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Preparing for the Flu Season

I really don't want to sound like Chicken Little here, but I do have the sense that our flu season, starting in October and ending in March might be virulent. We have another contender this fall, over and above the usual flu bugs, and that is the H1N1 or swine flu. Theoretically, any unlucky individual could be hit with a double whammy, so it's even more important to keep that immune system perky and raring to go.

Here are some facts that I have culled for you about the upcoming flu season: "Swine Flu Kills Obese People": Now, that's interesting. But, if you think about it, about 2/3 of the United States population is considered "clinically obese". This is a worrisome thing, in that it makes the United States especially vulnerable to a pandemic.

In a recent CDC report on death and disease, researchers documented the case of ten swine flu patients at a Michigan hospital who became so ill that they were put on ventilators. Keep in mind that this is a very small number  only 10 - to make a serious research case out of, but nonetheless, nine out of the ten were obese. Three of the patients died from the infection and two of the three who died were severely obese. (Mike Adams, Natural News) Given this report, at the very least, now is the time to go on a life-style upgrade which might include losing weight.

Being obese compromises your body's immune system, liver, heart, lungs and kidneys. We need all of these organs and systems to fight any flu bug that wants to squat on our real estate, so if these important organs are out on a smoke and coffee break, then there is no longer the resource to fight off infection.

Let's talk about inflammation: When someone is obese, a storm of inflammatory cytokines is unleashed in the blood, and these cytokines are exactly what get over-excited during the body's response to a swine flu infection. This over-excited thing sounds sort of good but it's not. What happens is an acute inflammatory response on top of a simmering inflammatory response will lead to organ damage and possibly the other "D' word, death.

You know what else creates inflammation? Sugar. Sugar kills your white blood cells for up to 4 hours after you indulge. White blood cells are what help the immune system kill viruses. I know you know what I am going to say next: Now  before it hits the fan - is the time to STOP ALL SUGAR and refined carbohydrates and keep alcohol to a bare minimum. Is that "party" worth being deathly ill from the flu?

I urge you to handle any overweight problems now and to stay healthy, fit and well-nourished. Eat superfoods like Greens First and Boku and TheraSupreme plus vegetables of all the colors of the rainbow. Start eating more raw foods and juice if you have a juicer. Exercise 5 days a week, not necessarily a whole lot, but maybe walk 30 minutes a day. All of you know the health drill, I know you do, but now is the time to at least consider making a few positive changes.

Speaking of inflammatory, I read an article in the New York Times (7/23/09, p. 4) which is only a harbinger of the scary rhetoric to come and here a few quotes which I consider to be yellow journalism. "Pharmaceutical companies are racing to have a swine flu vaccine ready for the fall flu season, the federal government announced Wednesday." Racing? This is such an inflammatory word and implies a very scary urgency, such as in "racing" to save someone from drowning, or "racing" to get that heart started again, or "racing" to get Mom to the hospital because she is crowning.

Then this: "... because not nearly enough doses for all Americans will be ready in the fall." Oooooh. Where's that line I can get in - cause I want to be first! There is nothing like the suggestion of scarcity to get people humming with fear and salivating with greed.

And this: "If the shots seem safe in the elderly (yeah, sure, sacrifice us first. . . . ) trials in teenagers and children as young as 6 months will be added." OMG. This is frightening to think of experimenting on our beloved infants. Let's see, if we don't kill over 10 infants, then I guess we can recommend the shot? Is that how they are thinking?

And, lastly, this: "Researchers will also look out for Guillain-Barre syndrome." That's pronounced Gwi-yane Barr-ay, and you'd better know how to say it, because I think you might be seeing that word come fall. You won't die if you get this syndrome, but it's scary as hell: You become paralyzed. It starts in your feet and then the paralysis moves slowly up your body until it reaches your chest. You can't breathe, so you are then ventilated to get you through this crisis. Eventually, the paralysis moves down again and leaves by the same path that it arrived. Maybe a month? Two months? No thanks.

There was a lot of this strange paralysis in 1976 but only with the people who were stupid enough to say yes to the hastily manufactured flu shot. It's deja vu all over again, folks. You should be aware that there's a lot of potential collateral damage with the flu shot.

I have read that anyone who was alive in 1976 during the last swine flu epidemic may have some sort of immunity for the upcoming one even if they didn't have the flu in '76. Don't know much more than that right now, but will keep you posted as I read more. I will also tell you in a future newsletter what immune program I will be recommending to keep us all healthy. Stay tuned. And don't worry.

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