These are all steps you can take that are not being discussed to any significant extent.

Back when the Coronavirus news broke, I began researching the effects in China, not because of concerns for my own health, but for that on others. I was delighted to see that the virus does not seem to touch the most innocent among us:  the youngest of our children.

I haven’t expressed anything about my own situation, other than to note that my line of work places me in the midst of people from all over the country and the world.  I did find it a bit unsettling to be a part of the high-risk group by age, if only on the fringe. But then I researched a bit more and my personal level of concern dropped. More on that in a later blog.

While the CDC and WHO is somewhat silent on the issue, there are things we can do to reduce our vulnerability to this and other viruses.
I’m going to list them in order of the priority I put on them.  And all of these are things you can start today, some with immediate effect!

SUNLIGHT. Go outside! There have been numerous studies regarding the effects of being cloistered in during the lockdown during the Covid-19 crisis. The high numbers of people who actually became infected with Covid-19 while in lockdown points to the lack of vitamin D, which is vital to disease immunity and is generated in the human body by being exposed to sunlight.  https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/vitamin-d-covid-19/

SLEEP. Seven to nine hours as recommended. “Studies … revealed a variety of potentially harmful effects of sleep deprivation usually associated with increased stress, such as increased blood pressure, impaired control of blood glucose, and increased inflammation.” Naps can fill the gap. http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences/sleep-and-disease-risk

INTERMITTENT FASTING. The benefits of this on inflammation and overall health have been documented for over 100 years through multiple studies.  A CR (calorie reduction) diet offers similar health benefits. I saw a dramatic reduction in my arthritis pain once I discovered this and put it into practice. And since Covid-19’s worst effects are inflammation related, this is extremely important. “Fasting reduces the numbers of circulating monocytes in healthy humans and mice; fasting also reduces monocyte metabolic and inflammatory activity; fasting improves inflammatory diseases without compromising antimicrobial immunity.” https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30850-5

RAW GARLIC (CRUSHED). Because drug companies (and much of medical science) is profit driven, unprofitable treatments aren’t researched extensively. The few studies done, however, support a significant reduction in the effects of viruses.  The CDC Covid-19 guidelines downplay this based on no testing with Covid-19, but they haven’t had opportunity to do ANY significant testing on Covid-19 with ANYTHING. “These results suggest that supplementation of the diet with aged garlic extract may enhance immune cell function and that this may be responsible, in part, for reduced severity of colds and flu.” Other studies show a reduction in blood pressure of between 5-10 points and garlic is a known blood thinner, which is usually a positive effect. I crush a clove with a garlic press, wait 15 minutes for full potency and wash it down with water nightly. If I feel a cold coming on, I increase it to twice or three times daily. (I also supplement zinc and vitamin C, but the data is much better on garlic.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22280901

WEIGHT LOSS. If you run the BMI numbers and you are in the range of 30 or more (as I was not that long ago), you are a target for Covid-19 despite age. Intermittent fasting will bring measured but positive effects and get you out of that range. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

DON’T SMOKE.  DON’T VAPE. DON’T DRINK TO EXCESS. These should be obvious. The argument for vaping as the lesser of two evils holds limited merit.
DRUGS. Drugs, drugs, drugs will hurt you.  The illegal ones, obvious again. But doctors will prescribe a raft of drugs instead of recommending lifestyle changes, drugs that all have serious side effects. High blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are often related to excessive weight and poor diet; again, intermittent fasting can help. Find a doctor who supports alternatives to drugs when possible.  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(19)30149-4/fulltext

Here’s a Tedx talk on intermittent fasting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Dkt7zyImk

These are some things you can do to reduce your exposure to Covid-19 today. However, there are lots of things we have no control over; any one of us could pass away any moment.  “Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].” James 4:14 AMP

But we have hope, because “It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” 1 Peter 1:3-5 NAS

All these things you can do are important. But the most important thing you can do is, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NASB

I do not want to have too much of a grip on this life. And I look forward to the next.  With the genetic liabilities and history of my parents before me, anything I can do to extend my longevity is somewhat of a futile exercise.  As I mentioned in one of my Facebook comments on the Covid-19 death rates (which, by the way, are clearly inflated), a multi-year and multi-generational study has shown that the death rate for humans like us is 100%. If. If we put our hope in Jesus Christ, however, our life expectancy is unlimited.