On today’s episode of Food Heals we continue our coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve got all the updates on the effects of the  “Safer at Home ” emergency order in Los Angeles, how to thrive during an economic crash, the doctors using intravenous Vitamin C to treat COVID-19 in China, how CBD can keep you calm in times of panic, and the surprising positive news to come out of the pandemic.

Many of you know I live in LA where Mayor Eric Garcetti recently announced the “Safer at Home” Emergency Order, which demands all L.A. residents to stay inside their homes and immediately limit all movement outside of their homes beyond what is absolutely necessary to take care of essential needs. “Safer at Home” is described as a “more rigorous form of social distancing.” Shortly after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued statewide guidelines limiting all nonessential movement. What is considered essential? Pharmacies, Gas stations, Grocery Stores, Banks and Laundromats.

And hey look, I am fine with staying inside. I already work from home and for me it just means more time for me to spend with my new rescue dog Lily and my OG, Jackson. PLUS, I can do more research, interview more health experts and create more content for you. So that’s what I’m going to do.

And that’s what we all can do. Stay home. 1 in every 8 Americans live in california. So I am going to do my part and I ask you to do yours. We know that healthy people with no symptoms can be carriers and infect people with compromised immune systems or who are elderly and so we need to do our part. For me that means staying home and megadosing on my vitamins, supplements and eating a healthy plant-powered diet. Social distancing and staying positive. Technology can always bring me together with my loved ones for phone calls, zoom chats and virtual happy hours.

We can be the solution or the cause. Let’s choose to be the solution. Stay home, take your vitamins, meditate. Connect on Facetime and Zoom with people you love regularly. Be the light, stay positive.

Don’t feed into the negativity. Don’t watch the news nonstop. Remember that media outlets are businesses. They need sensational headlines to get more people tuning in so they can charge a premium to their advertisers. The more they say the world is ending the more we tune in. Don’t buy into it.

AND, remember that when it comes to your health, the news media is only scratching the surface of what we can do to boost our immunity. No anchor is going to report on the fact that doctors in china are successfully treating COVID-19 with intravenous Vitamin C because that is a conflict of interest with their advertisers – pharmaceutical companies. So please keep that in mind and binge listen to Food Heals for all your holistic health needs!

And, please be kind to everyone you see. Everyone is handling this differently. Have grace for those who are handling it differently than you. Educate, Inform, Inspire and dont judge And don’t create more hate.

The leader of this nation is giving us mixed messages, untruths and information not backed by facts, data or science. So we have to be the leaders now. Be the leader in your community. Be the leader in your family. Be the leader in your friend group.

When our president takes his own speech that was pre-written for him and crosses out the word “corona” in “coronavirus” and changes it to “chinese,” to now call it a “chinese virus” he is creating divisiveness. He is stirring up racism, and controversy, and creating enemies. This is not a time for hate! There is already a much bigger enemy that we all must collectively come together to overcome. This is a time for love, kindness and wellness. Do not follow in his lead.

Be the leader you wish to see. 

Coming up on Food Heals, I’ve got some great interviews lined up for you. I’ll be speaking with Dr. Stephen Cabral on not only how to prevent COVID-19, but also what to do if a loved one gets sick. Dr. Neal Barnard will be on to talk about the origin of COVID-19, and how to prevent fuutre outbreaks. We’ve got Vitamin recommendations on how to keep the disease at bay from Dr. Michael Platt. I’ll be speaking with Katie Krimitsos about how meditation can keep us calm and boost our immunity during these uncertain times. And, Suzy and I are talking to Dr. Roy Vongtama about how to stay physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy. Those and so many more interviews coming at you in the coming weeks.

I want to address the economic impact this COVID19 pandemic is having. Jobless claims rose to 281,000 last week, reflecting only the first indications of the impact the coronavirus will have on the U.S. employment picture. 

That number reflected a significant rise from last week’s 211,000, which was unrevised from the initial estimate, according to the Labor Department. It was the highest number since Sept. 2, 2017.

People are out of work, some are being laid off, some are contract workers or depend on the gig economy. And, as an entrepreneur, it is affecting me too. Part of my income comes from my AirBnb property and almost all my bookings have now cancelled. One of my biggest contracts is paused. I have friends who have lost their jobs or their clients or lost a significant amount in the stock market. It is a scary time.

A few days ago I shared my story of how I started Melody Productions, my film production business, right after I lost both of my parents to cancer, lost all their homes to foreclosure, and the estate was broke. It was the 2008 financial crisis.

I was negative in my bank account when I booked my first big client. And I went on to build a thriving business at a time when banks weren’t giving loans. When I no longer had mom and dad to fall back on. (You can read the full story in my book, Food Heals.

And I share that with you to let you know there is hope. And just as I believe there is no better time than right now to get as healthy as possible, I also believe there is NO better time than now to build a recession-proof online business. If that sparks your interest I want to help you. I am so grateful every day that I have created a business that has multiple streams of income so one or two or three dry up I have others on the back burner. 

No one is paying me to podcast. I am not with a network, I do not have a boss. I do this out of pure passion to help people stop outsourcing their health to doctors and take their health into their own hands. So it is up to me to figure out how to get myself paid to podcast. So how do I do that? Well, sometimes I have sponsors who sponsor a show, sometimes I work with affiliates. I have online courses that I offer to people who want to take classes with me. I have an online mastermind where we meet monthly and I coach clients individually on health and business. 

And I want to help you with that. If this resonates, if this sparks your interest there are three ways I can help you.

1. The Food Heals VIP Club: The Food Heals VIP Club is my $5/month offering where twice a month I share bonus content where we go behind the scenes of the businesses of our favorite Food Heals entrepreneurs. They are authors, podcasters, bloggers, speakers, coaches, filmmakers, and more. In the VIP club you’ll hear how these wellness influencers use their transformational stories, their miraculous healing journeys, their voices to create the life they desire. you will learn exact systems, strategies and real-world advice on how YOU can build a career out of the knowledge, expertise, experiences and passions you have had in your life. Join now for $5 at Glow.fm/foodheals
   
2. Rise and Bloom Mastermind: Rise and Bloom is for wellness entrepreneurs who want to produce more income in their business and create more time freedom to pursue their passions. It includes:
   

✨ 1 Two-Hour Monthly Coaching Call with Allison Melody and other experts

on topics including: marketing, monetization, networking, sales funnels, podcasting, blogging, video producing, copywriting, speaking, coaching, social media, sponsorship, online courses, membership sites, events, retreats and more.

✨  3 Months Free to The Food Heals VIP Club which covers topics like: health, business, spirituality, relationships, wellness, girl-bossing, manifestation, the Law of Attraction and more.

✨  An interview on The Food Heals Podcast, a top 25-ranked Fitness and Nutrition Podcast with a highly engaged audience and up to 12k listens per episode!

✨ BONUS: Facebook Group: Networking with a passionate community of fierce female entrepreneurs in a private Facebook group who collaborate, review each others shows, books and products, interview each other and more!

✨  BONUS: Instagram Group: Ongoing Instagram Support in Our Rise and Bloom Instagram Pod where we love on and engage with each other’s content.

3. Private Coaching and Consulting: I coach people on health, trauma and business and am offering 50% off my services for those in need during the pandemic. Hit me up at info@foodhealsnation.com for all the info!