COVID-19 Prompts 80% to Become More Pro-active About Health

COVID-19 and the Great Wake-Up Call for Self-Care

A recent Harris Poll commissioned by the Samueli Integrative Health Foundation found that 80% of more than 2,000 U.S. adults say they intend to become more mindful about practicing self-care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In other words, COVID-19 has been a wake-up call for most Americans.

The Limits of the Disease-Care Model

For decades, the medical-pharmaceutical establishment has fostered an unhealthy dependency on doctors, prescriptions, and procedures as the primary—sometimes the only—path to health. What patients can do for themselves through diet, lifestyle, and nutritional support is often minimized or even actively discouraged.

Cancer patients are frequently told that diet doesn’t matter—that sugar intake is irrelevant as long as chemotherapy or radiation is administered.
Heart patients are advised to avoid vitamins and instead rely solely on medications, many of which carry serious side effects.

This mindset has consequences.

COVID-19 Exposed an Inconvenient Truth

COVID-19 has produced a strikingly wide range of outcomes—from no symptoms at all to severe illness and death. The determining factor is often not the virus itself, but the pre-existing health of the host.

In plain terms:
How healthy you are when you encounter the virus can make the difference between a mild inconvenience and a life-threatening illness.

This reality helps explain why so many Americans are now determined to take a more proactive role in their health.

Vaccines and the Forgotten Variable: Host Health

The same medical establishment that has long discouraged self-care now promises that vaccines will be our ultimate salvation. But even the most effective vaccine depends on the health of the person receiving it.

One major factor is immunosenescence—the gradual decline in immune function that often accompanies aging. Immunosenescence is a key risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes, and it is also a strong predictor of poor vaccine response.

Obesity is another critical factor. A recent New York Times article highlighted that obesity deregulates the immune system, making it both less effective at fighting infections and less responsive to vaccines.

Yet remarkably, vaccine development has often failed to adequately account for this reality. When the Times reporter asked five major pharmaceutical companies whether they were addressing the special needs of people with obesity by including them in clinical trials, only Johnson & Johnson said yes.

A Better Way Forward

Fortunately, not all physicians remain trapped in the old disease-care mindset.

Innovative leaders like Wayne Jonas, MD—executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs—advocate for a more holistic, patient-centered approach.

“As we adjust to a new normal,” Dr. Jonas says, “we need to foster a robust, patient-centered healthcare system to better promote self-care.”

This includes empowering patients to improve:

• Nutrition

• Physical activity

• Stress resilience

• Sleep

• Immune function

These are not “alternative” ideas. They are foundational to health.

Choosing the Right Healthcare Partner

If your doctor dismisses or discourages your efforts to take responsibility for your own health, the prescription is simple:

Find a new doctor.

Two good places to start:

• Institute for Functional Medicine

• American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

A supportive practitioner should work with you, not against you, in building health.

Strengthening Your Internal Armor

If you’d like our recommendations for fortifying your immune system and improving resilience in the face of COVID-19, see:

• COVID-19 and Your Immune System

• Your Internal Armor Against COVID-19

And explore our blog for guidance on addressing the root causes of chronic illness and building long-term vitality.

COVID-19 has reminded us of something essential:
Health is not something that can be injected, prescribed, or outsourced.
It is something that must be built—daily, deliberately, and from the inside out.

References

Stewart K. Majority are more mindful of practicing self-care in post-pandemic world. Today’s Practitioner. June 9, 2020.
Wu KJ. Studies begin to untangle obesity’s role in COVID-19. The New York Times. September 29, 2020.