. . . Other Options for Cold and Flu Prevention
In the interest of making an informed decision rather than accepting any one position on the best way to ensure immunity against disease, let’s look at natural options for a strong immune system. It’s easy to forget that a vaccine is given with a molecule of the disease you want to avoid and is dependent upon your immune system mounting a defence against the pathogen. But, how many consider what may happen when you have an immunodeficiency and you take a vaccine?
At http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vs-sv/vs-faq01-eng.php, the government states that:
- Most vaccines contain a little bit of a disease germ that is weak or dead. Vaccines do NOT contain the type of germ that makes you sick. Some vaccines do not contain any germs.
- Having this little bit of the germ inside your body makes your body’s defence system build antibodies to fight off this kind of germ.
- Your body can make antibodies in two ways: by getting the disease or by getting the vaccine
Sounds good, but what is not mentioned, is that building antibodies after you take a vaccine depends upon the strength of your immune system. If you have a compromised immune system, any type of immunodeficiency….then your white blood cells, also termed our natural killer cells…. may be too low to mount a defence against the immunization process that carries a piece of the disease. Few of us have not met people that have had adverse reactions, with some being rather severe. And so you may ask, are there effective alternatives? The alternatives mentioned below are what many people who don’t take vaccinations use to keep their immune system as strong as possible, and to do battle with germs they encounter.
Supplements and Herbs
Vitamin D blood analysis is not always included with annual checkups, but is again, important to emphasize here. Adequate levels are vital for proper immune function. This was only discovered in the late 1990’s when it was found that the liver converts it into a hormone. Vitamin D is often suggested today in the range of 1000 to 1500 units intake daily. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to decreased immune system function and increased disease.
Powerful supplements include colloidal silver, long reported to kill 650 different pathogens. It’s often ingested as a preventive during flu season or when battling early onset of infection, at 1 to 3 tablespoons in water for an adult. For better absorption, it is often suggested to sip this water-CS mixture throughout the day. For pressure in sinus cavities, a squeeze-type nasal spray bottle can be filled with colloidal silver in water to help your head cavities stay free of bacteria and fungus. Grapefruit seed extract is an impressive health-aid addition for the threat of early germ symptoms. It has been tested as effective against 850 pathogens! Grapefruit seed extract has been used in some countries outside of North America for swimming pool purification rather than chlorine, and currently is often used as a safe food preservative. Iodine, most readily available as Lugol’s solution, is increasingly being recommended by alternative practitioners and doctors who have rediscovered its value for improving many conditions and for promoting a stronger immune system. Cod liver oil is still one of the most common, readily available and inexpensive supplements for enhancing immune function. High dose Vitamin C was first promoted by Linus Pauling, is still used in IV form to combat serious conditions without drug-use, and is worth some research. The only effect of an overdose of vitamin C is diarrhea to indicate it’s time to reduce your dose. As always, once you are facing a particular condition, the most effective choice is to seek the guidance of a skilled health practitioner as you are on a timeline for successful resolution.
Enhanced immune health with food or natural substances include Bee Propolis – an excellent option if you don’t have allergies to bees, due to its broad antimicrobial activity that includes antiviral properties. Natural food substances with antiviral properties, include aloe vera, bee pollen and propolis, and herbs like echinachea and andrographis. Potency of herbs depends on freshness. With that in mind, the whole herb in dried form as a brewed tea or purchased as a powder is often preferred to capsules, depending on the manufacturer’s quality.
Black elderberry extract (Sambucol)
An effective herb source for relieving flu symptoms is reported to be black elderberry extract (Sambucol). Elderberry proved to cut short the flu symptoms by four days in a double-blind controlled study. Nearly 90 percent of patients given elderberry extract were completely cured with 2-3 days. In the control group, it took six days for 90 percent of patients to recover (Zakay-Rones, 2004). A second clinical study showed similar results. Among the group receiving elderberry, 75 percent were much improved within two days, and 90 percent were completely cured by day three. The control group took six days before 90 percent were cured (Zakay-Rones, 1995). In that study elderberry was also found to inhibit the replication of both type A and type B flu viruses.
Those researchers also investigated the mode of action of elderberry on viruses. They found that elderberry inhibited the enzyme that attaches the virus to human cells and also inhibited the enzyme that breaks down the human cell wall allowing the virus to enter and kill the cell. Another group of researchers also showed that elderberry activates the immune system by increasing inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production (Barak, 2002).
Taking care of your immune system’s strength, coupled with frequent hand washing and regular nasal cleansing are important preventives to avoid colds, flu and many common ills.
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For an update on Flu Vaccines, visit: http://organicconsumers.org/flu.cfm
An excerpt from their site to entice a visit reads:
ALERT
Swine Flu Alert: Factory Farms & Vaccines – Protect Your Family, Know Your Rights
“Despite years of warnings by public interest organizations, including the Organic Consumers Association and the Humane Society of the US, drugged-out pigs and chickens on intensive confinement factory farms have incubated a highly infectious H1N1 virus that set off a global pandemic.
This moderately virulent but rapidly spreading strain of influenza, which contains genetic material from pigs, birds and humans has already spread to every state in the union. The World Health Organization has warned that, although H1N1 is less deadly than the bird flu, it could mutate into a much more dangerous strain. As flu season hits the US, profit-obsessed drug makers are racing to supply vaccines and medicines. There are numerous health and safety concerns, including:
* A leaked memo revealed that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to paralysis.
* The fast-tracked vaccine contains novel adjuvants, including dangerous qualene which is linked to Gulf War syndrome.
* The vaccine is being pushed through the school system, work places, and free vaccination programs. School children and public health workers are first in line for the swine flu vaccine and schools are being put on notice that they may be turned into shot clinics.
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Homeopathy
Homeopathic remedies do not carry the risk of causing you to acquire the virus because they are not made from large molecules of the actual diseases, like vaccines are.
The successful use of homeopathic remedies is a historical fact recorded with epidemics of scarlet fever, typhoid and flu, despite conventional western medicine today still claiming that only the western perspective is effective. The success rate in epidemics was far from 100% in either conventional or homeopathic choices, but homeopathy’s success rate was sometimes higher than conventional medical treatment at that time. Until homeopathy encountered adversity with the American Medical Association, there were various homeopathic hospitals throughout North America.
If you have not been taking power foods and supplements as flu season approaches, you will feel stronger and safer with a preventive. An excerpt from Randall Neustaedter’s book regarding the homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum is below. It refers to a study conducted in France, where homeopathic use is common. Oscillococcinum is usually suggested for those already experiencing flu symptoms. Influenzinum is often taken before flu season arrived, or as soon as possible before onset of symptoms. But, remedies can change from one year to another, and your selection should be confirmed annually by a homeopathic pharmacy or practitioner.
When already experiencing flu symptoms, homeopathic remedies can lessen symptoms and shorten duration. They are inexpensive, under $20 for a package of multiple vials. Informative websites are listed at the end of this article.
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Excerpt from “FLU: Alternative Treatments and Prevention” (North Atlantic Books, 2005) by Randall Neustaedter
Oscillococcinum Clinical Study in France
“Oscillococcinum was first studied in France during the 1987 flu epidemic caused by an H1N1 virus. This multi-center study examined the effect of Oscillococcinum (200C) on the early symptoms of flu. Results were published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. More patients in the treatment group recovered completely in the first 48 hours than the control group (17 percent of patients with active treatment compared to 10 percent of controls). More patients in the treatment group also judged the treatment as favorable compared to the placebo, 61 percent vs 49 percent (Ferley, 1989).
In 1990 German physicians replicated the French study of Oscillococcinum. They used the same criteria as the previous study and enrolled 372 patients. After 48 hours of treatment with Oscillococcinum the treatment group had significantly milder symptoms than the control group, and the number of patients with no symptoms from day two onward was significantly greater in the treatment group (17.4 percent) compared to the control group (6.6 percent) (Papp, 1998).
Both of these studies show a significant curative effect of a homeopathic medicine in the treatment of flu in carefully conducted, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Conventional antiviral drugs reduce the duration of flu by about one day if taken within the first 48 hours of illness (Cooper, 2003). Comparing the results of these studies with the meager effect of conventional treatment shows that homeopathy carries the potential to make a dramatic difference in any flu epidemic without the risk of drug side effects. ”
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The two most frequently indicated homeopathic flu medicines over the past 100 years have been Gelsemium and Bryonia. Significant differences in the symptom pictures of these two medicines make it easy to decide which is the better fit. They are not the only medicines used to treat the flu, but between them they will fit the majority of cases.
Bryonia and Gelsemium types of flu both come on slowly over a six-to-twelve hour period. You begin to feel gradually worse over that time. By the second day you have aching muscles, feel pretty bad, and usually have a headache.
Differences
A Bryonia patient has more pain in the front of the head, which is definitely made worse by moving the head or moving the eyes, and feels better from pressing the hand on the head. A Gelsemium patient has pain in the back of the head with stiffness and aching in the neck and across the shoulders. With a Gelsemium flu you will not want to move much either, and you may feel worse from moving around, but you avoid movement primarily because you are so tired. The characteristic state of Gelsemium is lethargy and fatigue.
By contrast, those sufferers who need Bryonia will be tired but also restless. Bryonia discomfort is worse from motion, but at the same time you feel the urge to move about restlessly in the bed. No position seems comfortable.
Bryonia patients are thirsty, Gelsemium are not. In fact, those who need Bryonia are generally warmer and drier, with a desire for air and cool temperatures to calm the heat. Gelsemium patients are chilly and sensitive to cold; cold shivers go down their spine. At the same time those who need Gelsemium are clammy with the fever, and feelings of heat and cold may alternate. Bryonia patients have more coughing and chest symptoms, with a painful cough that aggravates the sore throat. The Bryonia cough will also cause chest pains, with the inevitable reaction of pressing the palm to the chest to minimize the movement caused by coughing.
Gelsemium patients do not have the energy to be emotional. Bryonia patients are irritable, worried, and fretful. They want to be left alone. Gelsemium cases are too exhausted to complain.
Even from this amount of information, you can tell the safest and most effective method is to visit a practitioner versed in the used of whatever preventive attracts you….unless you’re comfortable with that vaccine.
But – for more information, visit:
Australian Vacation Network, Empowering People to Make Informed Choices www.avn.org.au
Think Twice www.thinktwice.com
National Vaccine Information Center www.nvic.org
