My Flu Strategy

I’m running this article again because, like last year, several people have asked me if I’ve gotten my flu shot this year.  I confess that I’ve never opted for the flu shot in the past and I’ll admit that I don’t plan on getting one because of fear.  I’m afraid of many of the chemicals that are included with the shot to attenuate the virus – these are preservatives that keep it alive and maintain its shelf life.  These include thimerosal (a mercury derivative), formalin (a formaldehyde derivative), as well as polysorbate 80 and sodium deoxycholate (known to cause cancer in animals).  More than this, I’m afraid of the research submitted by Hugh Fudenberg, M.D.  He is one of the world’s leading immunogeneticists and in 1997 he announced that having five consecutive flu shots (in 5 years) would increase the chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease by 10 times.  This research has been greatly debated – some concur while some deny.  As for me, I’m still afraid.

You’re most certainly going to come in contact with several strains of the flu virus this season.  So whether you opt for the shot or not, what should you do?  Fighting the flu is a little like fighting cancer.  The goal should not be to fight the disease, but to fortify your own immune system so that you recover rapidly or avoid getting the virus to begin with.  The standard recommendations are as follows: 1) eat a healthy diet high in vegetables and low in sugar and trans-fats; 2) get around 7 hours of sleep per day; 3) exercise regularly; 4) drink plenty of pure water and 5) wash your hands regularly.  I also take a high quality multivitamin and use extra Vitamin C when I detect any symptoms.  I also rely on regular spinal adjustments to reduce interference to the nerve system that is intimately linked to the immune system.  You may ask, “Can popping your back really help keep you healthy?”  Dr. Pero of New York’s Prevention Medicine Institute published a study that showed individuals who had been under regular chiropractic care for at least 5 years had a 200% greater immune function than the general public.  More than this, he found that the chiropractic group had a 400% greater immunity than people that already had a disease.  These strategies have allowed me to miss very few days of work due to illness in nearly eighteen years of practice.