NHNE News List
Current Members: 1081
Subscribe/unsubscribe/archive info at the bottom of this message.

-----------

EDITOR'S COMMENT:

With all the panic surrounding the shortage of flu vaccines this year, I
thought it might be helpful to resend a couple of informative posts from
last year...

--- David Sunfellow

------------

FLU SHOTS (12/08/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/6386

EDITOR'S COMMENT:

By now, probably everyone on this list is aware that it is flu season -- and
that this year's season is expected to be an especially nasty one. Better
run down and get a flu shot, right?

Sherry Stultz, the facilitator of NHNE's Forum for a Common Understanding
<http://www.nhne.com/database/dbforum.html>, voiced her concerns about
getting a flu shot by mentioning that two of her co-workers became very ill
after receiving "free" flu shots at the office. A couple other NHNE readers
reported similar stories. In one case, a Forum member reported being taken
by ambulance to the hospital after receiving a flu shot, having a reaction
to it, and going into shock. This member noted, "It was a 10 dollar special
set up in the grocery store and ended up costing me almost 2,000 [dollars]
in medical bills. No more for me ever again."

Another Forum member, Dayne Hatten, reported the following:

"In 1963 I took a flu shot, provided free by NASA, and was sick for almost
two full weeks. That was the only time I was ever severely ill the whole
time I worked for NASA. When I retired in 1984, I had accumulated over 2100
hours of sick leave, and close to 1800 hours of vacation pay. At my salary,
the vacation pay alone was enough to buy a decent home in the Adirondacks.
The government doesn't pay off sick leave like they do vacation pay, in fact
if you don't take your accumulated sick leave when you retire, you lose it.

"In 1996, I moved to Macon with my new bride, who is from Macon, and began
working for a company that had no sick leave or vacation pay. They offered
flu shots free to employees and made it sound like a threat to your job if
you didn't take it. I refused to take it due to my past experience. I was
the only one out of the whole company that didn't come down with the flu
symptoms and miss work. The next year, everyone refused the flu shots and
the only time lost was from one employee who had a severe allergy.

"I understand that the latest strand of flu virus is pretty bad, not as bad
as the Spanish Flu virus that devastated the world at the turn of the
twentieth century, but still pretty bad. I also understand that the present
flu shots aren't even for the newest form."

What's the best way to handle the flu shot issue?

Neither myself or my children have ever received a flu shot, nor are we
likely to since we regularly avoid the illnesses, including the flu, that
plague most people. My mother, on the other hand, who is 70 years old and
thinks she needs a flu shot to stay healthy, will probably be receiving one.

What should you do? Aside from keeping yourself strong and healthy through
eating well (gobbling up fresh fruits and vegetables while avoiding sugar,
dairy, and refined flours), getting regular exercise, drinking lots of
water, getting plenty of sleep, breathing fresh, clean air, keeping a
positive attitude, etc., it's important that you choose the path that feels
right to you. And in order to do that, you need to make an informed
decisions. So here's a few helpful links:

FLU SHOTS SIDE EFFECTS:
http://www.heartspring.net/flu_shot_side_effects.html

WHY I NEVER GET FLU SHOTS OR SNORTS:
http://chetday.com/noflushots.htm

CDC FLU SEASON 2003-04 HOME PAGE:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

It might also be helpful to remember that the current flu vaccine contains
three strains of 'flu' viruses, but the the most active one in North America
is not included.

Should you manage to get the flu, Chet Day <http://www.chetday.com/>
recommends the following:

"In a nutshell, the best remedy I know is to go to bed and drink nothing but
water and fresh orange juice, either diluted with water or straight. Fresh
orange juice means juice you squeeze at home from real oranges. None of the
crap in cans or cartons. No eating. Let your body rest and save the energy
usually used for digesting food to heal and recuperate. Most people using
this approach will be back on their feet in 3-4 days and feeling great while
those using conventional approaches and symptom-masking drugs from the
doctors will be in bed for a week and worn out and feeling lousy for as long
as a month afterwards."

HOW I LICKED THE FLU WITH A THREE-DAY JUICE FAST:
http://www.chetday.com/flufast.html

Like Chet, I've also discovered that fasting really helps when illness comes
knocking. In addition, our family tends to load up on Vitamin C and, when
the first signs of sickness appear, onion/garlic soup. Why onion and garlic
soup? While laid up many years ago with a bad cold, I had a dream that onion
soup would help me get better. It did and has since become a permanent part
of our family health kit.

--- David Sunfellow (with thanks to Chet Day, Kathleen Blake, and Sherry
Stultz for their feedback.)

------------

FOLLOWUP: WHAT TO DO IF YOU COME DOWN WITH THE FLU (12/11/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/6407

EDITOR'S COMMENT:

Here's a quick followup to the message I sent out on Monday concerning flu
shots:

FLU SHOTS (12/8/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/6386

In my previous post, I included the following recommendation from Chet Day
<http://www.chetday.com/> for what to do if you come down with the flu:

"In a nutshell, the best remedy I know is to go to bed and drink nothing but
water and fresh orange juice, either diluted with water or straight. Fresh
orange juice means juice you squeeze at home from real oranges. None of the
crap in cans or cartons. No eating. Let your body rest and save the energy
usually used for digesting food to heal and recuperate. Most people using
this approach will be back on their feet in 3-4 days and feeling great while
those using conventional approaches and symptom-masking drugs from the
doctors will be in bed for a week and worn out and feeling lousy for as long
as a month afterwards."

Herbalist Christina Maris <cmaris@...> responded:

"I take only one exception.

"Oranges are high in Vitamin C, but they also spur mucus production in
humans. Lemons don't. It would be much better to very hot water in a mug,
squeeze in the juice of one fresh lemon, and add a small sprinkle of cayenne
pepper, and drink it down as hot as you can take it. I know it sounds weird,
but it tastes much better than it sounds. The citrus will cut the icky stuff
in the back of your throat while not increasing mucus production, and the
cayenne will open up your head a little. Do this every couple of hours. If
you absolutely must eat (and some of us have blood sugar issues and really
must, even when we're sick), cook up some brown rice and put sauteed onions
and garlic on top (maybe a little soy sauce in the veggies while they cook
for taste). Otherwise, I agree with his recommendation -- no food, let your
body take the energy it normally uses to digest food and use it to help you
heal. You'll find the rice mixture very comforting -- not too taxing on any
of your body's systems -- and the onions and garlic are good for what ails
you.

"I've never had a flu shot, and at 53, have had the flu twice in the last 10
years, both times because someone who was just coming down with it sat next
to me for an extended period of time. I was over it both times in about 3
days, rather than the more typical down for a week, recuperating for another
week timetable I see in the people around me. I'm not a believer in the
shots."

Chet Day adds:

"This is interesting. I've never had a mucus reaction myself with orange
juice, though I agree that lemon and cayenne in hot water is another good
choice. That's a derivative of the classic "Master Cleanse" by Stanley
Burroughs -- though he also adds a little organic maple syrup to his
concoction.

"I guess maybe a better suggestion regarding fasting and illness is for
people to try various fresh juices to see which of them work best for their
particular bodies. For example, I know fresh pineapple juice can be a
fantastic diuretic for some folks and yet others don't take well to it.

"Bottomline: Listen to your body and follow its signals. Sometimes the
signals are subtle, but they're always there. If OJ causes mucus, the body
may be saying, "Try something else."

"If lemon and cayenne doesn't taste quite right (as it didn't to me once
when I fasted with it), then don't get stubborn because someone says that's
the best way to go but instead listen to your body and move to another
juice... fresh grapefruit, fresh grape, fresh whatever.

"In general, freshly extracted fruit juices help the body detox and cleanse
while extracted vegetable juices are generally considered to be body
rebuilders -- though cleansing occurs with them too --- just not as rapidly.

"Hope this helps."

Chet Day
http://www.chetday.com/

------------

NHNE News List:

To subscribe, send a message to:
nhnenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, send a message to:
nhnenews-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To review current posts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/messages

Published by NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
NHNE Website: http://www.nhne.com/
Phone: (928) 282-6120
Fax: (815) 346-1492

Appreciate what we are doing?
You can say so with a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.nhne.com/main/donations.html

P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ 86339