COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[FerrisBueller86]

Why has there been no national dialogue about the role of diet and nutrition during this pandemic?  Out of all the factors that have made the pandemic so much worse here in the US, this is the one that individuals have the most control over by far.

There's something horribly wrong when the idea of injecting or drinking bleach has made it into the national dialogue but improving one's diet and nutritional habits have not.  Consuming refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other unhealthy junk food ingredients weakens the immune system and promotes inflammation.  As I see it, the health risk of consuming junk food has MULTIPLIED by orders of magnitude.  Gone are the days when the risk was limited to higher blood cholesterol and weight gain.  On the other hand, superfoods have nutrients that strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, and possibly even disable viruses.

I have improved my diet since the pandemic started, and this precaution is IN ADDITION TO wearing a face mask in public indoor places and in outdoor places where I cannot count on always keeping 6 feet away from people.  (Parks with narrow trails are an example.)  I'm avoiding all junk food until this pandemic is over.  Yes, I'm even skipping the holiday treats this year.  I'm eating as many superfoods as possible.  I'm eating a Brazil nut every day for the selenium, sauerkraut every day for the probiotics, natto every day for the probiotics and Vitamin K2, pineapple for the bromelain, and onion for the quercetin.  I continued taking Vitamin D and C supplements this summer, the time of year when I took a break from them in the past.

Why hasn't everyone else made the same dietary improvements that I've made?  When I go to the grocery store, I still see people with shopping carts full of junk food.  It's as if they're living in an alternate universe.  I find myself thinking, "Would it kill you to eat some real food?"