Coronavirus: Mental Health

In this episode, the host, Angie Gust, talks about the effects of the pandemic on our mental health.  She relates that the CDC notes that stress can cause, for instance, feelings of fear, sadness, and worry, changes in appetite and energy, and difficulty sleeping.  They suggest taking breaks from watching the news, and focus on self-care in addition to engaging in activities you enjoy and connecting with people you trust to share your feelings. With regard to the environment, in his new book “Food Fix”, Dr. Mark Hyman says that the greatest challenges we face today all trace back to the food we eat. For instance, ultra-processed and sugar-filled foods are responsible for the huge increase in diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and they kill around 50 million people each year, disproportionately affecting lower income people. Another challenge related to food is harmful farming habits. Soils are the biggest CO2 absorber we have, and when we over-farm, we release more CO2 than all the fossil fuel companies combined. 

References

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