1.4 We Should Promote Healthy Living Instead of Extreme Isolation

There’s never been a better time to pursue health, both because it is the gift that keeps on giving over time, but also because it confers an immediate best defense against severe corona virus infection.

Dr. David Katz True Health Initiative

If the Mass Hysteria Media were to tell the truth, here is what they would say about the real danger from the Corona Virus:

The fact that the corona virus does not present symptoms with most victims means that it will be impossible to prevent its spread throughout the population. Lock down or no lock down. Isolation or no isolation really makes no difference in terms of the spread of the corona virus. It only makes a difference in terms of destroying our economy.

The only reason that just half of the population will become infected with the virus is because it is likely that over half the population already has an immune system that is healthy enough to stop the virus. The notion that all we need is a magic bullet vaccine is also wishful thinking. The rapid mutation rate of all flu viruses makes the development of an effective vaccine impossible. The only reason drug companies are working on vaccines is to make money off of them – billions of dollars. Few if any lives will be saved by any vaccine.

However, there is an option which could save millions of lives. That option is to promote healthy living in order to strengthen the immune systems of everyone. While less than 1 percent of people who were otherwise healthy died from the corona virus, the fatality rate for people with cardiovascular disease was more than 10 percent. 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

We can thus cut corona virus fatalities by more than 90% simply by getting everyone in America to make healthier lifestyle choices.

Whether a corona virus infection takes a turn for the worse depends on a person’s immune response. “The virus matters, but the host response matters at least as much, and probably more,” says Stanley Perlman, a virologist and infectious disease specialist at the University of Iowa. Therefore, in this section, we will first look at the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We will then review some of the things each of us can do to strengthen our immune system. You no doubt have heard about all of these things before. But we will review them here so folks will understand that this is best way to reduce fatalities from the corona virus.

Percent of Americans with Cardio Vascular Disease
Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) – including heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure - is the number one cause of all fatalities in the US and in the world. Each year, more than 20 million people die from CVD worldwide including about 860,000 people in the US (combining heart disease and stroke). In the US, there are about 2,360 deaths from CVD every day. //professional.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_505473.pdf">https://professional.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_505473.pdf

CVD is the primary cause of at least 30 percent of all fatalities in the US (and in the world). Two thirds of all CVD deaths occur in people over the age of 75. CVD is a greater risk factor to poor people than to wealthy people. The total cost of CVD in terms of health care services, medicine and lost productivity and is over $350 billion per year. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

The incidence of CVD rises dramatically after age 60. Several other medical factors and life style problems can greatly increase the risk of heart disease including diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diet (excessive consumption of fat, meat and junk food), physical inactivity, excessive drinking of alcohol, smoking cigarettes and excessive stress or worry.

Here is the Percent of Americans with CVD Risk Factors

The best way to avoid CVD is to get at least 30 minutes of exercise at least twice a day, minimize your intake of meat and fatty junk food, lose excessive weight, minimize drinking alcohol, quit smoking cigarettes, get 7 hours of sleep per night and cut back on excessive stress and worry to avoid chronic high blood pressure. The best way to reduce stress is to take a few deep breathes and stop watching the Mass Hysteria Media coverage of the latest Corona virus fatality.

Corona Virus and Cardio Vascular Disease
There is a significant amount of scientific evidence that the Corona virus by itself is no more fatal that the seasonal flu. However, it can be a contributing factor to death when contracted in combination with other pre-existing conditions such as Coronary Vascular Disease or Pulmonary Lung Disease. The most likely reason that the Corona virus rarely kills young people is that young people rarely suffer from Coronary Vascular Disease. However, older people – and particularly older men - have a much higher incidence of CVD as is shown in the following graph:

//www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_472923.pdf">https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_472923.pdf

Here is a three step plan to improve your immune system and lung functioning:

#1 Exercise Twice a Day for at least 30 consecutive minutes
Exercise is perhaps the most effective thing you can do to improve your cardiovascular function and thereby strengthen your immune system. This is why it was so crazy for clueless government officials to close parks, ban basketball games and shut down local gyms. It would have been much better for the government to give everyone a free gym membership and encourage them to turn off the TV and get out of the house.

#2 Quit Smoking
The primary way people are killed by the corona virus is through viral pneumonia which is an infection of the lower lungs. The healthier your lungs are the more likely your immune system is to fight off the corona virus. One of the reason that many more men than women died from the corona virus in China was because many more men smoke in China than women. About 54% of men smoke in China but only 3% of women. Thus, women have less damaged lungs and were better able to fight off the virus. Ironically, this smoking connection is almost never mentioned by the Mass Hysteria Media. One possible reason children have fewer problems with the corona virus than adults is because their lungs are less damaged.

#3 Lobby for better air quality in your community
One of the main reasons that many more people died in China and Northern Italy is that those areas both suffered from extremely low air quality. Poor air quality can do permanent damage to the lungs much like smoking does. If you want to save lives, then advocate for better air quality in your local community.

Here is an image of the air pollution in Wuhan China:

A common question is why do New York City and New Orleans have among the highest corona fatality rates in the world? One possible answer is that the air quality is very bad in both places. This leads over time to chronic lung problems – which any flu virus can then exploit. A leading epidemiologist, Professor Sucharit Bhakdi, states that air pollution is the common denominator for the COVID-19 epicenters. A study of this issue found that:

“The majority of the pre-existing conditions that increase the risk of death for COVID-19 are the same diseases that are affected by long-term exposure to air pollution. We investigate whether long-term average exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases the risk of Corona Virus deaths in the United States. We find that a small increase in particulate matter (aka air pollution) leads to a huge increase in corona virus mortality.” https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/covid-pm

A Point System for Evaluating your Risk of Dying from the Corona Virus
The Mass Hysteria Media has managed to convince everyone that anyone over the age of 60 is at great risk of dying from the corona virus. This is simply not true. What is true is that people over the age of 70 AND who also have a compromised immune system are at risk. As many as 20% to 50% of those with these two risk factors may have trouble surviving the corona virus.

We may not be able to do much about our age. But we can certainly do something about improving our immune system. The following point system is offered to help empower people to take back control over improving your own health.

It is the opposite of the current mandate of the government to stay in your home and spend all of your time watching the mass hysteria media. First, let’s assign some negative points based on what we know about the corona virus risk factors:

These bad points can be offset by the following good points

Conclusion
The actual values for the negative risk factors for corona virus fatalities and for protective factors to improve your immune system have not yet been scientifically determined. I am certain that over time, we will learn about more corona virus risk factors and immune system protective factors. But the above lists are a good starting point.

It is simply not true that just being older makes you at risk of dying from the corona virus. The evidence is absolutely clear that age must be combined with other factors that have compromised a person’s immune system. Being older puts you at a higher risk of dying from anything. We need to empower seniors rather than just scaring the hell out of them. If the media and government officials really want to save lives, then they should start promoting proven ways seniors can improve their immune system.