You and the Flu
Every year around this time, the bombardment begins. Every expert pushes each and every one of us to get a flu shot like our lives depend on it. It starts to sound like carnival barkers: Get your flu shot here!
And yet it seems that millions suffer from the flu each and every winter. We see tons of advertisements showing miserable people suffering from extreme symptoms of cough, fever and runny nose.
I have elderly family members whose doctors faithfully administer their flu shots and every winter, they get the flu at least once.
Confused, I turned to an expert friend from Seattle, Dr. William Caradonna, whose practice thrives on helping people develop healthy lifestyle skills and treating their conditions in the most natural ways possible.
A little history: Bill and I go back a few years when he and his lovely wife, Dr Barbara Kreemer joined us in Tuscany on one of our group holidays. As the days passed and we spent time talking, Bill helped me see the light on vitamin B 12 supplementation in the form of shots. I had been faithfully taking spray and tablets since my brain aneurysm in 1998, (with the occasional shot from my neurologist) but I still felt like I could be better, have more even energy and fewer headaches (a side effect of my mild head explosion).
Bill encouraged my husband and I to try shots and we have been using them regularly ever since. Their impact on our health and immunity is without measure. If we develop a cold or flu, the duration is short and our recovery swift.
So I asked Dr. Bill if I could share his insights on flu shots so that you have good information on which to base your decision. Here’s what he had to say:
“No significant studies exist to support flu shot use that include the appropriate “gold standard” study design or proper statistical analysis. On a review of existing literature, it was found that only 31 studies were worthy of inclusion out of a massive 5,700 screened. Also, half of these accepted studies were funded by the vaccine industry, which the study authors suggested may have had biased outcomes.
On average, only 3 people out of 100 get the real flu. The flu shot reduces this, at best, to 1 out of 100. 100 people are getting the shot in order for 2 people not to get the flu. And there was NO value for the elderly and children. There are also no studies that show that the H1N1 vaccine is beneficial. Meanwhile, the risk of negative effects exceeds any possible benefit.
Due to ineffectiveness, the elderly now have their own versions of the shot available that has EXTRA aluminum added to try to improve immune response. Still not useful!
The Flu Mist formula for children has been discontinued this year due to….ineffectiveness!
THE FLU SHOT IS NOT FREE OF RISK –
Multidose vials of flu vaccines contain a huge amount of mercury (a neurotoxic heavy metal). Also contained are antibiotics, formaldehyde, antifreeze, and MSG.
No safety studies have been done on the use of flu shots in children, pregnant women, and the elderly. NO long term studies on the safety of the Flu shot have been performed at all.
Flu shot adverse reactions include:
• Hives
• Asthma
• Angioedema
• Vasculitis, Cellulitis
• Eye pain and chest pain
• Arthritis
• Thrombocytopenia
• Dizziness, tremors and losing consciousness (syncope)
• Convulsions and seizures
• Guillian-Barre Syndrome
• Cranial nerve paralysis or limb paralysis
• Swelling of the brain
• Partial facial paralysis
Other “side effects” include …flu-like symptoms! This includes Chills, Nausea, Myalgia, Arthralgia, Headache, Fatigue, Diarrhea, Loss of appetite, Fever.
Children who had the Flu shot were found to have 5.5x increased incidence of other respiratory virus infections!
SOME QUOTES FROM THE FLU SHOTS PACKAGE INSERTS: This year I thought I would summarize information that comes DIRECTLY from package inserts of flu vaccines.
“There have been no controlled trials adequately demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with Flulaval.”
Data demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination of children and adolescents 4 through 17 years of age with Flucelvax Quadrivalent are not available…There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Flucelvax Quadrivalent has not been evaluated in nursing mothers.
From GlaxoSmithKline’s current product monograph for Fluarix – “Safety and effectiveness of FLUARIX have not been established in pregnant women or nursing mothers.
From Sanofi Pasteur’s current product monograph for Fluzone – “It is also not known whether FLUZONE® Quadrivalent can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity.
FINAL COMMENTS:
The prescription drug, Tamiflu, is nearly useless as a drug to combat flu symptoms. It also has a lot of side effects and it is expensive too!
Attachments – We always like to include a link to a study by researchers here in Seattle that showed that the Flu shot had NO BENEFIT IN REDUCING MORTALITY. The story behind this research was published in The Atlantic magazine.
Your best option for avoiding the flu and flu-like illnesses this winter is having a strong immune system and good hygiene practices.”
In the end, we must keep our bodies strong and vital with the lifestyle choices we make. And since it’s me, you know I think these choices begin in the kitchen and end in the gym, figuratively speaking.
Eating whole, unprocessed foods (maybe even a bit of juicing) and exercising regularly (and strenuously) are our best insurance for staying well this winter. And should the Big Bad Wolf known as the flu blow your door down, you’ll bounce back quickly.
On top of that, I do keep a few tools in my arsenal for when everyone around us seems to be sniffling. I love Influenzinum 9c (a Homeopathic product) which is useful because it stimulates your immune system to defend against flu viruses before they can cause symptoms. Small pellets are dissolved under your tongue once weekly for 4 weeks starting late October/early November, and then a booster dose is taken 1 month later. There are no toxic ingredients, no significant side effects, and this product is safe for children, pregnant women and the elderly. There is a history of excellent results with this product.
You can also keep vials of oscillococcinum, another homeopathic flu remedy that you can find in most drug stores. Taken at the first sign of a sniffle or fever, this powerful remedy shortens the duration of your symptoms (in my experience).
So there you have it. Eat well; hit the gym and wash your hands often. Flu shot, schmu shot.
