Archived News of the Week

Big Pharma, the Flu and You

It's that time of year. Your MD is suggesting that you get your yearly flu shot and you don't know what to do. Big Pharma is hoping and praying that its formulation this year is on the money, but you never know. Last year, not only did we have this ridiculous "shortage" of flu shots which had frantic hypochondriacs knocking old ladies over the head for their place in the blocks - long queues, but when the flu shot finally came out, it was pathetically off target.

Bet you didn't know this: Vaccines are grown and strained through animal or human tissue like monkey kidney tissue, chicken embryos, calf serum and the dissected organs of aborted human fetuses ( esp. in the case of rubella, hep A and the chicken pox vaccines).

I glommed on to a front page article in the New York Times of September 22, 2005 entitled "2 Studies Find Flu Treatments Fall Far Short" an article written by the journalist, Elizabeth Rosenthal, after reviewing two articles in Lancet the prestigious English medical journal. Let me just give you the salient quotes in this rather long article:

1) After analyzing all the data from patient studies from the past 37 years, international researchers discovered that "vaccines showed at best a 'modest' ability to prevent the flu... the runaway 100% effectiveness that's touted by proponents was nowhere to be seen." Dr.Tom Jefferson, Cochrane Vaccine Fields Project.

2) The older and cheaper Flu drugs (like Amantadine) have become very resistant to the wily, constantly mutating viruses which cause our garden variety flu, but also includes the more dangerous bird flu. "Before 2000, no virus of the Influenza A ( FYI: The bird flu is of the influenza A variety.) was impervious to amantadine, but by 2004 over 70% of the viruses collected in South Korea, Hong Kong and China were impervious. All human cases of the bird flu are impervious."

It looks as if Tamiflu - a very expensive new anti-viral made by Roche, a Swiss company - has a fighting chance against the flu and perhaps even the bird flu if it starts being transmitted human to human and we have a pandemic as the WHO fears - and 30 countries including our own are stockpiling millions of doses of Tamiflu in case of the bird flu pandemic. However, Tamiflu is not a vaccine; you would take this after you have contracted the flu. But since flu viruses are known for their ability to mutate, who knows if the flu bugs would quickly become impervious toTamiflu.

3) "In people over 65, the vaccines 'are apparently ineffective' in the prevention of influenza, pneumonia and hospital admissions, although they did reduce deaths from pneumonia a bit, 'by up to 30%'"

4) "What you see is that marketing rules the response to influenza, and scientific evidence comes fourth of fifth. Vaccines may have a role, but they appear to have a modest effect. The best strategy to prevent illness is to wash your hands." Dr. Tom Jefferson.

It's not in the scope of my practice to advise you whether or not to get a flu shot or not, but it's not illegal for me to tell you what I do: I have never had a flu shot and cannot imagine a reason why I would ever get one. There are other ways to stay well.

I've been asked what I do to stay well (knock on wood - I haven't been really sick in many years) despite all the hacking and coughing and runny nosed sickies that walk through my door every fall and winter. Well, in addition to the ozonator I keep running on low 24/7, pretty strict hand-washing and the liberal use of the Young Living Essential Oils, I also do this: I have at the ever-ready my Teflon Mix and my Cold Combo.

The Teflon Mix is Cataplex ACP and Calcium Lactate, designed to prevent the cold and flu because this v. powerful combination somehow creates a "teflon" situation so the bugs can't stick. I pour a bit of both into a dish on my desk (Cataplex ACP is a small brown tablet and Calcium Lactate is a small white tablet) every day and take two of each every couple of hours. When I travel or go to big public places, I do the same thing. Just pop a few every hour or so.

If you feel that tickle in your nose and the beginnings of a sore throat? Well, some pretty powerful cold/flu bugs slipped past the Teflon bioshield so it's now time for the Cold Combo which is actually 5 supplements all mixed together. Each supplement is either a different color or shape, so I pour the contents of all 5 bottles in a big tub and pick and choose. The supplements are Phytogen, Congaplex, Thymex, Gan Mao Ling and Zinc Lozenges.

I will also decant - from my big tub - smaller amounts into smaller containers for travel and for my briefcase. I do not want to be caught without my Cold Combo at 10PM in a hotel in Puerto Vallarta with that "Oh No" sensation in my throat and nose! I swear by my Cold Combo. I have nipped so many baddies in the bud just by pounding two of each color every hour or so. (Caveat: Take a whole zinc lozenge every 3 hours or you might try biting a quarter of a zinc lozenge every 1/2 hour - that way you will have some in your system at all times).

If you have religiously taken the Teflon Mix, and then the Cold Combo and seem to have - despite all your good intentions and care - come down with some nasty cold/ flu cousin which feels like Ebola then it's emergency time: Check out my website - www.drbea.com and read through my handout called Cold and Flu. Do everything the handout tells you to do including making the gallon of special tea. In fact, print the handout now, so you will have it at the ready.

Other things to do: Get enough sleep as this is the only time that the body restores itself.

• Reduce your stress!
• Drastically cut down your sugar intake. It actually kills white blood cells for 3 hours after ingestion and the wbc's are what helps kill the bugs.
• As mentioned, wash your hands alot. Get a small bottle of Purel and carry it around to use if you can't wash your hands.
• Get a couple of essential oils from Young Living - Thieves and Purification - and use liberally.
• Exercise in moderation. Too much breaks down your immune system, but moderate exercise makes you healthier.
• Let me check out your immune system to make sure it's up to snuff.

No statement or content in this web site shall be construed as offering diagnosis, cure, mitigation or prevention of any disease. Anyone having questions regarding the content of this site should contact their own health care provider for verification.