Fighting Back Against the Coronavirus

THE INVISIBLE ENEMY
With the COVID-19 virus scientists have been perplexed because the pathogen causes such varying results. Some people get the virus and survive while others are not as fortunate. Therefore, it is important to protect yourself from becoming infected with the virus. Dr. Crandall recommends the following ways to limit your chances of contracting COVID-19: 

•    Hand washing – Frequent hand washing is an effective way to prevent COVID-19. The coronavirus is a pathogen that is coated in a fatty lipid covering, which soap can penetrate and break up, especially when combined with the rubbing action of your hands.
•    Wearing a Mask – If you choose to wear a mask the most effective are the medical mask or the N95. A cloth mask can be more effective with multiple layers of cotton to protect you from respiratory droplets exhaled by infected people. But, don’t let wearing a mask give you a false sense of security. Be diligent to wash your hands and practice social distancing when necessary. 
•    Social Distancing – Maintain physical space between people to prevent the spread of the virus.

STRATEGIES TO CONQUER COVID-19
Throughout his career, Dr. Crandall has been involved in fighting epidemics like AIDS and malaria. Prior to becoming a cardiologist, he trained to become an anthropologist and learned to appreciate that there was more than Western medicine (created by the medical systems) when it comes to treating the sick.  Ancient cultures have much to teach us when it comes to healing the body. “Our best defense against COVID-19 is to prevail over this virus by becoming stronger and healthier and by strengthening our immune system so that we can fight back against it,” shares Dr. Crandall. He recommends the following strategies to keep your immune system strong:

•    Eating healthy – “The best way to supercharge your immunity system is to choose foods that are already imbued by nature with illness-fighting powers,” shares Dr. Crandall.  Some foods that can help boost the immune system include red bell peppers (high in vitamin C and lots of antioxidants), yogurt (great source of probiotics), spinach (a good source of vitamin C and beta-carotene) and mushrooms (high in vitamin D and according to a study on eating shitake mushrooms shows this fungi improves immunity better than any pharmaceutical drug on the market). It is important to eliminate foods that can weaken the immune system such as refined sugar found in cakes, pies, and candy. Also, steer clear of tobacco, e-cigarettes and marijuana which can dampen the immune system and avoid overindulging in alcohol.  
•    Exercising – Exercise bolsters the immune system against viral infections and relieves stress. The government’s Physical Activity Guidelines suggest 150 – 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity and two sessions per week of muscle strength training.             
•    Getting enough sleep – Your body needs 8 – 10 hours of sleep a night, regardless of your age. Adequate rest helps lower the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease which are risk factors for severe COVID-19 complications. Your likelihood of getting sick after being exposed to a virus increases when you don’t get enough quality sleep. Lack of proper sleep can also affect how fast your body recovers if you get sick. 
•    Taking the right supplements – It is important to take supplements which can give you an important nutritional edge. Vitamin C 500 – 1000 mg daily (protects against infection), Vitamin D3 – 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for three months then readjust if necessary (deficiency in vitamin D3 is linked to COVID-19), Vitamin A – 25,000 IU of vitamin A daily (aids in the functioning and production of white blood cells), Quercetin – 500 mg daily (anti-aging benefits, immunity booster and infection fighter). 
•    Reduce stress – Managing stress is always important, but especially during this pandemic. Dr. Crandall suggests planting a garden, limiting your tv time (especially the news), singing, dancing, or connecting with your religious background. “Reading the Bible daily for me in this pandemic has been a great stress reducer for me and my family,” shares Dr. Crandall.
•    Don’t live in fear – Stay alert and be careful, but always dwell in faith. As Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”                                 

HEART DOCTOR
When Dr. Crandall was 19 years old, he was working as an orderly at a community hospital in northern Virginia and met a patient who was a WWII veteran.  One day while scrubbing in to attend an autopsy, Dr. Crandall realized the man on the metal table was the patient he had met.  Dr. Crandall was suddenly faced with the question: Is this all there is?  He decided that he hated death and would devote his life to fighting it with everything he had.  A year after the autopsy, Dr. Crandall gave his life to the Lord and shortly thereafter started medical school.  

One day Dr. Crandall was studying the human body at a macroscopic level in a lab.  A half-dozen five-gallon buckets, filled with hundreds of discarded fetuses, were waiting for him.  He was appalled.  “As I learned more about the complexities of the human body, neither could I comfortably accept the popular rationale that something so precise and intricate could just happen in an explosion of primordial molecules,” he says.  “To me…the delicate balance…that sustains every human life belies an undeniable order that eliminates coincidence and shouts of creative genius.”  Deborah could see that her husband’s eyes were opening.  For more than 4 decades, Dr. Crandall says the limits of science are what actually persuaded him that there was life after death.  “Science could only account for so much of what I was witnessing firsthand,” says Dr. Crandall.  The more he practiced medicine, the more he witnessed outcomes that had no clinical explanation, like medically impossible healings or details from patients describing their out-of-body experiences.  “It seemed to me that order was the true nature of things and there had to be a return to it somehow after we passed, or else the balance of systems within our physical world is pointless,” he says.  There has to be a purpose not only in this life but after this life, too.