By Fred Swegles
Could a South Orange County voice instructor have discovered a way to preventor minimize the risks ofexposure to coronavirus?
ThomasAppell is convinced he has. A healthy diet.
In2004, he wrote a book, NeverGet Another Cold.
Hispremise is that our American diet is so laden with sugar that we lay out thewelcome mat for viruses.
Appell,65, used to suffer regularly from colds and the fluas did his voice students.So he went around asking people, How often do you get sick? He began queryinganyone who didnt. A common thread emerged.
People seemingly invulnerable to viruses avoided sugar, ate primarily a plant-based diet and drank lots of water. Appell provides a video testimonial, from a woman who hasnt had the flu in 55 years, at youtube/AeYapvCkosE.
Hesuggests that if people will just take a break from their typical diet duringthis coronavirus emergency, lives can be saved and people exposed can fare muchbetter.
OK,so were supposed to ditch pizza, pasta, hamburgers, alcohol, donuts, junkfood? Do we need to be perfect?
Strayinga little here or there isnt that bad, as long as you dont gorge on sugar,Appell says. If we get sugary foods off the table for the next month, werelikely going to see the whole corona threat become manageable.
Details are in an updated, illustrated coronavirus edition of his book, available in PDF for $9.95 at appellvoicestudio.com/product/never-get-another-cold/.
Its up to the individual to decide for themselves how safe they want to be. Zero tolerance is safest. However far you stray from a zerotolerance for sugar determines your risk level.
Appellalso has put together a COVID-19 Prevention Plan, appealing to President Trumpto allocate funding to let him assemble a task force seeking volunteers inthree groups:
Agree to cut out all sugar from their diet (includes soft drinks, energydrinks, candy, ice cream, desserts, etc.).
Agree to cut out all sugar and refined carbs (anything made with white flour orwhite rice) from their diet.
Agree to cut out all sugar and refined carbs, and drink at least two liters ofwater per day.
Itsmy belief, he says, that all groups will experience a dramatic decrease inthe number of coronavirus cases compared to the public at large.
Weasked him about it:
Whatled you to seek a solution?
Formy whole life, I had been plagued with the flu and colds. Starting in December2001, I had three terrible virus/flu/cold episodes in less than a year. Im avocal coach, and when Im sick, I cant sing. It became my mission in life tofind out how to stop my lifelong history of colds and flu.
Howdid you do it?
Ijust started asking everyone I met, When was the last time you had the flu ora cold? If they said anything more than a decade, I was all ears and startedasking questions.
Howdidyou test this?
OnceI knew what to do, I stopped getting sick. Then I tracked down the sickestsingers I coached and asked them to do it along with me. I ended up trackingthe results of six people. The group had 27 cold/flu episodes in the year priorto starting the diet. In the two years after starting out, only one personcaught a cold once. That translates to a 98-percent decrease in episodes. Then16 more years of seeing the same results, over and over.
Whatis the diet?
Eatalkaline foods and limit acidic foods. For flu prevention, the No. 1 thing todo is avoid any food that causes your blood glucose level to spike. Drinking aliter of water per day for every 50 pounds of body weight also really helps.
Somefoods to avoid?
Forperfect health, everyone has to nix or really limit anything with a high sugarcontent, or food that after digestion converts to sugar, like refined wheat.This includes soft drinks, candy, pizza, pasta and doughnuts. I have to reallywatch how much high-sugar fruit, like pineapple or peaches, I eat. A big fruitsalad can have just as much sugar as a 20-ounce Coke.
Whystop eating sugary foods?
TheInternational Diabetes Federation states, The Coronavirus may thrive in anenvironment of elevated blood glucose (sugar). This is exactly what Ive foundwith myself and all the people Ive worked with for 16 years.
Whatfoods should you eat?
Saladsare great. My first meal is a salad with avocados, spinach and cucumber, freshsqueezed lime juice and small amounts of low-sugar fruits like blueberries anda greenish banana to add some nice flavor. Most vegetables are greatraw orcooked, with the exception of corn, since corn has such a high sugar content.
Whatabout meat?
Idont eat meat, so I wont get heart disease. But small amounts of meat appearto not have much of a significant impact on catching a virus.
Doyou really expect people to give up pizza, pasta and sugar?
Inthe past, no. In 2020, with the risk of death and an economic meltdown fromfear of contracting the coronavirus, yes. Zero tolerance for refined sugar issafest. But small amounts can be OK as long as you dont spike your bloodglucose level. This is why the virus is spreading so fast. Countries that havea diet that leads to elevated glucose levels are at high risk.
Isit hard adapting to your diet?
Itsnot a challenge at all. Its delicious. And you feel so good after getting ridof all of the sugary sweets.
Whatwould you say to our leaders?
We cant afford to shut down the country every time COVID-19 rears its ugly head. I believe I can save America a trillion dollars, but, more importantly, save many lives. Containment and quarantine are temporaryprevention is best. Prevention through diet is our silver bullet.
Howquickly does your diet take effect?
Results are nearly instantaneous. After a person stops eating the foods that causes a virus to thrive, they stop becoming a potential host.
THOMAS APPELL
Occupation:Owner of Appell Voice Studio, author of Can You Sing a High C Without Straining beforealso writing Never GetAnother Cold
Background:Lived in San Clemente from 1987-1999; a regular in the surf lineup at LowerTrestles; still in town 3-4 days a week to surf Lowers
Residence: Coto de Caza
MORE TESTIMONIALS
MikeFinnerty: youtu.be/fs2xVe5BpXU
AppealTo President: youtu.be/SgRtLoJm6KQ
Fred Swegles is a longtime San Clemente resident with nearly five decades of reporting experience in the city. Fred can be reached at fswegles@picketfencemedia.com.
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CoastLines: With No Coronavirus Vaccine, Is Diet the Next-Best Thing? - San Clemente Times
