Ep. 100: Listener Stories & Omicron Update
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We’ve spent 99 episodes interviewing global experts about optimal wellness. So for our 100th episode, host Shaun Francis (pictured above) and his team turned the mic over to listeners and explored audience-submitted Eat, Move and Think stories. Featuring one listener’s thoughts on dairy, a 70-year-old man performing remarkable feats of strength, and an easy way to control your social media use. Also: An Omicron COVID-19 update from Medcan’s chief medical officer, Dr. Peter Nord.
LINKS
The Omicron update is provided by Medcan chief medical officer Dr. Peter Nord. The update draws on research from Medcan’s Medical Advisory Services team, which provides guidance to some of Canada’s largest companies.
Thanks to listener Tennaya for her story about giving up dairy. Here’s a column from Medcan’s director of food and nutrition, Leslie Beck, about how to get calcium from a dairy-free diet.
Thanks to listener Charlie for his story about the importance of finding purpose (in his case, his daughter) to achieving optimal wellness. Charlie’s story involved being so fit that he was able to do a muscle-up at the age of 68. Here’s a video about muscle-ups. Seeking guidance? Medcan Fitness can help.
Thanks to listener Suzette for her “think” suggestions on how to control social media consumption. Another remarkable source of context about the way so many in contemporary society are losing control of their social media use is the Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma.
Also mentioned in this episode: Shaun’s interview on the Tony Chapman show, Chatter that Matters. The Eat Move Think interview with Samra Zafar. The Eat Move Think interview with Stanford scientists Dr. Christopher Gardner and Dr. Justin Sonnennburg.
INSIGHTS
According to Dr. Peter Nord, there is a possibility that the Omicron wave could see COVID-19 transition from pandemic to endemic. “Herd immunity is only important if we can get global herd immunity,” says Dr. Nord. “We do that ideally in two ways… Vaccination is working great. The other way that we can get herd immunity is through infection with Omicron… [which is] probably about about six times more transmissible. But we also know that it's less severe by about six times.” One possible conclusion for all this, according to Dr. Nord, is for enough people around the world to catch Omicron, “so that they would all develop immunity. And then basically the pandemic is over by that point.” [5:36]
What’s next for Omicron? “What that picture really says is short term pain,” says Dr. Peter Nord. “We're going to have to do everything we can over the next several weeks.” But there is good news: “We have new and effective treatments for sicker patients [and] Omicron is less severe than delta.” Dr. Nord believes the wave should end around the end of January/early February, setting up return to work/office for March.” [9:30]
Listener Tennaya’s “Eat” wellness journey involves her decision to give up dairy, which she believes was a factor in the ongoing acne and bloating issues she had until she was 20. Since she stopped consuming milk and cheese five years ago she says her complexion is more clear. Plus, she says, “I didn’t have these gut issues anymore.” Another bonus is that she feels the rest of the world has caught up with her, because most places now offer dairy alternatives. “For example, Tim Hortons offers almond milk, which is amazing—the fact that I can drink an iced cap is really exciting.” [11:51]
The “move” listener journey comes from Charlie Evans, age 70, who believes that it’s easier to make fitness and exercise a priority if you have a good reason. In his case, the reason is his daughter. Charlie became a father to his only child, a daughter, at the age of 47, and he realized that he would have to take care of himself to ensure that he would be able to participate in her life journey for decades to come. To this day, he works out every other day, starting with something to work out his aerobic system, followed by strength work. He also advocates fitness goals to stay motivated. One of the goals he’s achieved lately is to do a muscle up, a manoeuvre that sees the exerciser perform a pull-up so vigorously that the movement segues into a press-up over the bar—something he achieved for the first time at the age of 68. [15:55]
The “think” listener journey comes from Suzette, who provides numerous tips for controlling one’s social media use. The best of them, if you ask us, is the suggestion to set an egg timer before you ever start surfing a social media platform. Decide how long you want to be using social media, set the egg timer and put it somewhere in another room. Then surf whatever feed you choose, and when the timer goes you actually have to get up and away from your screen to turn it off—which is hopefully enough to help you control your use. Her other suggestion? To minimize compulsive checking of social media, hide the apps on your phone in several different nested folders. In Suzette’s case, the nested folders are titled, “Think About It” and “Are You Really Sure?” [24:09]