The coronavirus pandemic succeeded in highlighting two parallel crises: a health crisis and an economic crisis. Please note that I am not suggesting that the pandemic caused these crises. Health was already in crisis and the economy too. The pandemic only served to expose the bullshit that already existed. As they say, you never know who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out.

Now, let’s start with the health crisis. The virus has proven its deadly effect efficiently on already sick people. And what are these people fed up with? It turns out that most of the victims of COVID-19 are people with various cardiovascular conditions and diabetes, both of which are already among the leading causes of death in the world. It is important to note that modern medicine has subsumed cardiovascular diseases and diabetes under the so-called metabolic syndrome which, in a nutshell, is caused by excessive consumption of junk food. Yes that’s how it is! Metabolic syndrome (i.e., high blood pressure, high blood sugar, hyperinsulinemia, excess belly fat, high triglycerides, and low “good” cholesterol levels) is primarily caused by junk food and can be reversed with lifestyle changes alone of life (no drugs are needed in 99% of cases). Therefore, the rule consume less it is imperative to apply when it comes to increasing health and preventing not only disease but also death (indeed, especially death, and especially death from COVID-19). Importantly, if you give up junk food, you’re actually killing a lot of birds with one stone: Firstly, you reverse metabolic syndrome thereby improving your cardiovascular markers and sugar metabolism (among many other health markers like mental clarity , energy levels, sleep, mood, etc.). Second, you’ll naturally start consuming less food overall. Here’s how it works: Junk food is designed to make you addicted and want more (of everything), so by not consuming junk food you can regulate your appetite, kick your addictive habits, increase your satiety and start eating fewer calories in general. . (By the way, reducing caloric intake is a major factor in longevity.) Last but not least, you’ll end up saving money by lowering your grocery bill (not to mention the savings on toilet paper!), which brings me to my next point: the economic crisis.

So suppose you’ve made a commitment not to eat junk food, and now you have a surplus of cash. (Remember: Not eating junk means you’re not constantly hungry or addicted to food, which in turn means you need a lot less real food to feel full.) Now what do you do with this surplus cash? Use it to buy more things, go to restaurants more often or travel more? You are welcome! You apply the same rule to your finances that you applied to your eating habits: consume less! And save more! Imagine if we had enforced that rule before the pandemic, diligently and consistently! Imagine if you had a year or two of expenses saved for the tough days. Imagine if companies were in that position. Imagine if governments were in that position. Would we be experiencing an economic crisis today? Of course not! And how do we make sure we don’t experience it again in the future? Quite simple: consume less. We need to learn to live below our means and save more. If we don’t learn that, we haven’t learned anything from COVID-19. If we don’t learn to consume less (of everything), there is another crisis just around the corner waiting to teach us the same thing again.

By the way, do you think it’s a matter of luck that the US is the country most affected by the pandemic? Unlikely! As “luck” says, the US is home to the largest number of fat people with the largest debts. Talk about over-consuming and paying the price for it.

Finally, I would like to address a notorious argument that the Planet cannot accommodate so many of us and is forcing population reduction through the pandemic. I firmly believe that the planet could accommodate all of us. If we only alter our consumption habits…