The flu, fear and reality

By popular demand, I am reprinting my recent email:

Our teleseminar series, “Profound Paths to Health, Healing and Happiness” is dedicated to empowering you to create your own path to health. To this end, I am writing to you today to empower you with some information about taking care of yourself and your family’s health this winter, and to dis-empower some of the myths and lies that are flying around in this climate of fear about the sw ine flu and seasonal flu.

As a Clinical Nutritionist and Chiropractor, I have a lot of clients with concerns about the flu, and even more about the flu vaccines. Here is what I share with my clients. You are welcome to pass this along to your friends and family. Dr. Frank Lipman, MD, our most recent speaker in the series has graciously allowed me to reprint information from his article (see below) on the swine flu vaccine.

The flu is certainy an unpleasant illness, but it is largely preventable and rarely fatal. The truth of the popular statistic that 36,000 people die from influenza each year is actually that around 35,000 of those deaths are from pneumonia, usually secondary bacterial pneumonia. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola’s excellent Special Swine flu Update available at www.mercola.com: “…A separate study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics for seasonal influenza seasons between 1979 and 2002 reveals that the range of annual influenza deaths were between 257 and 3,006, for an average of 1,348 influenza deaths per year.1 Again, nowhere near the 36,000 mortality mark that has been etched into stone by those who are advocating annual flu shots. Although the loss of even a single life is tragic, I don't think anyone would look at these numbers and say that a mortality rate of less than 1,350 is cause to label influenza a "deadly disease" that requires mandatory influenza vaccination...

...As of October 11, 2009 the World Health Organization reported that, worldwide, there have been more than 399,232 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1, and over 4,735 deaths. Folks, that is 4,735 deaths in the ENTIRE world, not just the US! … Most all of these deaths occurred in immunocompromised individuals.”

PREVENTION IS BEST. People with healthy immune systems rarely have problems dealing with seasonal viruses. If your immune system is compromised, there are still things you can do to protect yourself.

1- REMEMBER THAT FEAR IS MORE CONTAGIOUS AND DEADLY THAN ANY VIRUS. Listen to your body and bathe it in love, safety and happiness. Visualize health and balance in your immune system and your entire body. Be fearless. Listen to our speakers and other wise teachers for inspiration and guidance and above all, honor your intuition and your inner wisdom.

2- MINIMIZE EXPOSURE TO VIRUSES. Stay away from people who are visibly sick. Don’t use other people’s pens, phones, and don’t shake hands! Wash your hands with soap and water after handling money (very germy stuff!) shopping carts, doorknobs, public bathrooms, etc.

3- DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES, NOSE OR MOUTH if your hands are not clean! These viruses get into your system through eyes, nose and mouth.

4- DON’T LET THE VIRUS TAKE HOLD IN YOUR SYSTEM. It takes 2-3 days for the viruse to propagate in your system. Daily cleansing of your nose with a Neti pot, Lavage or other nasal douche system cleans viruses out of your nasal passages before they can dig in and multiply. Gargling daily with warm salt water and drinking lots of hot teas clears them out of your throat. Tears contain immune cells.

5- SUPPORT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM -eat a healthy, whole foods diet; eat plenty of protein, get lots of antioxidants from colorful vegetables and fruits, avoid sugar and excessive caffeine -drink at least 8 glasses of water a day -take a good multivitamin and extra Vitamin C, Zinc, A, D and fish oils -get plenty of sleep; your immune system restores itself during deep sleep (for help, try my CD “Restful Sleep, Healing Sleep”) -take immune supporting supplements such as olive leaf, echinacea, garlic, cordyceps, astragulus, colostrum, probiotics and monolaurin

6- OPTIMIZE YOUR VITAMIN D LEVELS. Have your 25-OH Vit. D levels tested, optimal levels are now recommended to be 50-70ng/ml. Many doctors will tell you you are fine if your level is above 30. This is not high enough according to the most up to date research. Most people need a minimum of 2000-4000 I.U. of Vitamin D3 per day just to maintain their levels. To raise your Vitamin D levels, if you cannot get it from regular sun exposure without sunscreen, (which those of us far from the equator cannot during winter months) you may need a much higher intake.

7- MANAGE YOUR STRESS. Breathing exercises, meditation, relaxation, imagery, fun and love support your immune function. Listen to your body!

ACT QUICKLY AT THE FIRST SIGN OF ILLNESS

-Consider homeopathic Oscillococcinum. ?If you feel like you are coming down with the flu, or if you are exposed to someone with the flu directly, you can take one dose twice a day for two-three days. You can also consider one half to one vial once or twice a week throughout the winter as a preventative measure. ?

-Consider natural antimicrobial and immune supporting supplements (olive leaf, garlic, oregano oil, grapefruit seed extract, colostrum, monolaurin, probiotics)

-Increase your Vitamin C, A, Zinc and water

-Explore herbal or homeopathic cold and flu remedies. Homeopathic remedies work best when taken at the first sign of illness, and taken frequently in the beginning.

-Fever is the body’s way of increasing immune system activity. Unless you have a high fever, let your body work naturally whenever possible.

-Colds and flus are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Antibiotics only kill bacteria and therefore do nothing for a viral infection. Avoid antibiotics unless your doctor has determined that you have developed a secondary bacterial infection. The unnecessary use of antibiotics weakens your system and makes you more susceptible to further illnesses.

THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE VALUE OF FLU VACCINES. Each year’s vaccine is developed based on a projection of what virus will be circulating that year. Viruses mutate very rapidly, so many years, the virus has changed by the time the vaccine is made, and the vaccine is useless. There are potential dangers in being repeatedly injected with the mercury and aluminum compounds that may be used in the vaccines, and some studies have looked at possible links between repeated vaccinations and increased incidence of Alzhei mer’s. A recent review of studies showed that the flu vaccines are NOT effective in preventing the flu or "influenza-like illness" or pneumonia in the elderly population. (Efficacy and Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccines in Elderly People: A Systematic Review. The Lancet, October 1, 2005.)

The recommendation that everyone get a yearly flu shot benefits the drug companies that make the vaccines, not necessarily the people who get them.

Here is an excerpt from Dr. Lipman’s article on the swine flu vaccine. For the full article, go to www.DrFrankLipman.com:

“Summer is over and the question I am being asked most frequently in my practice is, “what do I do about Swine flu?” My patients are wondering whether or not they should get vaccinated and the simple answer I give most of the time is ..NO!

From what you may have read, you might think that the swine flu vaccine is the answer to swine flu. Unfortunately this is not true and until we know that the vaccine is safe, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to most of my patients.?? From the outset, let me say, I am not anti all vaccinations, rather I am pro vaccine safety and freedom of choice. ? This is why am I not recommending the swine flu vaccine

1. At this stage, for the most part the swine flu seems benign. Over a million people in the US have already come down with swine flu, many of them without even knowing that they had it. The vast majority of people who get the swine flu recover after a week or so of high fever, aches, and respiratory distress. It's not pleasant, but except in rare circumstances, it is not fatal. Most people who’ve been infected by swine flu think so little of it, they believe they just had a really bad cold or a regular flu. So unless the swine flu evolves to a much more virulent form, there's no need for mass vaccination

2. We don’t know if the vaccine will be effective. Vaccines are only useful against the specific viral strain that was available at the time of their manufacture. But influenza viruses mutate quickly, and as the WHO has already said, the real concern with H1N1 swine flu is that it will combine with seasonal flu in the Fall, creating a new strain that will of course be immune to all available vaccines

3. We don’t know if the vaccine is safe. The FDA has authorized an expedited approval process for the swine flu vaccine but we don’t know yet if it is safe. … Since it's never been used before and they have not had time to conduct any sufficient human testing, by getting vaccinated you are being a human guinea pig.

4. Vaccine manufacturers have been insulated from liability by the government. The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius has granted legal immunity not only to the makers of the 2 drugs being used to treat swine flu, Tamiflu and Relenza, but also to the swine flu vaccine makers, for damages due to their use against swine flu. By effectively manipulating the legal system, the Pharmaceutical Industry through their powerful lobbyists have acquired almost complete and total insulation from any liability for their vaccines and adjuvants, which are additives added to generate a stronger immune response. It is believed that it is these adjuvants which often cause the problems. The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu was in 1976. Thousands filed claims for side effects such as paralysis caused by the vaccine and a number of people died. I am sure that the researchers know more now than they did last time and no one can say for certain that bad things will happen again or that you wi ll suffer dire consequences if you get vaccinated. But this time you have no legal recourse even though this vaccine involves new factors, which makes it therefore experimental and unpredictable.?By shielding the manufacturers from any responsibility for any harm caused, the pharmaceutical firms have no financial incentive to make the safest product. In fact, they have a negative incentive to test it for safety, because if they are aware of problems, then they could potentially be held liable for willful misconduct.” For the full article from Dr. Lipman’s newsletter, go to www.DrFrankLipman.com For more information, the National Vaccine Information Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to giving health vaccine information and preventing vaccine injuries and deaths. www.nvic.org

Yours in Health and Peace,

Carol

Medical Disclaimer: Any information you obtain during the "Profound Paths to Health, Healing and Happiness" TeleSeminar Series or on this website or in our email communications is not intended and should not be construed as medical advice and is for the sole purpose of providing information derived from the experience of our speakers. Diet, exercise or other lifestyle changes should be made only after consulting with your own intuition, common sense, and with a knowledgeable healthcare practitioner when necessary. "Profound Paths to Health, Healing and Happiness" ?is a production of Dr. Carol Robin and Guided CDs Inc. ?P.O. Box 67?West Shokan, NY 12494? 1-800-657-8119?Teleseminar@GuidedCDs.com © 2009 Guided CDs Inc.