We’ve all been driving, seen a dead squirrel on the side of the road, lying in a swarm of flies. If I told you that the flies chased the squirrel, attacked it, and killed it, you would think I was ridiculous. Everyone knows that flies are no match for a squirrel.
To be more specific, flies are no match for a healthy, strong squirrel. However, if a squirrel is hit by a car and gets knocked to the side of the road where it lies dying or dies, it becomes a much more likely target for flies. Why? Flies are opportunistic eaters. They are attracted to dead or decaying matter.
Bacteria and viruses are much like those flies. They are opportunistic. They prey on weak and vulnerable hosts. And much like flies, they are present most of the time, in most places.
If bacteria and viruses could infiltrate and infect every host, humans would be sick all the time. Everyone would be in a constant state of sickness.
When kids in school start to get sick, we say things like… it’s flu season, or…. the flu is going around. It is true that the flu virus is going around, but it is always going around. If a classroom has thirty children in it, and fifteen get the flu, we often blame the flu. But if the flu is in the classroom, all the kids are getting exposed to that virus. So why did those fifteen kids get the flu? And why didn’t the other fifteen get the flu? It’s not the flu that is the issue, it’s the health of the child.
The level of health and strength of the host is what determines who gets sick and who does not. This is great news for many reasons. For one, it means that you don’t have to avoid germs. Why is that good news. Well, because you can’t avoid these bugs. They are everywhere, on everything, all the time. Another reason that this is great news is because it means you have a good amount of control over whether or not you get sick. You are not a helpless victim that has to sit back, cross your fingers, and hope that you don’t get sick. There are things you can do right now to lower your risk.
The dreaded “cold and flu season” is not a time when these pathogens muscle up, build in numbers, and go on a rampage with a mission to get as many people as possible sick. It’s usually the beginning of winter, around the holidays, when we overeat, consume higher amounts of sugar, have a drop in vitamin D levels, and encounter higher amounts of stress, all of which crush our immune systems. With our immune systems down, we become much more vulnerable to these germs, a perfect time for these opportunistic pathogens to become problematic for us… much like the dead, or dying, squirrel.
In our futile quest to wipe out all pathogens, scrub everything clean, and douse ourselves in hand sanitizer, we forget that our control lies in how healthy and strong we are. Instead of cowering in your home, keeping your children as clean as possible, and living in fear of the dreaded flus, colds, and other germs, make sure the food you’re eating is whole and real, that you are exercising regularly, getting ample, high-quality sleep, managing your response to stressors in your life, and paying attention to other lifestyle behaviors. Boosting your health, strengthening your immune system, and building your body is the only way you are going to avoid catastrophic effects from exposure to the world’s pathogens.
So, what would you tell a squirrel if it wanted to avoid being attacked or invaded by flies? The same thing I would tell you if you wanted to avoid getting sick or having complications from flus, colds, and other viruses, bacteria, and pathogens… to stay strong.