Vitamin D and COVID-19 Archives

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Asthma and COVID-19: Are You at Higher Risk?

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 20 minutes

If you have asthma, like I do, you may be extra concerned about how COVID-19 could affect your health.

COVID-19, after all, is a respiratory disease and those of us with asthma have had bad experiences with those.

And by “concerned” I might also mean frightened, anxious, panicky… 😉

The COVID-19 virus is known to cause problems in the respiratory tract (nose, throat and lungs).

Because asthma is also a respiratory disease, it’s been assumed that people with asthma have a greater chance of catching the virus and getting very sick from it than other people.

It’s a reasonable assumption, and asthmatics have been classified as “high risk” since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But I’m here to tell you, I’ve done the research, and at this point – maybe for the first time ever – asthmatics are just like everyone else 🙂

It’s important to know that currently there’s no evidence of increased COVID-19 infection rates in those with asthma.

And now, after months of studying this new disease, medical and infectious disease experts have been able to create a more exact picture of the risk to asthmatics.

Since the release of the vaccines, there have also been questions about the possible risk to people with allergic reactions. I’ll tell you what I found about the current CDC advice.

(I’ve included photos of my garden and places I’ve traveled, as a reminder both that while there is beauty to be found at home, the world is still full of amazing places waiting for us to find them!)

Continue reading Asthma and COVID-19: Are You at Higher Risk?

How To Stay Healthy Working from Home

Most recently updated November 24th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes

Have you become a remote worker recently due to circumstances beyond your control? Whether you have chosen remote work, or it’s been thrust upon you, it can be a difficult transition for you and your whole family.

You can find yourself getting stressed, socially awkward, and extra fluffy 🙂

And this can add additional stress, which creates a really bad cycle that it’s best to avoid altogether.

So, that said, what’s the best way to protect your mental and physical health when you’re suddenly forced to work from your home???

Sign promoting hand-washing along local greenway trail

People who had already chosen to work remotely before any Stay At Home mandates have probably figured this out already.

But for those who became remote workers overnight due to the COVID-19 health crisis response or other sudden life change, this could be a problem – especially if there’s no end in sight.

As an aside, I joined the workforce when there was no such thing as “remote” work, because there were no laptops, internet or cell phones.

…. I’ll pause here so you can say “Okay, Boomer” 🙂

I also remember when working remotely was the shiny new Holy Grail of work situations, and only the Cool Kids got to do it.

The rest of us had to fight family, school buses and traffic to make it into the office on time despite a blizzard or an illness that had you burning with fever.

Your commute to work can be replaced by a nice long walk or bike ride

Those days are not entirely gone, but most companies now recognize natural disasters, communicable diseases, and different time-zones within Global teams as valid reasons to work off-site.

Fortunately, with today’s technology everyone is able to work remotely as needed, if your business will allow it.

Some people work remotely 100% of the time now and some younger workers have NEVER had an office-based job.

"Working from home" used to mean something very different. — “Working from home” used to mean something very different.

At this point in my career, I’ve worked in all kinds of remote, half-remote, on-site only, etc etc situations, and I have to say – I really like working from home most of all!

But working remotely is not everyone’s favorite thing.

When working from home – whether it’s as someone’s else’s employee or as your own boss – there are a lot of bad habits you can fall into.

Finding the discipline to manage your time and ignore distractions, especially if you’ve also got kids at home – never mind anxiety about world events, or depression due to isolation – may be unusually difficult.

And staying focused enough to get some exercise and eat right can be almost impossible!

There are some tricks I’ve learned over the years that might help you 🙂

Continue reading How To Stay Healthy Working from Home

Harness the Health Benefits of Sunshine

Most recently updated January 20th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

The idea that sunshine has health benefits isn’t anything new.

The Earth has been basking in the sun for more than 3 billion years.

And as our planet’s early life forms evolved in the ocean, they were exposed to – and adapted to – sunlight.

It makes sense that all lifeforms on our planet, including humans, have evolved to use the power of the sun to their advantage.

The sun is vitally important to all life forms on Earth.

But sun exposure has a particularly wide array of health benefits for humans.

We have a long history of using sunlight therapy – called “heliotherapy” today – that dates back to the ancient Greeks.

Here are some ways you can harness the power of the sun to maintain and even improve your own health – even if you can’t go outdoors!

Continue reading Harness the Health Benefits of Sunshine

Fight Asthma with Vitamins and Supplements

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know that I’ve had asthma and have been fighting asthma my whole life.

In spite of allergy shots and prescribed inhalers and pills, my asthma got worse every year.

Eco-friendly garden at Lake Crabtree County Park.

After a childhood full of midnight ER visits and college years laced with time in Intensive Care, I had complete respiratory failure as a young working adult, and spent several days unconscious on a ventilator.

After that event, the doctors could only advise that I take more daily medications and stay indoors in a controlled environment.

I realized then that the available asthma treatments would probably keep me alive, but would severely limit my life.

So, I moved across the country to escape the worst of my local airborne triggers – and got some breathing room 😉

Since then I’ve experimented with diet, exercise and supplements to find what might help reduce my symptoms and my use of most medications.

Through research plus trial and error, I’ve created a strategy that helps me breathe easier and stay healthy enough to do just about anything I want to do!

In this post I tell you about the vitamins and supplements available and the ones I’ve used – and mostly still use – that appear to help asthma.

For inspiration I’m also sharing more photos of beautiful places I’ve been able to hike, and beautiful plants and animals that haven’t made me wheeze 🙂

If you’re looking for additional (non-medical) ways to minimize or even eliminate asthma symptoms, maybe this strategy could help you, too!

Continue reading Fight Asthma with Vitamins and Supplements

Eat to Breathe Easier – What is the Best Food for Asthma?

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

The best food for asthma – or any kind of diet – is healthy food that you want to eat and keep eating for a lifetime!

Even when you know what foods to avoid, it’s hard to always stick with it, especially at family events and Holiday gatherings.

I’ve been looking for the best food for asthma and perfecting my own anti asthma diet for a long time – and my own strategies for being social and still sticking to foods that are good for me.

My earliest memory is being inside an oxygen tent when I was a toddler. (I’m in my 50’s now.)

That’s a lot of years’ living with the disease and learning what kind of diet and exercise helps.

Through research and trial and error, I’ve created a diet that helps me breathe easier.

Over time, thanks in part to my diet, I’ve gone from being a medicated Bubble Girl who couldn’t take a deep breath to a 50- something year old woman who does alpine hiking and leads weekly 6-12 mile hikes.

If you’re looking for additional (non-medical) ways to minimize or even eliminate asthma symptoms, this diet could help you, too.

The photos in this post highlight some amazing places I’ve been able to hike in spite of severe chronic asthma. Diet and exercise does make a difference 🙂 Continue reading Eat to Breathe Easier – What is the Best Food for Asthma?

Green Exercise – Workout in Nature to Look and Feel Better

Most recently updated January 16th, 2022

If you’ve read any of my other posts, you know that given the choice I most always prefer to be outdoors – hiking, walking, gardening, dining, listening to music and whatever else I can do outside.

Frankly, sometimes my friends and family find my need to be outdoors a little tiresome. To keep the peace, I’ve had to occasionally move activities indoors because they want to be “more comfortable”. Continue reading Green Exercise – Workout in Nature to Look and Feel Better