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Protect Yourself from the Flu and the Vaccine
Have you noticed that the media chatter regarding the expected flu pandemic has been ramping up lately? Could it be because pharmaceutical giants like Baxter and Novartis are moving full speed ahead to prepare for mass inoculations around the globe of H1N1 (swine) flu vaccines by this fall?
I hope the name Baxter rings a bell. In the April 15 issue of Undercover, I wrote about how Baxter’s seasonal flu vaccine had been contaminated with the deadly avian flu virus at one of their facilities in Austria. This “mistake” would very likely have resulted in millions of deaths if it was not caught in time by a lab in the Czech Republic.
Since I researched that article, I made a personal decision to avoid a flu shot at all costs. I have also warned friends and family that a mild case of the flu may ultimately be safer than the long term health effects of the vaccine.
But now I have some news to share that may even protect you from the flu itself, thanks to an enlightening article I recently read by John J. Cannell, MD.1 Dr. Cannell is a psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital in California, a maximum security hospital for psychiatric patients. In 2005, an influenza A epidemic broke out in the hospital. One by one, each ward became infected as patients came down with chills, fever, cough, and severe body aches.
Only one ward in the hospital remained free of infection — Dr. Cannell’s. Why was this so? His patients intermingled with patients from other wards and were not noticeably different in their age, health, or medical treatment.
The only difference that could be discerned was that Dr. Cannell’s patients had been receiving a daily dose of 2000 IU of vitamin D for several months. That’s it. All of his patients took vitamin D and not one caught the flu!
Dr. Cannell’s research then led him to some remarkable discoveries about the effectiveness of vitamin D as a potent antibiotic and antiviral. Vitamin D boosts the body’s production of antimicrobial peptides, a class of proteins that quickly destroys the cell walls of bacteria, viruses (including influenza) and fungi. These peptides also keep the lungs free from infection.
But that’s not all. While vitamin D is destroying flu-causing viruses, it simultaneously performs another life-saving function. It prevents the immune system from producing a dangerous amount of inflammatory chemicals (cytokines) that attack sensitive respiratory membranes. In severe cases of the flu, this inflammation can destroy the normal cell lining of the respiratory tract.
In the early history of mankind, we wore loin cloths and spent most of our time out of doors. With only 20 minutes of full body exposure to the sun, we were able to synthesize 20,000 units of vitamin D within 48 hours. Our exposure to the sun gave us built-in immunity to contagious diseases.
Compare that to how society has evolved over the centuries. We spend most of our time indoors and perhaps get a few hundred units of vitamin D from our diet. In the past couple of decades we even started slathering our skin with sun block and now get even less vitamin D in our already deficient bodies. No wonder influenza continues to be a plague.
It is an established fact that most of us are deficient in vitamin D. Knowing this, I recently began taking 2000 units per day in supplement form, which is a safe yet effective dose. Living in Florida, I also get year-round exposure to the sun — although like most people, I’m not outdoors as much as I would like to be.
While I can’t advise you on how much vitamin D you should be taking, I can say that if you are dark skinned, elderly, or live in a northern climate, you are at a higher risk for catching the H1N1 flu due to vitamin D deficiency.
If you are in one of these high risk groups, make it a priority to have your levels checked. Dr. William Davis recommends vitamin D dosing to his patients so that they stay in the normal range of 60-70 ng/mL.2 According to Dr. Davis, since he began prescribing vitamin D, viral and bacterial infections have become a rare occurrence. Depending on your health and other factors, your doctor may determine that you need up to 5000 units of vitamin D per day, especially in the winter.
I can’t think of an easier or safer way to protect yourself from the flu and the vaccine.
References
- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/51913.php.
- http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=88729
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Great information Melanie! Good job sharing a simple yet common sense approach to wellness.
I’ve been using an additional 3,000 units of D-3 per day and can testify to the healing properties. Inexpensive, yet highly effective, I’ve found that the added vitamin D also helps with general aches and pains, (I take no arthritis medication at all now and haven’t for a few years).
I have always avoided flu shots and recommended the same to others. Additionally, I’m not a fan of “mandatory vaccinations” required by law to get your children into public school. Many do not know they do have an option to refuse the shots based on “religious values”. We chose homeschooling for the superior education opportunities, but vaccines were a consideration as well.
The entire “swine flu” freak out seemed little more to me than a “warning” to get ready for more to come… as you said - more needles.
“Mistakes” such as the one made by Baxter’s contaminating seasonal flu vaccine are not to be taken lightly. The world could take on quite a new face with such errors gone unchecked.
Thanks for keeping readers abreast of simple measures producing complex and significant health benefits in a world seemingly spun out of control.
My best to you Melanie.
Connie J Lewis
Thank you for all your importen information. I need it, the world need it. Thank you.
Best regards
Monika
Dear Melanie,
Thank you a thousand times for this wonderful article with a possible solution. At least it is something which I can propose to my children without that they think that I am too much into “conspiracy theory” stuff and therefore they don’t want to listern. I know that nobody wants to hear bad news and especially not when you don’t have a solution, no way out! I was searching for something we can do to counter the flu effects and now I have something! Thank you so much. I will send it on to all my friends and loved one’s.
For you a great big thank-you hug,
Herma Waldthausen.
Melanie
Thanks for this article. It is no wonder many of us get sicker if exposed to these contaminated medications; I once took a jab of the influenza vaccine few years ago and I feel that my immunity to flus has since been diminshed. Now at the slightest sign, I take a tablespoon full of Father Michel’s syrup (rich in esseential oils eucalyptus,thym,cajeput,niauli; copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese) in a cup of boiled water. I shall follow your advice by getting prescription for the Vitamin D dose as recommended.
Thanks Melanie,
In all I have been reading about vitamin D this year this is the first time I recall hearing it is an anti microbial precursor. Lots of progress on natural preventives and disease fighters lately. A very good sign.
Melanie,
Thanks for highlighting the option of boosting your immune system rather than treating the symptoms after the flu has taken hold. It is always the better option. Of course if it is too successful we will have drug companies researching harmful effects of this natural therapy and wanting it banned.
Keep the good info coming.
Regards, Graham Apolony
Excellent article, and absolutely everyone should read it. Everyone, too, should take the time to check out the references. They provide great information as well!
Simply superb,mindblowin&useful article with full of facts published for the benefit of the mankind.My sincere thanks to you sir.
Everyone should be doing this - you don’t need a prescription for Vitamin D. It’s also one of the cheapest things you can get - a short while ago I got 2 x 240 tablets of 1000 units for only $5.20 at Costco.
Take one at breakfast and one at dinner - more if recommended by a health practioner.
Regards -
I began taking Vtamin-D-3 last Feb./March 2009 and did not get my usual sinus infections or the typical viruses I usually get, in other words my immunity was great…but it irritates my Bladder/Kidneys.
Is there anything I can do to prevent this irritation?
Thank you,
Mildred