form of stress management practice. This could be as simple as putting away all electronics and sitting in a quiet space for 10 minutes or engaging with a more formal meditation or yoga practice.
Again, meditation is not my area of expertise. I can’t consider myself much more than a beginner, and so I will send you directly to my favorite resources:
- Headspace – this is the app that started it all for me. Sign up for a free trial. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain
- Ten Percent – this is currently my favorite meditation app. Again, you can sign up for a free trial with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
- Waking Up – same story as above; this one has less content, overall, but for any fans of Sam Harris or neuroscience, this is a great option.
Not quite ready to open up to the idea of a full meditation practice? No problem, but I again do encourage some form of mental practice for effectively managing this time. If you have an hour, check out this brand new podcast episode between two of my favorite mentors for a good starting place.
One last thing regarding opportunity to improve our long-term health
As I am forced to spend all of this time at home, there is one other item that I am putting much of my attention toward: that of continuing to build my blog devoted to helping individuals learn to make healthy decisions for their own bodies.
If you’re interested in continuing to learn to make healthier decisions so that you can continue to build a healthy body over the years to come, feel free to check out my content. All of my content is 100% free. All you need is to sit down and take it in. Head back to the Homepage to browse the website’s content. You can also find me on Facebook (Your Health, Reprogrammed) and Instagram (yourhealth_reprogrammed).
If you’re interested in receiving regular updates from me, sign up for my mailing list at this link.
If you’re not interested in any of that but still want to know what you can do to become a healthy individual, let me clue you in on an important piece of information. The thing is, even though we have built a massive diet and wellness industry that makes healthy decision-making time-intensive and confusing, the truth is that the actions that most individuals need to take to become healthy are really very simple. Here they are:
- Eat real, whole foods and avoid industrially processed foods
- Move your body, both regularly (each day, throughout the day) and dynamically (change up the ways in which you move your body)
- Practice a balance of stress and rest
I ask of you, today, to begin wherever you are willing and able. If that means taking on one simple action (today I will stop eating sugar; or even simpler, today I will stop eating sugar after dinner), then that is a perfect starting place for you. If it means signing up for a subscription or two or joining my email list, then I hope that you can jump in and absorb all that you can.
Most importantly, wherever you are on your own health journey, and wherever that journey takes you, I hope that you always look forward to healthier decision-making and better health, because that path always exists for you, if only you choose to take it.
Notes
I am not going to write out a long list for you because others have done a thorough job of this. Here is one great example from one of my favorite resources: Dr. Mark Hyman just released his latest book, Food Fix, where he writes about the many, many burdens of poor health and modern disease and makes a very convincing argument for how we can fix the problem, along with the many other problems our modern world is facing, by changing what we eat. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get your hands on a copy of this book.