Emily Gold Mears currently manages a variety of investments, as well as being committed to philanthropy. Gold Mears was born and raised in Los Angeles and received her B.A. at U.C. Berkeley. She practiced Real Estate Law for a number of years and has now transitioned to research analysis in the area of science. She is a Board member of the UCLA Longevity Center; a Board member of KCRW Foundation; serves on the Society of Fellows Advisory Committee for the Aspen Institute, a Board member of the Aspen Brain Institute and on the advisory board of the Franca Fund/Genomes to People. She is currently writing her first book, a compilation of over two years of research in the field of functional medicine.
Some insights from Ms. Mears:
What is your current interest and/or activities in COVID and/or the Healthcare sector?
For the last few years I have been fascinated by the area of functional medicine, personalized medicine and the human genome. Today we have some unprecedented opportunities to change the paradigm in health. COVID-19 and the resulting serious illness and death in many cases would not have occurred if society prioritized individual health immunity. I’ve been working on a book focused on optimizing health and resilience through nutrition and many other lifestyle adjustments. Many of these free or low cost modifications can improve immunity not just to Covid-19, but also to the excessive toxins that are pervasive in our food supply and environment.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing policy makers and/or healthcare system regarding COVID?
The greatest challenge is the food supply. We are what we eat. Today we are not getting the nutrients we need. Our soil is depleted of critical minerals and we are ingesting an increasing amount of chemicals. We are not getting enough sleep and we are not moving enough. The challenge is to create policies that encourage responsible and intelligent eating, exercise and stress reduction. .We must focus on access to healthy food for everyone.
What is your outlook for tests, therapies, vaccines or other? (chose one more to answer)
While it is beyond remarkable that vaccines have been developed in such a short amount of time, I do not believe that a vaccine can be what we rely on for every pandemic. There will no doubt be more pandemics in our future and we need to be better prepared and not risk even a year’s time curtailing life. I think testing and therapies are a better way to go, but ultimately the best approach to health issues in the long term is resilience. If we concentrate on making our individual health significant, we will be better prepared next time.
What is your hoped for outcome? How will this impact healthcare sector or society in general?
I certainly hope that there will be increasing recognition of the importance of diet and other lifestyle modifications that we can all make. The many lives taken by Covid-19 is nothing less than devastating. I hope that we acknowledge that lack of resilience renders one vulnerable and at serious risk for all diseases. I hope this will be a wake up call.