There was a recent report out of Italy indicating that out of their 700 CrossFit Affiliates, there was not one reported death from COVID-19. Italy was global news for being one of the hardest hit and one of the most ravished nations due to this pandemic. Hospitals were flooded and tens of thousands of individuals died at the hands of the virus.
Now, I'm not saying that CrossFit was the reason that there were no deaths among the Italian CrossFit Affiliates - as a matter of fact the United States has had deaths in the CrossFit community. I will say, however, that there is something very important about the link between health conscious individuals and the likelihood (or unlikelihood) of getting sick from COVID-19.
Let's take a look at what the virus does to your body when you get it. When the virus enters your system, it latches on to healthy cells with spike-like appendages and uses the healthy cells to reproduce. When this happens, it causes a lot of inflammation inside of the body. Now, inflammation is important because it tells your immune system that something is wrong and it needs to go fix it. Think about when you get a cut or a bug bite and the area swells up - that's inflammation. So in most healthy people, they get COVID, their body handles it, and they recover from the virus with nothing more than cold or flu-like symptoms.
But what about if you are unhealthy? The most simple way to think about it is that for unhealthy, and specifically Obese individuals, their immune system is already working overtime. Things like poor lifestyle habits and excess processed foods also cause inflammation in the body. As a matter of fact, processed foods are one of the leading causes of inflammation in the body and that is why we recommend avoiding as much processed food as possible. So unhealthy individuals already have tremendous amounts of inflammation throughout their body and their immune systems are working hard trying to fight it off. Now, enter COVID-19, and the unhealthy person's immune system doesn't have enough strength to fight off the virus AND to fight off everything else it previously was working on. The virus is able to reproduce easily and reach lethal levels in the body.
Now, with all of that being said, it is possible to improve your situation immediately, even if you are obese or unhealthy! But it takes work and it takes commitment. It takes changing your habits, changing what you are eating, and changing your activity. You can start living healthier TODAY, and you can start reducing your risk of COVID TODAY by living a healthier lifestyle. You don't have to have a perfect meal plan tomorrow and you don't have to run marathons or even work out super hard. All you need to do is to start making better choices. Reduce and then eliminate soda. Instead of eating processed foods, start cooking healthier meals. Instead of sitting around all day, go for a walk or do yoga.
Obviously we think CrossFit is the best way to get in shape, and if you want to take the leap with us we'd love to help you - just go to www.harborparkcf.com/online to check out our virtual membership. But it isn't needed. You have all the tools you need to start living healthier today. And as we are seeing on the news, its incredibly important that you do take living healthy seriously.
