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SEPTEMBER - SEPTEMBRE - SEPTEMBER 2009 Volume 5, Issue 9
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H1N1 FLU VIRUS: PANIC OR PANDEMIC? Since the first outbreak of the Swine Flu in April of 2009, we keep hearing that this new virus might be a menace to the whole world! It is true that it has already killed people, but is it really necessary to spread a panic amongst the population for this specific flu, and how can you proactively protect yourself and your family? WHAT IS THE SWINE FLU? The Swine Flu is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a new strain of Influenza A referred to as the “novel H1N1” virus. It was thought be the same type of virus that caused the 1918 world wide influenza pandemic. It is in fact a combination of four known strains of Influenza A Virus. One is a human virus, one is a virus identified in birds, and two are identified in pigs (swine). Transmission of the new strain is only human-to-human, and as such the virus cannot be transmitted by food. The virus typically spreads from coughs and sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your nose or mouth. Symptoms, which can last up to a week, are similar to those of seasonal flu, and may include fever, sneezes, sore throat, coughs, headache, and muscle or joint pains. The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) notes that although this is a very serious virus, cases worldwide are usually mild, and most hospitalizations and deaths have been of persons that also had underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or a weakened immune system. Also, to date it appears that younger people are contracting this current “Swine Flu” in large numbers than in the past. Back in 1976, a Swine Flu outbreak appeared and became known as the “Swine Flu Fiasco”. Infections were only detected from January 19, 1996 to February 9, 1976 but it prompted the rushed immunization of 24% of the population of United States. This Swine Flu strain itself killed only one person and hospitalized only thirteen. However, the side effects of the vaccines caused 500 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, out of which 25 persons died from severe pulmonary complications. Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a condition that paralyses the nerves and the muscles of the body which eventually leads to death. As a result, the public refused to trust the government-operated health program and the program was stopped. As of today, the CDC analyses information about influenza disease activity in the United Stated and publishes findings of key flu indicators each week. During the week of August 16-22, 2009, a review of these key indicators found that influenza activity is either stable or is increasing in some areas such as the Southeast. The U.S. government through private contractors (the actual companies who make and profit from the intended vaccines) is actively working on a vaccine that is supposed to be ready by mid-October. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius noted that, “So far there are no red flags. I think we are on target for mid-October to have the vaccines coming off the production lines.” The first volunteers were tested in August, and it will require two shots, spaced three weeks apart, to “educate the immune system” to recognize H1N1, and another six to eight weeks after to generate true immunity against the H1N1 virus. It is at this time when scientists will know if the vaccines have provided enough protection, and then decide to ship the vaccine bottles. The projected numbers of the pandemic are truly alarming: up to 120 million people coughing, sneezing, feverish, with the symptoms of the flu; 90,000 people potentially dead from the illness; and requiring 50% to 100% of available beds in intensive care units of hospitals in hard-hit regions. The problem here is that these numbers are generated using data from previous flu pandemics from the years 1918, 1957, and 1968. The basic truth is that we just don’t know what is going to happen because these numbers are just projections. Secondly, this new vaccine will NOT have had a long period of time to be tested which to say the least, is a bit frightening. TO GET VACCINATED OR NOT TO GET VACINATED? Assuming that this vaccine would indeed be ready by mid-October, the first question is: Should you get vaccinated or not? Patients ask my opinion on vaccines quite often, and this Swine Flu vaccine has raised many concerns. The following is MY OPINION on this “big question”: 1. This Swine Flu vaccine has not been tested long enough, which represents several important risks. How safe can a vaccine be that has been developed, tested and shipped for mass distribution in a matter of weeks? Plus, we don’t even know how efficient the vaccine is going to be. 2. The priority targets to be vaccinated are children first, then healthcare workers, pregnant women, and adult with chronic illnesses. I don’t think this makes sense to vaccinate children, because so far cases of Swine Flu have been rather mild in nature in children. As far as pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses are concerned, I think these people are at a higher potential risk for complications from the vaccine itself than they are from the influenza virus. 3. An oil based adjuvant called Squalene is the choice ingredient to be added to the vaccine to make the vaccine more “effective” and to reduce the amount of vaccine required per dose. Squalene is proved to be one of the worst of the adjuvants. In the year 2000 a study published in the American Journal of Pathology demonstrated that a single injection of the adjuvant Squalene into rats triggered chronic immune-mediated joint-specific inflammation…in other words, rheumatoid arthritis! As humans, we consume naturally occurring Squalene in olive oil, and it is also found naturally occurring in the nervous system and the brain. But, the key here is the route by which Squalene enters your body and this makes all the difference. When injected, Squalene incites your immune system to attack all the Squalene in your body, so your body will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally and where it is vital to your nervous system. In other words, it induces destruction of many cells in your body that should NOT be destroyed. 4. Follow-up post vaccination studies for vaccines in general are on average only two weeks long. This means that for the H1N1 vaccine, we will not know the side effects on the body beyond the two week period for which it was tested and “approved” as “safe”. In other words there will be NO long term follow-up testing available for this vaccine before it is termed “approved” and put out by the government as a “recommended safe” vaccination. 5. The presumed intent of a vaccination is to help your immune system to build up a defense mechanism against potentially harmful organisms. But your body’s immune system is already designed to do this naturally. Most organisms normally enter your body through your nose, mouth, lungs or digestive tract, but not through an injection. The mucus membranes of these organs have their own defense systems called IgA (Immuno-globulins antibodies). Your IgA immune system is the first line of defense, able to destroy invaders at their entry points, before the need to activate your whole body’s immune system. When a virus is injected into your body through a vaccine, and even more so if combined with an adjuvant like Squalene, your IgA immune system has no chance to do its job, and your body’s immune system has to kick into gear immediately to respond to the vaccine. This process goes against the natural process of the body. This is why so many negative reactions can and do occur from vaccinations. It is well documented that there are always risks involved in vaccinations, but in my opinion this H1N1 vaccination seems to be even more risky than any others, especially given the short testing period and the use of Squaline. With the above facts in mind, I would not recommend the H1N1 vaccination for my family. I believe that it is better to boost your immune system naturally with the methods known and used for decades by Naturopathy. WHAT TO DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY? 1. First of all, DON’T PANIC. I think the media have done a great job at scaring the population so they can make the headlines on TV, the Internet and the press. 2. Secondly, apply these simple basic actions to avoid a contamination, which are to WASH YOUR HANDS REGULARLY, ALWAYS COVER your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, and AVOID TOUCHING your eyes, nose or mouth because they are the main points of entry. STAY AT HOME IF YOU ARE SICK and keep your kids at home, and rest as much as possible. 3. Keep your immune system strong by following the well tested principles of natural medicine. It starts with DIET, as usual, and you should ELIMINATE sugars, artificial sweeteners, refined carbohydrates, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and MSG. EXERCISE on a daily basis, which makes you sweat, increase circulation and helps eliminate toxins. Get enough SLEEP, because it is during sleep that we recharge our batteries and build up our immune system. DRINK enough WATER – you should drink half of your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 140 lbs, you should drink 70 oz of water per day. I called these principles the four pillars of health (DIET, EXEERCISE, SLEEP, and DRINK). 4. SWEAT: If you get sick with the flu or any other infection, the best way for your body to fight this infection is to raise its temperature. It is normal to develop a fever, which allows your body to “kill” a virus, because most viruses are heat sensitive. So, if you are an adult, don’t be afraid of fever, and if you don’t have a fever, I highly recommend inducing it by taking a very hot bath. After the bath, rap yourself in blankets and go to bed to keep sweating. Very often, the fever breaks down after 10 to 12 hours, which means that your body has won the battle against the virus. 5. REDUCE STRESS as much as possible. Stress depletes your immune system, creates inflammation and oxidation. If you can’t avoid stress, then you need to support your adrenal glands with either/or Adrenal Complex, Adrenotone Plus from Designs For Health, or Adrenal Desiccated from Standard Process. The recommended dosage is 2 tablets twice a day of any of these products. 6. KEEP YOUR GUT HEALTHY. As you have read in my previous HEALTH AWARENESS newsletters, the state of your gut determines the state of your health. This means to remove offensive foods such as gluten or dairy if that’s the case for you; get rid of infections such as bacterial or yeast overgrowth; and be sure to have regular bowel movements. To keep your digestive system healthy you should take a strong Probiotic such as 1 capsule of 50 Billions Probiotics from Advanced Naturals or 1 teaspoon of Probiotic Powder from Designs For Health. These Probiotics contain strains of friendly bacteria that are able to destroy invading viruses. 7. BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM: There are many supplements that can help you build and strengthen your immunity. One of my favorites is called Defense Plus from Nutribiotics. For prevention, I usually recommend starting taking 1 tablet twice a day in mid-September and going on through to the end of March. This product contains herbs such as Echinacea, Goldenseal, and Astragalus, ALL known for their immune building properties. Defense Plus also contains Shiitake Mushroom, Maitake Mushroom and Reishi Mushroom. These mushrooms have been shown to increase T-cells in HIV positive patients. Another important ingredient of Defense Plus is an anti-infectious agent called Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE). GSE is able to fight and kill viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungus. A second favorite product that is extremely useful for any kind of infection for against viruses is simply Vitamin C. I recommend Vitamin C BioFizz from Designs For Health because it is the easiest form of Vitamin C to use in large quantities. For prevention, I recommend 1 or 2 teaspoons of Vitamin C Biofizz per day (equivalent to 2.5 gr. – 5.0 gr.) diluted in water. For curative purpose, I just tell people to take as much as their body can tolerate. It sometimes goes to 20 grams to 50 grams per day. The only side effect of high dosage Vitamin C can be loose stools, which happens at different dosage for everybody, but my philosophy is that I prefer to have loose stools for a few days than the flu. Defense Plus and Vitamin C Biofizz can both be safely given to children. A third supplement that I usually use mostly for children is ImmunoBerry from Designs For Health. ImmunoBerry has been formulated especially for children because it is in liquid form and taste good. The main ingredient is Elderberry (Sambucus Nigra), an herb well known to stimulate the immune system. It also contains Astragalus, Shiitake and Maitake mushrooms, and Wild Cherry Bark, all of these ingredients are in a glycerin base, which makes the product very palatable. The recommended dosage is 35 drops twice a day for prevention or 35 drops 5-6 times a day during an infection. Finally, Designs For Health has developed a product that is totally unique on the market when compared to other Garlic supplements. This product is called Allicillin; it is an extremely potent anti-viral supplement, which contains the equivalent of 40 cloves of garlic per capsules. In a case of flu, I would not hesitate to take 2 capsules 3 or 4 times a day. Everyone knows the benefits of garlic for its cardio-vascular protection, but the Allicin which is extracted from the garlic cloves is the best microbial fighter that we know of. 8. TRAVEL AND IN OTHER CONFINED AREAS: If your are going to fly for business or vacation during the next SEVEN MONTHS, I strongly suggest that you take with you a very unique Propolis based Throat Spray from La Drome Provençale which is a very effective Propolis based microbial fighter. We have recommending this product for over two years and have not had one disappointed patient / user. Simply spray this Throat Spray every two hours during a flight of any length. This product is truly a “guardian angel” when you are stuck in tight and / or highly populated spaces. We ALWAYS use the Propolis based Throat Spray from La Drome Provençale during for our 11½ flights to France and have yet to contract any colds, flu’s or other air transmitted illnesses. In conclusion, I believe that you should start your program of prevention against the H1N1 Flu by mid-September (in two weeks). I am confident that if you follow the simple advice as offered above as well as my guidance to determine which supplementation would be mostly appropriate for you or your loved ones, you will be able to go through this H1N1 Flu season with no or very minimal health problems. Please feel free to call the office at 831-642-0202 if you have any question or if you would like to make an appointment to implement a personal prevention program for you and your family. I will be more than happy to help you. OUR NEXT HEALTH TALK SEMINAR Our next Health Talk Seminar will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 during the hours of 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. The subject will be “H1N1 FLU VIRUS: PANIC OR PANDEMIC”. In this Health Talk Seminar, I will cover this subject in greater detail than that which is presented in this newsletter as well as offering you an opportunity for you to ask questions. If you wish to attend, please call to reserve your place to 831-642-0202 or email to John@mbaynaturo.com. I am sure that this Health Talk Seminar will be very well attended so please sign-up at an early moment. The address of this Health Talk is: Monterey Bay Naturopathy Inc. Yours in health,
The entire contents of HEALTH AWARENESS are based upon the opinions of Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath, unless otherwise indicated. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as an offering and sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath
within the U.S. and Europe. Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
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