Soon you will be hearing and seeing commercials for you to get the flu shot. I will start off with posing the question… Why do we hear about the flu at this time of the year? What happens to the flu in the summer? Hmmmm. I will answer this question later in this post. First let me give you a bit of information on the flu vaccine.
In general, there are two types of flu vaccines. The first one is a shot of the actual virus that has been inactivated (killed). This is the one that most people receive. Nothing like pumping something that is dead into your blood stream. Yes, I just had to add that.
The second type is a nasal spray. This is a weakened form of influenza. This is the form that most people over 65 will receive. Mostly because your immune system becomes weaker as you age. Pumping the typical virus into someone at this age would cause serious problems.
Now onto some fun, exciting, discussing facts about the flu vaccination. What exactly is in this stuff and how is it made? Because influenza strains change every year, each year’s vaccine differs from the previous one by including one or even two new virus strains. Influenza vaccinations are prepared in the traditional way. Fertilized chicken eggs that are 11 days old are injected with a small amount of one to three targeted strains of flu virus. Notice I say targeted. Keep in mind. There are hundreds of different types of viral strains. Then you have multiple subtypes. Vaccine companies must make their orders six months in advance. So basically, they have to guess which strain is going to hit. What makes it worse is this virus survives by mutating into different new strains. What are the chances that they will be correct in their guess? How many of you have gotten a flu shot and ended up getting the flu? Ok, back to the egg. Each targeted flu virus is injected into the albumin (egg white). They seal up the hole and the egg is allowed to spoil for several days. After the virus is allowed to grow in the decayed egg, they harvest the virus. Each egg only will produce 1-2 doses. Let’s do the math shall we? To produce a sufficient supply just for the United States alone, they will use 270 million or more eggs. That is about 4.5 million dollars in revenue for the farmers at $2 a dozen. Wait, we can increase that revenue if we scare the public into a pandemic. Let’s give is a nice commie name. That will really terrify everyone. Oh yes, marketing does work. The entire process, from collecting, injecting and incubating millions of specially produced eggs through the safety tests on the vaccine, takes five to eight months. This means that health officials must decide one year in advance which flu viruses to use in its vaccines and how many batches of vaccine to purchase. This can be a risky business when trying to contain a potential pandemic of a rapidly changing virus such as the “bird flu”.
So, you’re saying to yourself, “That’s not too bad. The farmers are making a living. I can deal with some rotting eggs.” I have not finished. During the manufacturing process, antibiotics (neomycin, polymyxin B and gentamicin) are added to eliminate stray bacteria. The final solution can contain additives in any combination: Triton X-100 (a detergent); polysorbate 80 (a potential carcinogen); gelatin; formaldehyde; and residual egg proteins. In addition, many of the influenza vaccines still contain thimerosal as a preservative. Thimerosal (mercury) is being investigated for its link to brain injury and autoimmune disease. Wait… formaldehyde. Don’t they use that to embalm dead people? Why, yes, yes they do.
Let’s concentrate a bit on the Mercury. Dr. Hugh Fudenberg an immunogeneticist and biologist with nearly 850 papers published in peer review journals, has reported that if an individual had five consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 (the years studied), his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease is ten times higher than if they had zero, one, or two shots. I am not saying that that mercury contained in the influenza shot can be directly linked to Alzheimer’s. More research is needed to prove this. I am willing to bet that the research will not be done. If it is, it will be funded by the pharmaceutical companies. No conflict of interest there.
Did you know? The CDC states that 90% of deaths from influenza occur among the elderly. Considering that nearly 65% of all deaths (from any cause) occur in this age group, it is nearly impossible to prove that flu shots significantly increase life expectancy in this group. The truth is that most people—young and old—will weather a bout of the flu without hospitalization or complications.
So what can I do to not get the flu? Create an environment in your body that does not allow colds and viruses to live. I recommend reading my article “What is an Alkaline Lifestyle”
A few other things you can do.
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Try to avoid white sugar.
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Exercise regularly.
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Get adequate sleep.
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Drink plenty of non-acidic water.
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Almost forgot about my question in the beginning of this. What happens to the flu in the summer? Well. This is my theory in a nut shell. During the summer we are more exposed to the sun. The sun allows your body to make vitamin D. Vitamin D is vital is fighting sickness. Stay tuned for my article this week on Vitamin D. Also, our diets switch from a more healthy way of eating in the summer to a processed acid based diet. This is a major breeding grounds for all kinds of nastiness. We all know how well we eat at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. No alcohol consumed in MASS going on there.
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