“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
13 Ways to Optimize Your Health to Fight COVID-19 and Beyond
As quarantining has continued over the past few weeks, I’ve found inspiration in Albert Einstein’s famous quote: “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” When it comes to our wellness, these times have given us the opportunity to put our everyday concerns on pause and rededicate ourselves to building healthy routines and habits (or upgrading our existing ones). I want to share with you 13 things all of us can do right now to upgrade our health and, with a little luck, keep COVID-19 from coming too close.

The Many Ways to Protect Yourself in a Post-COVID Lockdown World
We’re stepping back out into a world that involves increased risk of exposure to the virus we’ve all been trying to avoid. Exactly how much risk is unclear, but safeguarding health during the re-entry process is all about prevention. And prevention is not only about continuing to engage in behaviors that we know help keep a lid on the spread of the virus and avoiding the ones that don’t. Just as important, if not more so, is fortifying your body against the scourge now, before an anticipated viral surge in the fall.


Dr. Jeffrey Bland –Founding Father of Functional Medicine
More COVID-19 related Tune Into Wellness episodes:
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Dr. Michael Grandner -Internationally-Recognized Expert on Sleep and Health
- Dr. Lisa Mosconi – Women’s Brain Health Expert
Additional Podcasts:
Dr. Lipman’s Weekly Roundup of the Latest Informative Coronavirus News
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
General Information on COVID-19
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (6/1/20): The Many Ways to Protect Yourself in a Post-COVID Lockdown World
- WASHINGTON POST (5/21/20): Virus “does not spread easily” from contaminated surfaces or animals, revised CDC website states
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (5/10/20): Surviving Covid-19 May Not Feel Like Recovery for Some
- NPR (4/23/20): VIDEO: 6 Tips For Staying Safe While Grocery Shopping
- NPR (4/12/20): No, You Don’t Need To Disinfect Your Groceries. But Here’s How To Shop Safely
- CNN HEALTH (4/7/20): Coronavirus symptoms: 10 key indicators and what to do
- VOX (4/2/20): 12 things everyone needs to know about the coronavirus pandemic
- HUFFPOST (4/1/20): The Most Common Ways The Coronavirus Is Transmitted
- CNN (3/26/20): Coronavirus symptoms: A list and when to seek help
- NPR (3/20/20): Coronavirus FAQs: Can I Go Running? Is Food Shopping Too Risky? What’s Herd Immunity?
- ELEMENTAL (3/4/20): How to Tell If You Have the Flu, Coronavirus, or Something Else
Face Masks & Social Distancing
- TIME (6/1/20): Wearing Face Masks and Social Distancing Actually Work to Contain COVID-19, According to a New Study
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (4/10/20): A User’s Guide to Face Masks
- THE WASHINGTON POST (4/1/20): Social distancing works. The earlier the better, California and Washington data show.
- THE WASHINGTON POST (3/28/20): Simple DIY masks could help flatten the curve. We should all wear them in public.
- MEDIUM (3/26/20): COVID-19: Why we should all wear masks – there is new scientific rationale
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (3/31/20): C.D.C. Weighs Advising Everyone to Wear a Mask
- HUFFPOST (3/31/20): How To Make A No-Sew Coronavirus Face Mask With Fabric
- THE WASHINGTON POST (3/14/20): Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve”
- MEDICAL XPRESS (3/13/20): Social distancing: What it is and why it’s the best tool we have to fight the coronavirus
- CRAFT PASSION: Face Mask Sewing Pattern (and video)
Nutrition
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (6/29/20): Your Anti-COVID-19 Menu – What to Eat Now!
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (5/27/20): Is Takeout and Delivery Food Safe?
- WORTH (5/21/20): Obesity and COVID-19: America’s Diet Takes Its Toll
- FRANK LIPMAN (5/18/20): Strengthen Your Viral Defenses with Vitamin D
- FRANK LIPMAN (5/4/20): 9 Ways to Curb Carb Cravings Despite COVID-19
- CNN HEALTH (5/3/20): The human needs driving the rise in gardening, and how to start one
- FOOD NAVIGATOR (4/28/20): Clear link between vitamin D deficiency and severity of coronavirus, says researchers
- NEUROSCIENCE NEWS (4/23/20): Healthy diet with nutritional supplements support body in fight against COVID-19
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (4/20/20): How Poor Diet Contributes to Coronavirus Risk
- ZDNET (4/12/20): NYU scientists: Largest US study of COVID-19 finds obesity the single biggest ‘chronic’ factor in New York City’s hospitalizations
- FRANK LIPMAN (3/4/20): 30 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Right Now
Anxiety and Stress Relief
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (6/8/20): 9 Ways To Embrace Optimism in Chaotic Times – And Why You Must!
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (5/27/20): A Possible Remedy for Pandemic Stress: Exercise
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (5/25/20): 6 New Mental Health Rules for the COVID-19 Era
- SCITECHDAILY (5/18/20): New Research Shows Yoga Can Significantly Improve Mental Health – Ideal for COVID-19 Self-Isolation
- MINDFUL (4/29/20): 4 Ingredients for Human Well-Being
- THE WASHINGTON POST (4/16/20): The calming power of a simple walk during a pandemic
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (4/1/20): 12 Strategies for Self-Care While Social Distancing
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (3/30/20): 9 Ways to Calm the Mind and Body in Difficult Times
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN: Four Fantastic, Fast Acting Stress Fighters
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN: 10 Tips for Natural Anxiety Relief
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (3/18/20): Mobilize Without Fear: Self-Care in the Time of Coronavirus
- MINDFUL (3/17/20): 3 Science-Backed Ways to Calm Down When You’re Overwhelmed
- MINDFUL: How to Meditate (NOW IS THE TIME!)
- MINDFUL (3/11/20): How Mindfulness Can Help You Navigate the Coronavirus Panic
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (3/18/20): 10 Ways to Ease Your Coronavirus Anxiety
Sleep Tips
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (5/11/20): 24 Ways to Fight COVID-19 – While You Sleep
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN: 11 Ways to Win at Sleep
- CNN (3/26/20): Anxious Thoughts? 5 Tips To Help You Sleep
- ELEMENTAL (3/25/20): Pandemic Sleep Advice Straight From Sleep Researchers
Inspiration
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (4/27/20): 6 Songs to Chase Away the COVID-19 Blues
- NEW YORK TIMES (4/10/20): What NYC Sounds Like Every Night at 7
- YOUTUBE (3/27/20): Roedean School – Hallelujah – Virtual Choir. This school in South Africa is closed because of Covid19 but they still managed to perform this rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Halleluljah virtually…. so beautiful.
- TRAVEL+LEISURE (3/12/20): Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video)
Maintaining Connections
- MEDIUM/ELEMENTAL (5/21/20): I See You but I Don’t: How Masks Alter Human Connection
- CNN (4/30/20): Creating a pandemic social bubble: A how to guide
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (4/6/20): 6 Ways To Connect In The Age Of Social Distancing
- THE GUARDIAN (3/20/20): ‘Happiness is contagious too’: caring for each other makes us feel better – experts
- FUTURITY (3/18/20): 5 ways to maintain community while social distancing
- THE WASHINGTON POST (3/17/20): Four ways to help prevent loneliness while you’re social distancing
- PSYCHOLOGY TODAY (3/12/20): Preventing Loneliness in Times of Social Distancing
Movement
- DR. FRANK LIPMAN (7/13/20): 10 Ways to Move Your Body More Thru the Pandemic
- THE WASHINGTON POST (4/15/20): Arduous exercise can lower immunity, so don’t overdo it during the pandemic
- NEUROSCIENCE NEWS (4/15/20): COVID-19: Exercise may protect against deadly complication
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (4/8/20): Feeling Down? Anxious? Hostile? A 4-Day-a-Week Exercise Regimen May Help
- ELEMENTAL (4/3/20): Is It Really Safe to Exercise Outside?
- ELEMENTAL (3/19/20): The Best Workout Apps to Keep You Fit During the Coronavirus Lockdown
- ELEMENTAL (3/30/20): The Social-Distancing Cardio Workout
Virus-Specific Nutraceuticals and Botanical Agents
- IFM (4/1/20): The Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19: Virus-Specific Nutraceutical and Botanical Agents
Possible Pharmaceutical Treatments and Testing
- FUTURITY (5/29/20): Experts Worry About False COVID-19 Antibody Test Results
- SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE (5/17/20): Infographic: Antibody Testing
- STAT (4/16/20): Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment
- NEWSWEEK (3/20/20): Is Hydroxycholoroquine the Answer to the Coronavirus Pandemic? Inside the Race to Find a COVID-19 Cure