Flu, Chiropractic and Alternative Medicine
It seems that every time I turn on the radio there is some flu vaccine advertisement or a talk show with flu as the topic. I’ve been around for a while, so this recent enhanced flurry of flu information activity has caused me to take note. Why so intense? It’s a typical year where winter sets in and humans begin to have cold symptoms. It’s the usual runny nose and sore throat with some getting a mild URI, fever and aches and maybe some nausea and diarrhea. This is all common symptom territory for the common cold and annual flu and every year many humans go through it. Most are on the sunny side of life again within a few days but some suffer with more intense symptoms which may last for a few weeks. Some stay home and wait it out. Some go to work and get through it. Some drink more tea and eat chicken soup. Some take more Vitamin C and some throw extra blankets on the bed and try to sweat it out. Sound familiar?
Now, in the time of corporate medicine and media influence, medical providers and big pharma would have you believe that unless you get a flu shot you are risking your life. The media frenzy has been peaked out this flu season and always throw out the threat that the 1918 flu pandemic could once again be upon us. Fear, fear and more fear. You better get your flu shot for fear’s sake. It is notable that the media never talks about or places any importance on lifestyle. Studies are never done comparing our various lifestyles including those that eat organic vs. commercial foods, those that drink spring water vs. tap water, those that work out regularly vs. couch potatoes, those that keep their feet and head covered vs. those that don’t and on and on it could go. The only studies that are ever cited are vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated and the effectiveness of the vaccination. Ironically the vaccine this year, like most years gone by, has been deemed ineffective, but the media fear mongering goes on. “Get your flu shot now,” they scream. “You’re always better off getting your flu shot no matter the effectiveness,” they say. WHAT? We seem to be having a problem finding facts and truth in America these days. I say follow the money and you will find the truth. In the pharma industry and their medical pitchmen, it’s always profit at any cost. That is confounding given the many many awesome healthcare providers that really do have their hearts in the right place.
The Truth About Flu Viruses
Truth is, the flu viruses are normally quite innocuous. They rarely impose much of a threat to any one’s health except for the vulnerable. When a person has not taken good care of their body they can expect the worse kind of flu symptoms. Poor diet, no exercise, high stress, addictions, type II diabetes, dehydration, etc. places you in a risk category when it comes to the flu. You become more apt to develop pneumonia, blood pressure increases, encephalitis, etc. Most of the most serious flu morbidity and mortality statistics include these high risk people who have ironically received the annual flu shot. Interesting, hey?
My take as a provider at the Seaside Wellness Center on all of this weirdness: treat yourself like you are important. Don’t wait until you get the flu to start grasping for answers. Understand that the flu is an important function in life as it is vital that we share DNA and RNA amongst ourselves and our natural world. One of our most famous cancer research scientist Lewis Thomas, PhD., writes about this important phenomena in his classic book, Lives of a Cell. Sharing DNA and RNA by natural means causes our body to appropriately recognize and adjust our immune response, which hardens our system and enhances our immunity, where vaccines are potentially harmful to our nervous system and offer only a brief short term and mostly ineffective immunity. That is why I think that you are better off getting the flu than not getting the flu. Wow! Did I say that? Yes I did, but with one caveat. Take back your health and own it before the flu strikes, else wise you are at a higher risk for a bad go of it.
Upping the bar on health substance management is easier than you think. First some facts. People that include chiropractic in their lifestyles have greater immunity. Your spine is a reflection of the connection between the physical, the mental and the emotional. To congruently change your mind you must also change your spine. That’s a lot to think about and I don’t expect that my full readership will relate to that statement, but that is what is happening when you get an adjustment and suddenly feel motivated to experience life from a different perspective. I hear this all the time from my patients. “Wow doc! Thanks for the reconnect.” Chiropractic provides a gentle approach to healthcare, nurturing us inside and out, helping us to be all that we can be.
Remember Diet and Exercise
Your diet is also an issue. Need I say more? Reduce all the meat in your diet. It’s not that good for you to have massive amounts of cooked protein in your diet. Look more to raw foods including nuts, seeds, avocado, flax seed oil, dark greens, veggies and some cooked foods being careful to not overcook. Lightly steamed veggies including carrots, beets, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, kale, Brussels sprouts, etc.. 4 minutes if it grows above the ground and 15 minutes for roots. Organic butters, iodized sea salt, raw cold processed oils, free range organic eggs and organic non-GMO grains, flours and cereals. Hydrate with plenty of Spring water. Minimize the alcohol and caffeine. If you must eat meat go for wild caught fish, free range organic pork and beef and wild game like grouse and venison and only a few time each week. If this is your daily routine with food you will hold up just fine to the flu.
Exercise regularly, say three times each week and get out for a walk daily. Move your body after it has been stuck in a chair all day long. Breath deep exercises. Yoga. Hot yoga. Meditation. Reflexology. Essential Oils. Herbals and supplements all are helpful and enhance your immunity to minimize the effects of this year’s and every year’s flu viruses.
Keep it healthy,
Dr. John Weisberg