The best way to build the body's defenses against the coronavirus is to live a healthier lifestyle, world-renowned cardiologist Dr. Chauncey Crandall said in a new interview.

Crandall, the author of "Fight Back: Beat the Coronavirus," told Pat Robertson on "The 700 Club" that eating healthy, exercising, and not smoking are simple ways to defeat the virus that has infected around 9.4 million people worldwide and has killed more than 480,000.

"The main thing is to get healthier and stronger, Pat," Crandall said. "Some of the simple things that we can do is we can exercise every day, but not to the point of fatigue, which can wear the body down.

"We need to get enough sleep so we're not burdened down daily with all these problems, sleepless nights. We need to lower our stress, and we need to eat correctly, Pat. These are all things that you have advocated for good health. And when you have good health, you are much stronger when you go into the battle against this virus."

The other piece of the puzzle is to shore up the body's immune system with defense-building vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C, D, and A, along with zinc, selenium, garlic, and probiotics.

"All these things help the immune system at the entry point — mucous membranes, etc. — to become stronger so we develop a shield and that virus cannot penetrate that shield, Pat," Crandall said.

Crandall also addressed the use of ventilators, which some medical experts have argued can cause more harm in some patients. As doctors and virologists have learned more about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, they've realized that ventilators are not always the right treatment for people whose oxygen levels are low.

"We've learned about this virus that even though your oxygen level might be dropping, if we put you on high-flow nasal oxygen that we can sustain you without putting you on the ventilator. Less people are going on the ventilator now, which is a good thing, and the pathologic toxicity of this virus seems to be less," Crandall noted. "We're getting a break because this virus has mutated in a favorable direction for human beings."

Overall, Crandall said his latest book that's chock-full of tips on defeating COVID-19 "will give you victory over this virus and you will live in Jesus' name."

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