We’ve known for decades the importance of taking care of our health to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases, but COVID has amplified this need. Now, more than ever, it is important to invest in our health, as well as the health of our families, our organizations and our communities. Strengthening and building our immunity needs to be priority one to both weather this storm as well as to allow us to perform optimally both at work and at home. According to a recent Global McKinsey Report, the COVID pandemic has been an unwelcome reminder that health and the state of our economy are tightly linked. For this year alone, the estimated range of impact on the US economy is a 4 to 11 percent reduction in real GDP. Think about the inefficiencies and impacts on your companies and in your homes. Our health truly is our wealth.
Long before COVID, we were seeing scary trends. The obesity rates have been on the rise and have almost tripled since 1970 topping out at 42% in 2018. Being overweight, even by only 20 pounds is highly correlated with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and now getting COVID with severe symptoms.
Why Taking Care of Your Health Should Be a Priority
Taking care of our health before COVID was a challenge…when we had jobs, a booming economy, and access to our gyms. In a COVID world, it becomes so much more important to make this a priority. Here’s why:
According to the CDC, about 47% of US adults have an underlying condition strongly tied to severe COVID-19 illness. These are our family members, our co-workers and our peers. Underlying conditions are defined as heart disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer and obesity. A CDC analysis of US COVID-19 patient surveillance data from Jan 22 to May 30 showed that those with underlying conditions were hospitalized six times more often, needed intensive care five times more often, and had a death rate 12 times higher than those without these conditions.
Age, weight and underlying conditions, each matter separately. Taken together, they matter even more. They matter because as we get older our immunity declines. Additionally, when we have one of these underlying conditions, including being overweight, our immunity is compromised. We need to keep our immunity strong as we age and specifically during this challenging time.
How to Improve Your Immunity
So what can we do to improve our immunity? Believe it or not, it is all the same things we knew before COVID. Manage our stress, exercise, eat a healthy diet with good micro and macro nutrients and get a good night’s sleep. In addition, limit alcohol and sugar consumption to reduce inflammation in the body. Don’t kill the messenger on that last item – I like my vodka, homemade margaritas and ice cream as much as the next person. However, if I really want to strengthen my immunity, I need to minimize these last few items vs. maximize them like what I was doing the first 3 months of the pandemic. Additionally, I need to make sure I am getting adequate vitamin D, C and zinc either through food or supplements.
A healthy mind, body and spirit is inextricably linked to higher performance and the reverse is also true. We want to keep ourselves, our families, and our organizations healthy so we can all perform our best. Not only does this positively impact company performance, but it also impacts our economy.
Are You Ready to Make Your Health Your Priority?
My passion is teaching people how to take care of their health (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually), so they can be their best for the people and things that matter most in their lives. I focus on creating cultures that invest in healthy behaviors so we can consistently be our best. First, we learn for ourselves, and then we role model for those around us. That is how we influence change. One leader, one company, one employee, one family at a time.
I educate, coach and consult and would love to help you and your teams if you should have a need.