It looks like we are going to be living with coronavirus for a long time to come. We might as well get good at it. As many states including Colorado lurch toward reopening even before disease rates have come down, it is left to individual responsibility to prevent a resurgence of the virus. We will have to get used to keeping our social distance. We will have to get used to wearing masks and gloves. Preventive medicine has always been the low man on the health care totem pole and it seems we are finally forced to make prevention a part of everyday life in America. This disease isn’t going away anytime soon and so making scientifically healthy lifestyle changes has become a necessity of life not just a luxury or an afterthought the way we thought of healthy lifestyles before the deadly coronavirus outbreak. There is hope on the horizon, researchers at Oxford University may be closer to a vaccine than anyone expected.

The Health Care Plan Going Forward: Take Care of Yourself!

Physical Activity and Keeping Your Immune System Strong

For all of us, young and old, regular physical activity is important for staying healthy! Compared to just sitting around most of the time, moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with better immune function. Regular physical activity can help reduce your feelings of stress and anxiety (which many of us may be feeling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic).

Follow the link for some strategies to maintain physical activity and fitness.

https://www.exerciseismedicine.org/assets/page_documents/EIM_Rx%20for%20Health_%20Staying%20Active%20During%20Coronavirus%20Pandemic.pdf

Way’s to Improve Immune Function

Here is an article on how to improve immune function from the folks at Harvard Health.

There are many lifestyle improvements that can improve our resistance to disease. Diet, exercise, meditation, and stress management can all play a role in improving our lives as well as improving resistance to illness.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system

Get Control of Your Diet

What we eat has a great influence on our health and risk of disease. This time of isolation is forcing us to regulate behavior in ways we have never had to before. All those resolutions we have made to eat healthier now have a chance to be implemented. Here is a link to improve your immune system with diet.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/health/immunity-diet-food-coronavirus-drayer-wellness/index.html

Improve Your Mind

Here is a list of free resources from the University of Oxford Department of Continuing Education. Visit the ‘Curious Minds‘ page with all-new resources for you to enjoy – including a journey around the Great Barrier Reef, access to a collection of free audiobooks, and a visit to the Biodiversity Heritage Library!

https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/curious-minds?utm_source=mc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2004-conted-curious-minds-mailchimp-3&utm_source=Curious+Minds+Third+Email&utm_campaign=7ef13b07c7-Curious-minds-week-3&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c6a40cc6b4-7ef13b07c7-85054925

Have Hope

If we can get the whole world to pitch in together we can get control of this virus. Listen to this TED talk by Bill Gates on how we can all work together against this common enemy.

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

Researchers at Oxford University got a head start on a coronavirus vaccine last year because they had already completed safety studies on a vaccine before the novel coronavirus came along. Having proven their vaccine is safe they are the first to be able to move forward with clinical trials. A study using their vaccine in rhesus monkeys has shown it to be effective in monkeys and they are on to a trial of 6000 people and coronavirus in humans. Keep your fingers crossed, if it works in humans we could have a vaccine as early as September. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/world/europe/coronavirus-vaccine-update-oxford.html