If you are to believe modern medicine, their government lackeys at the CDC, and their media mouthpieces, we are coming upon that time of year when we are at great risk of developing a truly horrendous condition that could kills tens of thousands every year, so we must bow to their superior knowledge and take our injection or inhalation of the flu vaccine willingly. If we don't, who knows how many of us could end up clogging the halls at the local hospital suffering from one of the most deadly diseases known to man, or at least that's what the hype makes it seem like. And you just never know, this could be the year that half the world dies in the next great flu pandemic.
Anyone who has ever had the flu knows that it's not the most pleasant of conditions to deal with, but also knows that rarely does it lead to serious consequences. If you get your rest, drink your fluids, and eat good food, chances are you'll be over it in a week or two at the most, and it won't be a huge deal. The biggest consequence of the flu is if your body is extremely weak, you don't move enough while you're sick, and you end up with pneumonia. Is pneumonia serious? Definitely. Any time we have fluid accumulation in the lungs, it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and fungi, which can all wreak havoc on your body. How often does the flu lead to pneumonia? Not that often. Most of the time, as I said, it's in those that are weakened to begin with, and can't fight off the secondary problem in the lungs while they're still fighting off the flu.
I often get asked my opinion of whether someone should get the flu vaccine. When looking at any medical procedure, I look to the statistics and add in some common sense. There are several hundred viruses that cause flu-like symptoms that are around each and every year. The average flu vaccine is made of less than a dozen (usually around 6) strains that seemed to cause the most problems last year. If you happened to have been exposed to any of these six in the previous year (whether or not you actually got sick), then this vaccine is worthless to you. If you weren't exposed to any of them, and none of those strains seem to be circulating this year, then again, it is worthless. If, by chance, they are correct in choosing the strains that circulate two years in a row, and they are just as virulent this year as last, and the majority of the population was not exposed in previous years, then maybe, just maybe it might be worth it.
On the other hand, when we look at overall statistics, with millions of Americans receiving the flu vaccine, have infection rates gone down? Do we see less people dying from the flu or secondary conditions like pneumonia? The answer to both of these questions is no, not really. In 1989, 15% of those over age 65 received the flu vaccine. In 2009, the rate was up to 65% of the same population. With such a dramatic rise in vaccination rates, it would be obvious then, that we would have less people developing the flu, and many less dying from either it or its secondary consequences. Instead, we have seen both flu infection rates and death rates remain relatively flat, when you account for seasonal variances. Most of the research done on the flu vaccine has serious flaws, and that which doesn't, ends up telling us that getting the vaccine is really irrelevant to our overall health.
Instead of spending billions of dollars on a vaccination program that the statistics show to be worthless, it's time we looked at what could really prevent tens of thousands of Americans from contacting the flu: maintaining adequate vitamin D levels and getting regularly adjusted.
That's right, I said get regular chiropractic adjustments. That last flu pandemic was in 1918, where 50 million people lost their lives fighting off the flu or secondary infections related to the flu. In the US, we keep meticulous records, and they reveal some very interesting statistics. When you look at those who were treated for the flu by conventional medicine in Iowa, New York City, and Oklahoma, you see that the death rates were between 1 in 6 and 1 in 18. At the time, chiropractic was in its infancy, but had regular hospitals where patients could stay and get natural care, including the adjustment. When we look at the statistics for the chiropractic patients, we see that death rates ranged from 1 in 100 to 1 in 789. In fact, there were 233 patients in Oklahoma that medicine had given up as hopeless, so they were given to the chiropractors to treat. All but 25 were saved. Believe it or not, but it was the pandemic of 1918 that launched the chiropractic profession. Once patients had literally had their lives saved by getting adjusted, they fought the medical profession, helped legitimize chiropractic with licensing boards, and became lifelong patients. Chiropractic has saved many from the flu, and the flu saved chiropractic from being a minor blip in health care history.
Vitamin D plays a huge role in the flu prevention as well. According to Dr. Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D Council, our seasonal flu is much more due to the lack of vitamin D we produce in the winter, than it is to whether or not we are exposed to a specific virus. Could it be that simple? If we improved our vitamin D status, would we see a decrease in seasonal flu? Unfortunately, no big pharmaceutical company nor American governmental agency is interested in providing the public with an adequate dose of vitamin D to make a difference. Canada, on the other hand, has begun research into this concept. Their government, in an attempt to put common sense and cost before profit, is studying the effects of adequate blood levels of vitamin D versus incidence of flu. It will take at least five years for the study to be completed, and another year or so for publication, but maybe within the next ten years, we'll finally be able to stop the fear mongering officials in medicine and government from subjecting the public to unnecessary, and potentially dangerous, concoctions being injected into their veins or noses. I can only hope that since it is a government funded study, it won't be buried in some obscure medical journal, as most studies that have had anything negative to say against the flu vaccine have been.
For the best flu prevention, get adjusted by a chiropractor regularly. Then get your vitamin D tested, and make sure that you are in the more than medically adequate range. I want my patients in the 65-80ng/dl range, since that seems to be where it helps the most with cancer prevention, which is just another positive effect of having adequate levels. You can have a healthy flu season, in spite of modern medicine.
Look for future blogs that will give more information and insights into improving your health with natural health care. You can also visit my website, like me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter.
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