Herbs / Vitamins / Drugs / Supplements

Herbal Alternative to Flu Shots

Cold and flu season is upon us again. I would like to make some recommendations to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy during this time of year. It will probably come as no surprise to you that I don't think a flu shot is a good idea. Let me share with you some of the reasons why.

In the first place, the influenza virus mutates almost as fast as the common cold. Every year, vaccine makers play a guessing game as they try to predict which strain of the flu will be making the rounds this year. Since it takes several months to prepare a large quantity of flu vaccine, there is a pretty slim chance that the match will be good (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 14 May 1993.)

You may have missed the fact that in 1976 there was a huge public health fiasco when the flu vaccine actually paralyzed 565 infants with Guillain-Barrè Syndrome. Hundreds more suffered major side effects and the government eventually paid out more that $400 million in damages to the victims' families when it was proven that the government had foreknowledge that this particular vaccine was dangerous. When a top research scientist, J. Anthony Morris, tried to warn the public, he was fired by the Division of Biologic Standards, the federal agency in charge of vaccine safety! (Coulter, H., Fisher, B., A Shot In The Dark, Avery Press, 1991)

What you may not know is that there is a statistically significant connection between flu shots and Alzheimer's Disease. Hugh Fudenburg, MD, the world's leading immunogeneticist who has published about 850 peer-reviewed professional papers, explains: "If an individual had 5 consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980, the chances of Alzheimer's disease was 10 times greater than those getting . . . no shots." [NVIC International Conference, Sept 1997)

Much of the information contained in this letter is contained in the book The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination is Not Immunization by Tim O'Shea. I highly recommend it as a well-researched and documented indictment of America's public health policy on vaccination.

Instead of flu shots, I recommend that you improve your own immune function. In fact, I have patients with the flu in my office every season - yet, I seldom develop the flu. One approach is to take the extremely potent Echnicacea we carry from Medi Herb, which is distributed in America by Standard Process. It's called Echinacea Premium and is more than twice as potent as over-the-counter Echinacea preparations. If you have some on hand, put a bit of it on your tongue. If it doesn't tingle, it's missing essential active ingredients.

Echinacea is safe to be taken prophylactically. It is not like golden seal, which contains an alkaloid that can damage the liver with long-term use. Echinacea simply revs up the immune system. Should you start to feel ill, immediately add our St. John's Wort to your protocol. The Medi-Herb product is, again, different from over-the-counter preparations. American processed St. John's Wort is processed only to maintain the active ingredient which is believed to be anti-depressant. However, Medi-Herb St. John's Wort which is produced in Australia preserves the anti-viral fraction, as well. The result: a potent anti-viral compound that is extremely effective against a wide range of viral illness, including herpes, influenza, colds, chronic fatigue associated with viral infections such as Cytomegalovirus, etc. It is not effective against "naked" viruses, like wart viruses.

So, to protect yourself, get started on Echinacea Premium right away. We keep a supply of it and the St. John's Wort on hand at all times. I hope this fall season you stay well; if not, call us so that we can help you get back on your feet as soon as possible.

References:

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  14. Panossian AG, Gabrielian E, Manvelian V et al. Phytomed 1996; 3 (1): 19-28.

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  16. Constantine GH, Karchesy J. Variations in Hypericin concentrations in Hypericum perforatum L. and commercial products. Pharmaceutical Biology 1998; 36 (5): 365-367.
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