Role of Lifestyle Medicine during and after Covid-19.

Byline: Dr Aamir Hanif

The COVID-19 pandemic has all of us concerned. It has changed the way we think and do for the better future. Along with re-inventing the ways of economic revival, social, cultural and traditional ways of living and conducting businesses and education, it has similarly reinvent the ways of our healthy living and changing lifestyle in the new post-covid-19 era. Lifestyle Medicine seems to have emerged as a very important aspect of life in order to fight with common and uncommon infections and revive ourselves both physically and mentally for a better performance in the community.

First, there is evidence that a host of lifestyle factors can improve people's overall health, specifically the function of our immune systems, cardiovascular systems, diabetes control and respiratory health. Hence, improvements in lifestyle factors may assist in preventing Role of Lifestyle Medicine during and after Covid-19 Dr Aamir Hanif progression of viral or bacterial infections to its severity and ultimately reduces the mortality. Second, the presence of COVID-19 does not mean the absence of the acute and chronic diseases that are already so prevalent in our society.

The health system which is already overburdened by the covid-19 cases must still manage these chronic illnesses but now with far less resources, putting a lot of strain on the Government reserves and increases economic challenges. Hence, the best thing we can all be doing is taking care of ourselves through optimised lifestyles, thereby reducing the burden on the healthcare system and allowing our limited resources to go where they are needed most.

Cigarette Smoking

Cigarette smoking has long been known to increase the risk of microbial infection. Smoking has a deleterious impact on our ability to fight infection, by weakening the mucociliary escalator system in our body, immune cell function and weakening the epithelia in the lower airways, resulting in a greater likelihood of severe respiratory syndromes, and a slowed and less complete recovery.

Indeed, the greatest known risk factor in the progression of COVID-19 is tobacco smoking, the risk of death is 14 times greater in those with a history of smoking compared to those without. While quitting smoking is not an easy option, there really is no better time than to quit than now.

Nutrition

The foods we consume on a daily basis have a profound impact on our health. Our daily nutrition is well-established as a leading risk...