Many Americans are awaiting what they consider a return to normal as other countries around the world slowly begin to open back up.

David L. Ryan/Boston Globe via Getty Images

Unfortunately for us, it doesn’t look like that will be happening here anytime soon. With the initial poor handling of the pandemic, many states are having to reimpose restrictions due to a spike in cases, meaning we’re actually moving backward instead of forward.

The CDC said we could get COVID-19 under control if everyone just wore masks for 6-8 weeks. The problem is, we did that… and it didn’t work. The government essentially said, “…stay home! We’ll take care of you!…” and they didn’t do that either.

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So now, here we are, desperately wanting to return to normal but being seemingly unable to get things under control. America is a bit of a unique case. The CDC lied to American citizens initially, saying they did not need masks because they were in low supply. The CDC later came out and said that we did need masks to slow the spread. It’s a little difficult to instill trust in the government after they lie to their people, and of course, no one wants to listen to the government when they know the government won’t take care of them.

It seems many are relying on a vaccine to be available before returning to normal. Unfortunately, it’ll probably be awhile on that as well. A vaccine generally takes 10 years to develop, and millions of dollars. Between the research, and the funding as well as the testing, it’s a pretty lengthy process.

Producing enough vaccine for only, say, the 100 million most vulnerable Americans would itself take a few months. You also have the obstacle of distributing it and actually vaccinating people, as well as dealing with anti-vaxxer sentiments, so add another few months. That brings us into the start of 2022 on a highly optimistic timeline.

Bad News about the Pandemic: We’re Not Getting Back to Normal Any Time Soon

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All that aside, COVID-19 is a Sars virus similar to the common cold that can be particularly difficult to vaccinate against. It’s likely we’ll end up with a flu vaccine like scenario where the vaccine is not nearly as effective as others. Some health officials have reported that they could have a vaccine available as early as 2021. This, however, is an extremely optimistic guess and is highly unlikely, and of course, vaccines are toxic under the best of circumstances. Who knows what kind of problems could be caused by a vaccine that is produced as quickly as health officials are hoping.

If you’re worried about COVID-19 we recommend making sure you have a healthy diet and a healthy gut. A healthy gut is the best way to build a strong immune system and prevent diseases.

A study published by Genome Medicine has shown that antibiotic usage in young animals increases their likelihood of developing inflammatory bowel disease when they are older.

This evidence furthers supports the idea that using antibiotics in children under the age of one disrupts the gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is essential for a healthy immune system and the prevention of disease.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

This study provides experimental evidence strengthening the idea that the associations of antibiotic exposures to the later development of disease in human children are more than correlations, but that they are actually playing roles in the disease causation.

 -Study co-author Martin Blaser, director of the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

Researches examined the effects of dextran sulfate, a chemical that injures the colon, in mice that received antibiotics, mice that had disrupted microbial contents transplanted into their intestine, and a control group. The results showed that the mice who received antibiotics or disrupted microbial contents had noticeably worse colitis than those in the control group.

This study is a continuation of Martin Blaser’s hypothesis that disrupting the microbiome early in life is one of the large factors in modern epidemics.

Throughout the world, many countries in some form of lockdown have seen a drastic drop in premature birth as well as SIDS. Denmark reported a 90% decrease in premature births, a 73% drop in Ireland, and a near 50% decrease in Canada. America, Australia, and the Netherlands have also reported reductions in SIDS and premature deaths.

During the 11-week period following the emergency declaration (through May 30) there were 1465 fewer deaths in US children compared to 2019 (5923 vs 7388). The difference is statistically highly significant.

-Striking Decline of Premature Births and SIDS During COVID

Related: Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Doctors have not come to a conclusion as to why premature births and SIDS rates have dropped so much, but they have one theory.

One theory is that pregnant women may have been under less stress than before lockdown. Staying at home may have allowed some pregnant women the opportunity to get more rest and prioritize prenatal care.

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This seems highly unlikely. Many of the women who are susceptible to premature births and SIDS are women who work lower-income jobs (service industry, or retail jobs, for example) many of these women worked through lockdown and may have been under more stress. Women who were more likely to have time off, and to prioritize prenatal care were likely already doing so before lockdown.

Natural health practitioners tend to feel that conventional medical intervention often does more harm than good. One possibility that seems a likely contributor, but is unlikely to be addressed by the mainstream media, is the drop in vaccines, both prenatal and infant. Childhood vaccine rates have dropped since the beginning of the lockdown. In California childhood vaccine rates decreased 40% weeks after the lockdown began. Most non-emergency medical appointments were canceled during lockdown.

With childhood vaccines dropping it is unconfirmed but not unlikely that maternal vaccines have dropped as well. Some studies have suggested that maternal vaccines can increase the risk of premature birth, with one study saying maternal vaccines could raise premature births on average 14%.

Data has suggested that infant vaccinations could be increasing SIDS rates. America has the highest vaccination rates and the highest SIDS rates of any other comparable developed country. For comparison, Japan has banned vaccines for children under the age of two and has virtually eliminated SIDS. A 2011 study noted that out of 34 nations, those that require the most vaccines have higher infant mortality rates, compared to those who require the fewest vaccines that had the lowest infant mortality rates.

Currently, there is not enough data on recent vaccination rates to draw solid conclusions as to what has caused the sudden drop in SIDS and premature births. However, as is often the case, it is likely a combination of many different causes.

Germany has seen a 64% decrease in plastic bag usage since 2015. Recently Germany agreed to ban the sale of single-use plastics, including plastic straws, cutlery, cotton buds, and food containers by July 2021.

Many disposable plastic products are superfluous with no sustainable use of resources. In addition, plastics end up too often in the environment or in the oceans. We are taking an important national step in the fight against the plastic flood.

–Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze

We throw away 1.3 billion tons of trash worldwide every year, and Germany alone produces 3 million tons of plastic waste annually. Germany’s recent bill to ban singe-use plastic is in accordance with the EU’s directive to reduce plastic waste.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Many of the single-use plastics we go through a day are full of toxins like BPA and BPA alternatives. A study published by the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology examined 34 everyday plastics made of 8 different types of plastic and showed that 74% of the products were toxic in some way.

With a healthy gut and a healthy lifestyle, the chances of experiencing health problems from plastic toxicity are extremely unlikely. Still, for the environment and your health, you’re better off avoiding single-use plastics and using reusable alternatives.

Related: Many Hand-me-down Plastic Toys Are Toxic for Kids

A new study has been published in the American Heart Association (AHA) Journal examining how cannabis affects the heart. Data indicates that smoking cannabis can trigger cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes. The data shows that heart rhythm abnormalities like tachycardia or atrial fibrillation can occur within an hour after cannabis containing THC is smoked. THC may also cause a faster heart rate, increase the heart’s need for oxygen, or disrupt artery walls.

In comparison, CBD, or cannabidiol, one of the other 80 chemicals in cannabis, does not give the “high” typically associated with THC. Nor does it appear to cause harm to the heart.

-Weed is not good for your heart, studies say

Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Using cannabis in topical or oral form is better for your health than smoking it.

Research done on the effects of cannabis and the heart is observational and retrospective. Current studies identify trends but are not able to prove cause and effect. Because cannabis is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the DEA, research is limited.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

The medical group recommended cannabis to be part of the US Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco control and prevention efforts, which may mean that there would be age restrictions on who can purchase weed, retailer regulations and even excise taxes.

-Weed is not good for your heart, studies say

A new study has shown that high blood pressure increases your risk of dying from COVID-19. Doctors in China noticed a pattern when treating patients – nearly half of those in critical condition were also suffering from high blood pressure. A total of 2,877 patients were analyzed, where 29.5% of people had a history of high blood pressure. Data showed that those patients who had higher blood pressure had double the risk of dying from COVID-19.

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Out of the 10.5% of the overall population with diabetes or prediabetes, 14.3 million people over 65 have one of the two chronic conditions.

High Blood Pressure May Double Your Risk of Dying From COVID

Additionally, patients with diabetes also had worse symptoms than those without. In the U.K., data showed that 19% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 also had diabetes. Only an estimated 6% of the U.K. population has diabetes. Those with Type 1 diabetes were worse off than those with type 2.

Diabetes and high blood pressure contribute to 5 out of the 10 top leading causes of death according to the CDC.

Related: Hypertension – How To Lower Your Blood Pressure Quickly and Naturally

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

A recent study has shown that after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, transgender people were less likely to experience depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts than before surgery. Their improvement in mental state can still be seen, and oftentimes continues to increase several years post-op. Gender reassignment surgery is generally considered the last step for treatment of gender dysphoria. Before surgery patients take feminizing or masculinizing hormones to adjust external sexual features, but the hormones did not have the same effect on mental health as the surgery did.

Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune

Many transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals find comfort with their gender identity, role, and expression without surgery,” but for others, surgery is essential and medically necessary to alleviate their gender dysphoria,

Sex-reassignment surgery yields long-term mental health benefits, study finds

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Gender incongruent people within the study were six times more likely than the general population to visit doctors for mood and or anxiety disorders, three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants, and six times as likely to be hospitalized for suicide attempts. These mental health problems diminished and continued to diminish the longer it had been since patients underwent surgery. The likelihood of treatment of an anxiety or mood disorder reduced 8% each year post-op for up to 10 years. Transgender people are still more in need of mental health care compared to the rest of the population, the research team suggests this is partly based on stigma, economic inequality, and victimization.