by: Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP
Flu can affect 10 to 30 percent of the U.S. population each winter. The flu virus can linger in the air for as long as three hours. In close quarters, conditions are ripe for the spread of the virus. That explains why the highest incidence of the flu is in 5- to 18-year-olds, who spend much of their time in school, in close contact with their classmates. The most serious complications occur in older adults, however, especially those in managed care. Do not give aspirin or other "salicylates" to children or teenagers with symptoms of a cold or flu. Don't bother taking antibiotics to treat your flu or cold; antibiotics do not kill viruses, and they should be used only for bacterial infections. Antibiotic overuse has become a very serious problem, leading to a resistance in disease-causing bacteria that may render antibiotics ineffective for some conditions.
According to a National Survey
OTC cough and cold medication sales totaled 3.2 billion dollars in 1995,
That's no surprise, considering Americans endure about 1 billion colds each year.
The "experts" are using fear and vaccine shortage to motivate people to get a flu shot, but this is yet another healthcare illusion. Let's be clear, flu can definitely be a killer disease and is not something that should be easily dismissed. But, remember that flu shots don't prevent illness--never have, never will. The flu vaccine can actually weaken the immune system and make you more predisposed to the illness. And the side effects of FluMist, cough, runny nose/nasal congestion, irritability, headaches, chills, muscle aches and fever, sound just like the symptoms of the flu. If you decide to get the nasal flu vaccine, you will get not only a live flu virus in each dose but also table sugar and MSG, which are fraught with their own problems. If you take the shot you may get mercury as an added bonus.
Building A Healthy Immune System: Your #1 Offense
- Detoxify your digestive tract and liver/gallbladder now. Disease often begins in the digestive tract and the liver is the main filter of the body. When either or both of these are sluggish then your body can be ripe for illness. This will prepare your body to readily be able to absorb, utilize and transport the good food and supplements that you will be using. It is good to do this once a month for 3 months then 2x’s yearly. I would also recommend a parasite cleanse especially if you consume a lot of non-organic meat.
- Eliminate all sugar. One teaspoon of sugar can bring the immune system down for up to 6 hours. Natural, healthy substitutes for sugar are stevia, agave nectar and Xylitol. It is best for you to satisfy your taste buds with fresh, organic fruits. Be sure to eat the whole fruit as juicing your fruit will cause your insulin levels to spike. If you crave chocolate chances are you may have a magnesium deficiency.
- Change your diet. Your immune system will flourish on a diet of organic fruits and vegetables. Two raw salads (use dark green leafy lettuce) a day eaten with lunch and dinner will help to provide you body with much-needed vitamins and nutrients. Incorporate soups and stews into your diet. If you eat meat make sure that it is organic and free-range. Fish should be cold-water and eaten no more than twice a week. Farmed raised fish are not healthy because most of the feed corn derived and therefore you will not get the benefits of the beneficial fatty acids such as DHA and EPA. They also may be exposed to high levels of pesticides. Consider taking Chlorella to remove any mercury. If you are pregnant it is advised that you not eat fish. Cook with organic, unrefined coconut oil (try to consume 2-3 tablespoons daily) and for salads use organic, unrefined, cold-pressed olive oil. Eliminate pre-packaged foods and those foods that are canned or bagged. Purchase organic, free-range eggs and organic butter. Substitute pasteurized/homogenized milk with almond milk. You can also bake/cook with almond milk.
- Eat a clove of garlic every day. Garlic acts in the body as a natural antibiotic. You must smash the clove in order to realize the immune enhancing properties.
- Drink half your body weight in pure, filtered water every day. Our body is mostly water. We must put back what we eliminate through breathing, sweating and urination. Water helps the kidneys to continually flush toxins from the body. Make sure that you are drinking pure, filtered water. I recommend distilled with organic apple cider vinegar added to replace the minerals lost through distillation.
- Exercise every single day. Exercise not only helps with blood circulation and to keep unwanted pounds away but also can help with depression. Exercise helps to move the lymph system, which will in-turn move toxins from the body. Walking outdoors in the sun will help your body with Vitamin D production. For those who don’t experience a lot of sunshine it is recommended that you supplement with Vitamin D under the care of a health professional. An article published by the International Journal of Sports Medicine illustrates the effect exercise can have on infections. In this study, only 45 minutes of brisk walking per day was shown to lower the incidence of upper respiratory symptoms, cut the duration of illness in half and increase natural killer-cell activity in people prone to upper respiratory tract infections.
- Adequate Sleep. Almost 80% of the population is sleep deprived. Sleep is necessary for our body to repair and heal. The body does the most healing between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. There is no such thing as catching-up on sleep as once it is lost—it cannot be regained through marathon sleeping on the weekends. Getting adequate rest allows the immune system to repair and be in top condition.
- Take a good organic multi-vitamin/mineral formula, Vitamin C and a Probiotic. Unfortunately eating organically doesn’t always protect us in a perfect manner. Depleted soil conditions has definitely affected the nutrients contained in our vegetables and fruits. I have found one that I consider the “Cadillac” when it comes to providing the body with everything it needs to continue in health. It is a wise choice to consume 2-3 grams of Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate) daily in divided doses. A good probiotic will help to keep good bacteria in the digestive tract.
- Wash your hands frequently. Wash your hands in the mornings, after every meal, after all outings, after shaking hands with people, after each trip to the bathroom and before bed. Teach your children to do the same. Do not use antibacterial soaps. The antibacterial compounds found in most of these soaps sold in the United States are likely contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Use a good all-natural soap from the health food store. Wash with warm water and use a nailbrush along the nail line and in-between fingers. Keep fresh, clean towels available to dry hands. Make sure that you keep your hands away from your eyes and mouth. When away from home, keep a mixture of lemon essential oil, lavender essential oil and distilled water (40 drops lemon essential oil and 30 drops lavender essential oil to 4 ounces of distilled water) in a dark-colored, glass, fine-mist spray bottle. Spray on hands immediately after trips to grocery stores, doctor, etc. or any time you are shaking people’s hands. At home, wipe all doorknobs frequently with this mixture. Keep a bottle at home, in the car and at work. We have these available at Oasis Advanced Wellness in a 2- ounce bottle for $9.95. Make sure that you keep your computer keys and mouse clean at all times. Also keep your phone’s (cell and landline) receivers clean.
- Deal with stress. Repeated stress is one of the main causes of a suppressed immune system. Learn to manage your stress with exercise, meditation, deep breathing, walks in nature, good music, Yoga, Pilates and removing yourself from negative situations. Refuse to allow anyone or any situation to make you stressful. There are natural supplements that you can incorporate to help with stress such as B-Complex, Lithium Orotate or SamE.
In Case Of Flu—Items To Have On Hand—Your #1 Defense
- Hydrogen Peroxide. In 1928 Richard Simmons, M.D. hypothesized that colds and flu virus enter through the ear canal. The medical community dismissed his findings. According to Dr. Simmons, contrary to what you may think or have been taught about how you catch the flu or the cold there is only one way that you can catch the two, and that's via the ear canal not through the eyes or nose or mouth as most have believed. We have found good results in curing the flu & cold within 12 to 14 hours when administering a few drops of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) into each infected ear, (sometimes only one ear is infected) The H2O2 starts working within 2 to 3 minutes in killing the flu or cold; there will be some bubbling and in some cases mild stinging occurs. Wait until the bubbling & stinging subside (usually 5 to 10 min) then drain onto tissue and repeat other ear. A bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide in 3% solution is available at any drug store for a couple of dollars. Although this method is perfectly safe for infant/children to use, the loud bubbling and stinging frightens them, they'll need someone they trust to put the hp in their ears. (Don’t get h2o2 in the eyes- if you do, flush with water)
- Colloidal Silver. Colloidal Silver is anti-bacterial and anti-viral and has been used for hundreds of years for it’s antibiotic affect on the body. Most brands are very expensive and are golden in color. This indicates that there are additives in the product. Silver is the whitest of metals and the solution should be clear to a tiny bit white in color. More PPM does not necessarily make a good colloidal silver. In fact the lower the PPM the better able for it to penetrate the cell wall. While some will say that silver has no benefit, this is not what we have found at our house. Call your healthcare professional for therapeutic dosages.
- Oregano Oil. Oregano Oil can be as an effective pain reliever as morphine. For sinus congestion or stuffiness place 1 drop of oregano oil in 1 ounce of warm water. (more is not better) Make sure that the oil is dispersed. Place 1-2 drops of the mixture in each nostril and sniff. The mixture will burn for about 30 seconds. This will help to break up sinus congestion. Do this 3-4 times daily and before bed. To take orally drop 3-5 drops in a veggie cap and take with food three times daily. Oregano Oil is also anti-bacterial and anti-viral.
- Vitamin C. Capsules and powder are best. Take up to bowel tolerance. Taking the recommended dosage on the bottle will not be enough—for preventative purposes, double or triple it. If sick, divide the dosage and take some every hour---up to 6 grams daily. According to Linus Pauling, “adults should be taking at least 2-3 grams a day. There is much evidence about increased health with 2 grams a day, and of course even more with 4 or 6 grams a day. Even an extra 60mg had been shown to add value in cutting down the death rate from heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Now my feeling is as people grow older they ought to be increasing their vitamin C and perhaps they should follow the policy that I have followed of increasing the intake. It can be either one chunk, one dose in the morning, or even better three doses throughout the day, increasing the intake until a laxative effect is observed, speeding up the rate of elimination of waste material from the bowel. So my suggestion is every person who wants to have the best of health should increase the intake of vitamin C to somewhat less than the amount that causes significant looseness of the bowel.”
- Drink lots of fresh vegetable juice and pure, clean water. Flooding the body with liquids will help to flush out toxins and will also give the body added enzymes (helps with inflammation and pain) and nutrients.
- Premier 8 – Glyconutrients have been given the title of “the new class of missing nutrients” or “miracle sugars”. Scores of studies have linked a deficiency of the extraordinary sugars to everything from lupus and diabetes to heart disease to cancer; from ADHD to infertility. Dozens of illnesses have been linked to an imbalance of these sugars. This is NOT the same as table sugar. Order the book Miracle Sugars by Rita Elkins for more explanation. Glyconutrients may represent the best of preventative medicine and may help with the following: viral infection, fungal infection, parasitic disease, bacterial disease, micro-bacterial disease, auto-immune disease. Providing the immune system with the right glyconutrients helps it recognize infectious organisms more readily. Remember, it is the “glycol” or sugar portion of both our immune cells and invading organisms that transfer messages. There is only one company (multi-level) that currently offers a similar product for a much higher price. You can get Premier 8 only through Oasis Advanced Wellness.
- Zinc Lozenges – According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, when using zinc lozenges it is important to recognize that they need to be sucked on, NOT swallowed, and smaller doses taken more frequently seem to work better. Suck on a quarter lozenge every 30 minutes. If started early, this approach seems to work well for the majority of people. One caution: if the lozenges make you nauseous they should be stopped immediately as this is a sign of zinc toxicity. Do not use zinc lozenges that contain aspartame.
- Eucalyptus Essential Oil – Diffuse eucalyptus essential oil into the air when sleeping at night. This will help to keep the sinuses and nasal passages open. It is also anti-viral and anti-bacterial. During the day diffuse lemon essential oil in the air, especially to keep other family members from getting sick.
If you take preventative steps now you will be doing yourself and your family a huge favor. Always make sure that you are prepared if the flu happens to hit you or a family member. If your immune system is functioning at a good level then your “down time” and side effects should be minimal. Talk with your family about the suggestions in this article and then implement as many as possible. You will be glad that you started early!
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