Pacific Health Center | Nutritional Health Balancing Program | Portland, Sisters, OR

Every Fall the marketing hype begins to “get your flu shot” and every Fall I tell our Pacific Health Center clients and product customers that there are superior natural alternatives to for flu and other winter illness prevention.   As discussed in Better Health Update #61 “Flu Shots–Yes or No?” (available at http://www.pacifichealthcenter.com/blog/?page_id=119), there’s always new information coming out on this subject.

• I recently read that British epidemiologist, Dr. Tom Jefferson, stated that “he can’t see any reason” for vaccinating anyone against flu and that it does nothing to save lives.  A meta-analysis by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews with lead researcher, Dr. Roger Thomas noted the following:

Flu shots had no effect on laboratory confirmed influenza

There was no proof that flu shots decreased influenza or pneumonia or deaths from either

• Five studies between 1997 and 2009 found that immunizing nursing home workers had no effect in protecting the elderly from the flu.

• The October 2008 issue of Archives of Pediatric & adolescent Medicine reported that vaccinating younger children for the flu neither reduce hospitalizations nor doctor visits.

• Studies both in Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that flu shots had no effect on preventing pneumonia in older people.

And on it goes!  So what can you do?  We suggest three things, not only for flu, but for winter illness prevention in general:

• Flu Nosode (Flu Prevention Homeopathic) – We have over many years found taking this homeopathic remedy just once a week during flu season almost always has a strong preventive effect (I only know of one or two people over many years who were taking this and still got the flu).

• Collagen Forte — The L-Lysine amino acid strengthens the connective tissue, preventing microorganism invasion.  This supplement also includes the related amino acid, L-Proline, and Vitamin C, which has a similar infection preventive action.

• Vitamin D 5000 — As more doctors are running vitamin D blood tests, they’re discovering most people have vitamin D deficiency, especially in the winter.  This, in part, likely accounts for the greater incidence of sickness at this time of the year.  Some authorities even speculate that flu is little more than vitamin D deficiency.

These 3 products comprise our FLU PREVENTION SPECIAL, available for $49 (Regularly $58.50) and available at the following link (copy & paste) or phone 800-255.4246:

http://www.pacifichealthcenter.com/shop/product-list.php?Special_Offers-pg1-cid34.html

Be healthy this winter . . . let us help!

Monte Kline, Ph.D.

Today’s tip is a simple one that requires no supplement products — just food.  It’s a juice fast.  Though this has some preventive value, it might be considered more as something to do if you have a cold or other winter infection.  The worst thing you can do with a cold is just keep eating the usual way, especially eating starches which increases mucous congestion.  Actually if you listen to your body when you’re sick, you’ll probably find that you have no appetite for the heavier foods like meat and grains, while eating fruit or drinking fruit juices will really feel good.

Fruits are cleansing foods; thus they help get of the lymphatic system mucous that is characteristic of a cold.  Generally either just eat whole fruit or doing a fruit juice fast for one to two days speeds the healing process, as well as making you feel a lot better. 

So what fruits should you use?  It doesn’t matter a lot with most people.  Of course apples and oranges are the most available in the winter.  If you have your own juicer (something I would recommend) making your own juices from fresh fruit is always the best.  But if you don’t have that option, frozen or canned juices may be used as long as they have no added sugar.  During a fruit fast or fruit juice fast, it’s okay to drink all the water and herbal teas you want as well.

Try this — it’s just one more tool for your health “tool box.”

– Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist