Outsmarting the Flu, Naturally

With all the conflicting evidence available about H1N1, we thought we’d share some common sense ideas and solutions.

Most people consider the first decision regarding the flu as: To vaccinate or not to vaccinate. This is a personal decision you must make for yourself and your family--no one can make it for you. But, here are a few myths to consider first:

 

1)    You can get H1N1 more than once if you are unvaccinated. This is very unlikely, since once a viral infection has run its course the body has produced specific antibodies to it that will prevent further infections by the same virus.  This is the main reason that elderly adults contract less viruses that cause the common cold--there are about 100 of these rotoviruses, and in the course of our lifetime we build immunity to a majority of them.  

 

2)    The vaccine is a guarantee that you will not contract H1N1. There are many cases where a flu-like illness seemed to be the direct result of the vaccine (we say flu-like because many illnesses attributed to influenza are in reality the result of some other virus).  

 

3)    The vaccine is tested and proven not to cause complications. In fact, the vaccine manufacturers are protected from lawsuits from consumers by the federal government. They have full immunity (no pun intended) from any adverse consequences that may occur; this is in part so that they may produce new vaccines quickly and without having to do extensive testing.

 

4)    There are so few doses available; you’d be fortunate to get one.  During every other flu scare, this was the prevailing notion; at the end of those seasons, the manufacturers had millions of doses left over. One way to create demand is to promote the idea of scarcity.

 

5)    There is nothing else I can do, other than hand washing, to keep my family and myself healthy this year.   Nothing is further from the truth: please read on.

 

Maintaining health should be no different during winter than during any other season. Ill health may manifest differently during the colder months than at other times of the year, but true vitality and wellness are reflected in many more measures than whether or not you have had a respiratory infection. 

 

Staying healthy does not mean staying free of infection. In fact, having one to two acute infections per year tunes up your immune system and lets us know that your body is responding to the outside world appropriately. (If not, your immune system may not be doing its job internally either; for example, monitoring and eliminating an overgrowth of the cancer cells we all have at some level.)

 

Having repeated infections, severe symptoms, or illnesses that linger are not a sign of good health, however.    We usually see these trends in people who are not experiencing wellness in other areas of their health. For example, at Insights to Health, we look at energy level, mood, concentration, hormonal balance, emotional stress, sleep, and food cravings as the major clues about how you are manifesting your innate ability to be truly well and live your live to the fullest. 

 

Symptoms in these areas are the gentle reminders your body will give you when there is some sort of imbalance that needs to be corrected. If so, your ITH physician will investigate and determine what the underlying problem is so that we can help you return to optimal health through lifestyle modifications and natural therapies. By practicing medicine this way, we help our patients to prevent more serious problems later, and we are able discover the and correct the processes underlying serous conditions that have already developed. The result is a win-win—you feel better and you achieve a much higher level of long-term wellness. 

 

So, when people ask me in November what they can do to avoid the flu, it’s akin to being concerned -–in June--about what your bathing suit will look like on you this summer. It depends—if you’ve been doing all the things that will ensure the result you want on a consistent basis over months or years, you’ll most likely have the result you want. If not, there are things we can do to help during the cold and flu season, but the much more important issue is learning the behaviors and habits and addressing underlying imbalances in a way that will support optimal wellness all four seasons every year of your life. 

 

So, when our existing patients ask what we can do to help them avoid the flu, they receive some specific natural medicines designed to help provide immunity, but they also are reminded that the things they are already doing every day to promote their general health and address their particular imbalances comprise at least 60% of their ability to avoid a severe infection with complications. 

 

There are several natural medicine interventions, in addition to lifestyle changes, that can make a significant impact relatively quickly to reduce your risk of contracting a serious infection  this year. Specifically for flu prevention, we do recommend the following:

 

1)    A good quality probiotic (the “good bacteria” you’ve perhaps heard about), which balances immune function

 

2)    Elderberry –weekly for prevention or higher doses at the very start of any viral infection, but especially H1N1

 

3)    Vitamin D—a common deficiency here in the Northwest, and directly linked to risk for respiratory infections; get your level tested and supplement at the level your doctor recommends—see our flu prevention package below

 

4)    A homeopathic flu preventative (not available in stores—please see below for more information)

 

5)    Colostrum (Bovine source)