Weight loss is a topic I prefer to avoid writing about as it has many connotations, not all of them healthy. 
I always tell participants at the beginning of my Detox program that if they carry weight which is detrimental to their health, then I am interested in helping them to lose it. 
If, however, they are trying to lose a few pounds so that they fit into their skinny jeans, then that is not really my remit.
However, I believe it would be remiss of me not to address the disadvantage that being overweight places us at in relation to Covid-19. Healthcare workers have been telling us from the start of the pandemic that, after age and underlying health issues, the most important factor in dictating how our body deals with Covid is our weight. 
Covid is an inflammatory respiratory disease in which breathing can quickly become very difficult. Carrying extra weight in the chest and abdomen makes expanding the lungs more physically difficult, and this has been particularly detrimental when trying to cope with Covid.
There is no doubt that since the 1960s, Ireland and Britain have chosen to follow an American-style diet, laden with heavily processed foods, over a European one, which prioritises fresh produce. I believe that this has been largely to our detriment. 
Both Ireland and Britain are among the top ten countries with the highest obesity rates in Europe. Many of us now live on a highly processed and high calorie diet that contains too much sugar, too much salt and too much fat. We consume too many takeaways and heat up ready meals rather than cooking for ourselves, which in turn enables us to control the quality of what we are eating.
Sugar has become the secret poison of our diet. It is incorporated into so many processed foods that we often don’t even realise how much of it we are consuming. Many of us suffer from unhealthy blood sugar fluctuations, which leads to a vicious cycle of sugar cravings.
When we eat sugar our blood sugar level rises. We produce high levels of insulin in response, which quickly reduces our blood sugar to a safe, but low, level. This low blood sugar level makes us crave sugar again and so the cycle starts afresh.
When we eat more sugar than we need for our energy requirements the unused sugar converts to fat and is stored in our fat cells. So the unfortunate fact is, if we continuously eat more sugar than we need in response to sugar cravings, we gain weight.
Balancing our blood sugar level is very important in helping us to both lose weight and to prevent weight gain. A balanced blood sugar level means we are less susceptible to sugar cravings.
GlucoControl from Pharmanord is a double action supplement designed for blood sugar control. It slows the uptake of dietary sugar from the gut into the blood stream, resulting in a more balanced blood sugar after we eat our meals. It also assists in the transport of glucose out of the bloodstream and into the cells for use as energy. 
This means GlucoControl exerts a dual effect on controlling blood sugar levels and reducing cravings. Taken alongside healthy eating habits, this supplement could help us to bring a previously fluctuating blood sugar under control.
It goes without saying that being overweight is not good for our health. However, our ability to cope with Covid has put a new focus on the relationship between our weight and our general health. 
Last summer, Boris Johnson said publicly of his own frightening experience of Covid: “The reason why I had such a nasty experience with the disease was that… I had a very common underlying condition. My friends, I was too fat.” While I find it difficult to understand a lot of Boris Johnston’s governing decisions regarding Covid, I do acknowledge that he has led by example in his endeavour to reduce his own body weight since his experience of the virus.
While we can all take consolation in the roll-out of the vaccination, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of our personal responsibility in taking care of our health. 
Our weight is one of the only underlying conditions that we can control. We should not lose sight of the steps we can take to protect ourselves in the fight against Covid.