By Charmaine Lastimosa
Everyone in the world is currently dealing with the threats posed by the coronavirus
pandemic and struggling with the drawbacks of not being able to freely go outside.
And for most people, there is a struggle to remain healthy since gyms and other
establishments are closed.
For people who have fitness and exercise equipment at home.
Staying healthy may not be a problem as long as they are motivated to work out.
But for many people who do not have the privilege of owning any exercise tool,
losing weight or staying fit is an uphill battle.
However, experts say there is one exercise that everyone can do to remain healthy amid the
coronavirus lockdowns, and it is walking. Below are the reasons why walking is the best exercise
to do during the COVID-19 pandemic, as first shared by USA Today.
Improves muscle strength
Walking has been proven to counter the effects of aging on muscle strength. As humans age, their muscle strength is greatly reduced. Walking addresses this problem by building muscle mass and toning muscles in certain areas of the body, especially in the back and legs.
Promotes stronger bones
Bones tend to become weaker as people age. According to MedlinePlus, this explains why posture and
gait drastically change when humans get older. Walking has been found to strengthen bones. This form of exercise gives a certain amount of stress to the bones and bone cells called osteoblasts respond well to
this type of stress, preventing bone density loss.
Burns body fat
Walking is one good exercise that can make one lose weight without having to rely on gym equipment.
Studies found that walking regularly does help in losing weight by burning fat. Obese people who frequently walk were even found to benefit from the fat-burning effect of walking.
Stimulates good mood
Many people are suffering from anxiety and mood swings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Walking is a good way to counter these issues because this physical activity has already been proven
to have a palliative effect on a person’s mood.
Boosts heart health
Another good reason why walking is the best exercise to do while in quarantine has to do with its
effects on heart health. Apparently, walking makes the heart stronger. Since it is an aerobic activity,
walking promotes greater efficiency of the heart by increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
As such, walking reduces the risk of developing heart disease.
Dr. Ron Weiss, 58, is a primary care & urgent care physician who helped treat the first COVID-19
patient in New Jersey in March. Since then, he’s seen hundreds of patients with the disease.
Experts explain why some myths about the coronavirus can be dangerous!!!
By Audrey Cher
Our common enemy is #COVID19, but our enemy is also an “infodemic” of misinformation. To overcome
the #coronavirus, we need to urgently promote facts & science, hope & solidarity over despair & division. https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus
“There seems to be barely an area left untouched by disinformation in relation to the Covid-19 crisis,”
said Guy Berger, director for policies and strategies in communication and information at UNESCO,
according to an article on the U.N. website earlier this month.
Believing and acting on false information can be gravely dangerous.
After U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that consuming or injecting disinfectants could help fight Covid-19, health experts swiftly fired back and warned that such unsound medical advice
“could seriously harm people.” Trump later tried to walk back on those comments.
Experts who spoke to CNBC debunked the following myths about
the coronavirus that are also spreading.
Will strong sunlight protect me from Covid-19?
No, exposing yourself to the sun — or to temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius
(77 degrees Fahrenheit) will not stop you from contracting the disease, according to
the World Health Organization.
The virus can be transmitted anywhere, even countries with hot and humid weather,
WHO said.
Much of Southeast Asia has a tropical climate. But the region has not been spared from a surge in coronavirus cases — Singapore has more than 16,000 cases while Indonesia has nearly 10,000 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
In the Saudi Arabia, where the desert sun can get hotter than 50°C (122°F) at the peak of summer,
more than 21,000 cases have been reported, according to Hopkins.
Extreme heat can kill the virus, but that degree of heat will also kill the person, said Dr. Leong Hoe Nam, infectious disease specialist from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, in an email to CNBC.
He said 90°C of heat for 15 minutes will effectively destroy the virus,
but no human can survive the intensity of that level of heat either.
Conversely, “there is no reason to believe that cold weather can kill the new coronavirus or other diseases.
The normal human body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C,
regardless of the external temperature or weather,” said the WHO.
Trump had also speculated that exposing people to “ultraviolet or just very powerful light”
could help kill the coronavirus, but experts warned about its dangers.
While the virus is susceptible to ultraviolet (UV) light which can make it harder for the virus to reproduce, you can’t possibly get UV light inside your body, as it will be blocked by your skin, explained Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center, during a video interview with CNBC.
All that UV light will do is to increase the risk of skin cancer, Offit said.
Can I drink vodka or whiskey to wash out the coronavirus?
Just last month, hundreds of people in Iran reportedly died after ingesting methanol — a false remedy for Covid-19 that was spreading through social media. The number of deaths as a result of ingesting methanol has since risen to 700, according to a recent report by the Associated Press.
While alcoholic beverages, including vodka, could make you “a little drunk,” they are not useful for treating the virus or for preventing the virus infection, William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, told CNBC.
He added that alcoholic beverages would be of no effect on the coronavirus, or any other virus. “It doesn’t make any sense to try to wash out the virus at all, or even to rinse out the mouth with … an alcoholic beverage.”
Other experts warned that trying to kill the coronavirus with alcohol
could come at the expense of one’s own life.
“Alcohol kills the virus. But at very high concentrations that will scald … the lining in your mouth, your nose and your throat. You certainly kill the virus but you kill yourself too,”
Leong said.
Offit concurred, adding that “you can never consume enough alcohol to kill all the virus in your body without first killing yourself.”
Apart from consuming alcohol, spraying alcohol or disinfectants all over the body would not help kill the coronavirus either, according to experts.
“Alcohol is useful as a hand disinfectant, a hand sanitizer — but taking it either internally or over the body is not useful at all,” Schaffner said.
Instead, experts recommend good hand hygiene, including washing hands with soap and water several times a day, as well as the use of hand sanitizers.
Does it mean I don’t have the virus if I can hold my breath for 10 seconds without
discomfort or coughing?
Another dangerous claim that’s spreading on social media is a so-called self-check breathing test which falsely claims that people who are able to hold their breaths for 10 seconds, without coughing or discomfort, do not have the virus infection. The false claims have been spreading on Facebook and Twitter.
Dr. Faheem Younus, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, debunked that myth. “Most young patients with Coronavirus will be able to hold their breaths for much longer than 10 seconds. And many elderly without the virus won’t be able to do it,” he tweeted.
But getting enough vitamin D is a good idea. There is an exception to the general rule that supplements won’t really help prevent illness, and that’s vitamin D (in moderate doses). Research has shown that the immune system needs vitamin D like wise selenium and zinc to fight off viruses – while it won’t protect your from getting the virus if you’re exposed,it could reduce the severity of the illness and help make recovery easier.
It’s also a common cause of nutrient deficiency. You can get vitamin D naturally through sunlight, which many people have less access to during darker, colder months of flu season. It’s also found in some foods, including fatty fish like salmon, tuna and mackerel, and in small amounts in beef liver, eggs, cheese, and mushrooms.
Sleeping is crucial for your body’s ability to recover and defend itself.
One of the most evidence-supported ways to stay healthy, though, also happens to be free – getting enough sleep. That means 7-9 hours each night for most people, according to Harvard Health. While you’re asleep, your body uses that time to do critical recovery and repair of essential functions, including your immune system. Just one night of poor sleep can reduce your immune cells by as much as 70%, research shows.
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Exercise can boost your mood as well as keep you healthy. Exercise can also keep your body functioning well, since research shows that it reduces inflammation and supports infection-fighting cells. If you’re working from home or staying out of the gym, there are plenty of ways to still get your sweat on – body weight movements like burpees, lunges, push-ups and more give you a quick full-body workout with no equipment.
As an added bonus, endorphins from exercise also reduce stress.
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
During the stress of a viral outbreak, and the pressure of being stuck at home for long periods of time, it might seem natural to turn to some liquid courage and stress relief. The occasional glass of wine in moderation is unlikely to be a threat, particularly if it has the benefits of helping you relax. But avoid overdoing it – not only will you feel worse and need to rehydrate and rest even more, excessive alcohol use can also impair the immune system and the body’s ability to heal itself, according to research.
Please wash your hands.
Experts consistently agree that the best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is to wash your hands, with soap and warm water, consistently and thoroughly. Best practices include washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, and drying them thoroughly. No form of supplement or habit can replace good hand-washing, and includes heaps of hand sanitizer, which can be a good substitute if you’re in a pinch,
but doesn’t work as well as good old fashioned soap scrubbing.
Trying to manage stress — even during anxious and uncertain circumstances.
Is one of the most important ways to stay healthy. Stress can also make a big difference for your immune system, particularly when there are alarming or uncertain events happening in the world around you.
Yes, this means managing fears about the coronavirus itself – good strategies include taking breaks from
social media and relying on trust media sources for information, both of which can help you avoid panic and misinformation. How you choose to relax will vary from person to person, whether that’s taking a walk outside, curling up with a favorite book, or taking time to meditate or practice yoga or another soothing habit each day. Companion animals can be one great source of stress relief and fortunately, current evidence suggests we don’t have to worry about them getting or spread the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization pointed out, “The best way to confirm if you have the virus producing
COVID-19 disease is with a laboratory test. You cannot confirm it with this breathing exercise,
which can even be dangerous.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are two kinds of tests available:
viral tests and antibody tests. A viral test allows you to determine if you presently have the infection,
while an antibody test shows if you have been previously infected before.
Was the virus caused by 5G networks? I am not to sure about that!!
Cell towers in the U.K. were torched earlier this month, after conspiracy theories flooded Facebook
claiming the coronavirus outbreak was caused by 5G, the next generation of mobile internet.
Viruses cannot travel via radio waves or mobile networks, the WHO said.
“The virus is extremely sneaky and has exceeded all expectations of other viral infections, but they have not learned the skill of teleportation via the electric cables — and certainly not true electromagnetic waves
via 5G,” said Leong from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.
“There’s nothing electronically that transmits the virus, it’s very simple — (it’s caused by) person-to-person transmission and … (through) inanimate environment like tables, doorknobs and things like that, that’s why we like to disinfect the inanimate environment around us,” Schaffner said. An infected person — who may or may not show any symptoms of flu — breathes out the virus through droplets, typically in a cough or a sneeze.
The virus can settle on an inanimate surface somewhere and other people could pick it up on their fingertips
or hands, infecting them after they touch their noses or mouths,
William Schaffner explained.
Faheem Younus, MD
✔
So I’m hearing many myths about #COVID-19 and would like to quickly clear the record.
Coronavirus will go away in Sumer months.
Wrong. Previous pandemics didn’t follow weather patterns plus as we enter summer,
there will be winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Virus is global.
✔
Myth #2: In summer, the virus will spread more due to mosquito bites.
Wrong. This infection is spread via respiratory droplets, not blood.
Mosquitos don’t increase spread.
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LEARN WHY the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has lied, is lying, and will continue to lie to protect its regime, and how it has been attempting to deceive, infiltrate, and dominate the world and to steal land space and Natural Resources from the United States? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coO7uPBX3IU
What is the true reason behind why China wants to expand at all cost? In today’s educational and informative video, we’re taking a look at everything we know about China, it’s politics and where it is heading before their country has a social economic collapse? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFtFFrsQ7c
I did not think I would like this, but here I am liking it.