Here’s my 2 sen input to help you stay on top of the Swine Flu scare that’s spreading like a wild forest fire throughout Malaysia, and the world at large.
WHAT IS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SWINE FLU PANDEMIC ?
Swine Flu is caused by influenza strain H1N1. It is a respiratory disease of pigs and is thought to be spread like the common seasonal flu.
However, it differs from the seasonal flu (which spreads mainly to the old and young), in that it can infect healthy people. It is said to be more transmissible, but less lethal than the Avian Flu (H5N1).
On Wednesday April 29th, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its pandemic alert level to five on its six-level threat scale, which means they've determined that the virus is capable of human-to-human transmission.
By definition, a "pandemic" is an epidemic that is geographically widespread.
On July 16th, the World Health Organization announced that they had given up trying to count how many people have the H1N1 swine flu virus, saying the best they can do is estimate the spread of this "unstoppable" virus.
In fact, the World Health Organization predicts that the H1N1 swine-flu virus could infect up to two billion people over the next two years - about one out of every three people in the world.
SO WHAT’S THE SWINE FLU ?
Regular swine flu is a contagious respiratory disease, caused by a type-A influenza virus that affects pigs. The current strain, A(H1N1), is a new variation of an H1N1 virus -- which causes seasonal flu outbreaks in humans -- that also contains genetic material of bird and pig versions of the flu.
Symptoms include:
• Fever of more than 100°F
• Coughing
• Runny nose and/or sore throat
• Joint aches
• Severe headache
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite
WHAT ARE THE GOVERNMENTS DOING ?
All the governments in the world are on 100% alert to combat this potential threat, from the Americas, to Europe, to Africa, and to Asia. Big Pharma wants you vaccinated. The US government wants their citizens vaccinated. Baxter, Novartis, Glaxo-Smith Kline, and Sanofi Pasteur executives are members of the advisory group that on July 13th recommended mandatory H1N1 vaccination of everyone in all 194 countries that belong to the WHO.
For treatment, the drug of choice is Tamiflu followed by Relenza, The ingredient in Tamiflu is oseltamivir, which is synthesized from shikimic acid, a naturally occurring substance found in plants like Chinese star anise and ginkgo.
It is important to note that Tamiflu can't prevent the flu, or even stop it entirely. On the other hand, such drugs always carry the risk of creating resistant strains of the virus.
And of course, VACCINATION. And then there are problems inherent in all flu vaccines. In fact, flu shots contain a large number of questionable ingredients -- beyond the largely untested viral antigens actually central to the vaccine. For example:
Flu vaccine is prepared from the fluids of chick embryos inoculated with a specific type(s) of influenza virus. The strains of flu virus in the vaccine are inactivated with Formaldehyde and often preserved with Thimerosal, which is a mercury derivative.
Anyway, this is NOT the First Swine Flu Alert. In 1976 there was a swine flu fiasco in the US. Unfortunately, the poor handling of the government by instituting massive vaccination, has resulted in many injuries, and forever reduced public confidence in public health pronouncements from the government and helped foster cynicism about federal policy makers that continues to this day.
HOW TO BEEF UP YOUR OWN DEFENSE ?
PROBIOTICS - Your key defense against viruses like colds and flu is your immune system -- and 70 percent of your immune system is located in your digestive system. This means that if your gut is overrun with bad bacteria, there’s a good chance your immune system will not be functioning at its best.
TUMERIC - take 3 grams of raw turmeric (the type used in Indian cooking) a day.
VITAMIN C - Research has shown that vitamin C improves resistance to disease and prevents flu symptoms when 1,000 mg doses are taken every six hours.
GARLIC - Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. It’s good for your blood system, too.
GREEN PROPOLIS from Brazil has been reported to be similar effective against influenza viral infections as Oseltamivir (Shimizu et al., Antivir Chem Chemother 19(1):7-13, 2008). It can be taken for prevention without risk of creating resistant strains of the virus
COLLOIDAL SILVER - Long before antibiotics were discovered, colloidal silver was the gold standard remedy used to combat bacteria, virus, and fungus alike. Because it’s not patentable, its role in modern medicine has been played down and suppressed
AVOID Sugar and Processed/Refined Foods. Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately. Take only “fiber” foods.
WASHING your HANDS often will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. Our hands are always in contact with contaminated surfaces and people.
Get Enough REST and RELIEVE STRESS daily. When you are stressed out physically and/or emotionally, stress hormones in your body such as cortisol, will wreck havoc in your immune system. Exercise regularly, by going for your favorite game or sport.
Finally, check your body burden of CHEMICALS and HEAVY METALS such as mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium and others. Toxic elements play a very significant role in depressing the human immune system.
LOUIS Pasteur, the founder of “The Germ Theory”, once said, “the microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything” This means that the microbe or germ or virus was not the prime factor in the cause of disease, but that the “terrain” was all-important.
By “terrain” was meant the environment or soil or scene of activity in which the germ/virus found itself. In short, it’s the state of VIBRANT health inside you – THE ALL POWERFUL IMMUNE SYSTEM.
ADVICE: always receive and handle information from “experts” like the way you handle your accountant and lawyer or any other “consultants”. Search out the options available and take the responsibility to make INFORMED CHOICES. This is your unalienable right. Unfortunately, many choose to surrender this right to the medical experts. This is due to the FEAR factor : False Evidence Appearing Real.
“Fear Not”, God says.
I wish you well,
Andrew Leong S C (ND)
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