Something here doesn’t feel right to me. It seems to me that the baby has been thrown out with the bath water. Or maybe we have collectively lost our common sense.
Based on a 2019 report by Public Health Ontario and the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, in 2015 almost 75% of deaths in Ontario were from chronic disease, namely cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and lower respiratory diseases.
And the top four common contributors to cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and lower respiratory diseases are:
- Tobacco smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- Physical inactivity
- Unhealthy eating
I realize that in the beginning of the Covid scare, no one knew how serious it would be. And Governments have put in place some disruptive policies in the hopes of protecting the public and limiting the spread of Covid. Their focus has been too narrow in my opinion and shortsighted.
Why hasn’t the Ontario government put a moratorium on the sale of tobacco or alcohol? It only makes sense to me that if the government is looking out for our health (since it is radically changing how we live our lives in the current situation), that the Ontario government would either stop or at least curtail the sales of tobacco and alcohol during this time.
Why hasn’t the Ontario government or Ontario Public Health closed all the fast food restaurants in Ontario? We all know that fast food is not healthy whatsoever. It does not provide any nutrition that the body needs in order to be healthy.
Is it the Germ or the Terrain?
There are two opposing theories of infectious disease. They are the Germ theory and the Terrain theory.
The Germ theory states that the presence of the bug is the cause of the disease. If you’re having symptoms, they’ll look at your bodily fluids to search for the presence of a bug (pathogen). If a pathogen is found, especially in big numbers, it’s called an infection. Using the Germ theory, if you’re trying to prevent a disease your focus will be on the bug, not the overall state of health of the individual. The focus will be on reducing exposure and spread of the pathogen. And the treatment of the disease focuses on reducing the numbers of the pathogen in the body.
A good example of the Germ theory at work is the advice that public health has been giving about washing your hands, etc.
The Terrain theory states that the health of a person’s immune system and overall health determines if someone gets sick or not. A good example of the Terrain theory is if you look at how Covid has moved through the population, most people who have been exposed to the pathogen survive, most with little or no symptoms. This is an example of Terrain theory, where the body forms an immunity, just like it has throughout history. Being exposed to a pathogen doesn’t necessarily mean that you will get sick.
Is it not reasonable that addressing both sides of the debate is necessary and good? If we only focus on one aspect, either the germ or the terrain, then are we doing all that we can?
I know that now is a tentative time. The government is saying that we are now experiencing a second wave. And people in general are feeling stir crazy, weighing the risk of exposure against the risk of not leading a healthy and social life.
I’m curious as to why now, in Ontario, the government expanded the definition of a positive Covid case. If you get tested and you test positive because you have IgG immunity (antibody) then you’re considered a positive case. You’re not sick with Covid but you’re being counted as if you were. In my mind, this would inflate case numbers and make the second wave look worse than it really is.
What we can do
We can focus on building our health through healthier lifestyle choices. Other than eating healthy food in healthy ways, we can look to fortify our bodies (just like they fortify flour in many products calling it “enriched”). We can “enrich” our bodies with vitamins and minerals that will help strengthen the immune system. This doesn’t mean you have to take everything under the sun. For most people, a good guideline is to take a daily dose of vitamin C (Ester C), vitamin D (D3) and Zinc (Zinc Picolinate).
Enriching our bodies with vitamins and minerals is not going to make us bulletproof. It will however give us the best chance of staying healthy in the face of stress and exposure to pathogens like viruses.
Another strategy that we can employ is to learn how to destress our bodies. Anything that helps to create a parasympathetic (vagal) response is worth doing. Tai chi, meditation, yoga, Neuro-Structural care, prayer, are all fantastic ways of keeping the stress at bay so that your body can function optimally.
It’s time to look beyond what the government can do for us. It’s time to look beyond the debate of Germ theory vs. Terrain theory. It’s time to take our health into our own hands. Surgite!