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The annual flu season extravaganza is quickly approaching, making its debut around October (when weather starts to change) through the end of March. Well, it is not such a celebration, as a Panamanian fanfare to the drug store, doctor’s office and party at home in bed. Attitudes regarding ways to defend against the highly disliked but anticipated flu ranges from homeopathic techniques of natural herbs, vitamin D and Nettie pot nasal cleaning to the very omniscient flu shot now available in almost every drug store, many grocery stores and surprisingly, not at your local Starbucks. Though the way to fend against flus is a very controversial matter, I will simply list statistics and facts so people can decide for themselves the right avenues to take this up coming season.

What is Influenza/Flu

(HealthCentral.com) The flu is a contagious respiratory disease caused by an influenza virus. In the U.S., flu outbreaks typically occur in winter months.

Flu/ Influenza Symptoms

Symptoms include fever, chills, sore muscles, and cough.

CNN Health reports that, “each year between 3,000 and 49,000 people in the United States and approximately 500,000 worldwide die from the flu and its complications.” Most of those who die are the elderly, young children, or people with compromised immune systems.

(The numbers reported by the CDC on death toll caused by influenza-estimated 35,000 is deemed by Mercola.com, as “grossly inaccurate, as it includes not just influenza death cases, but also other respiratory, circulatory, cardiac and pulmonary deaths that potentially might have been associated with influenza.”

British Medical Journal (2005) “Only a few hundred people die each year from Influenza.”

“The seasonal flu vaccines reduce the risk of illness in those vaccinated by about 60%.”-CDC

“There were only between 600 and 750 influenza deaths recorded annually between 1995 and 1997. The most influenza deaths recorded in a single year since 1979 was about 2,900 deaths and that was in 2009, the H1N1 swine flu pandemic year! Yet CDC policymakers, along with drug company and medical trade association lobbyists have continuously been using inflated influenza hospitalization and mortality estimates to justify expanding the influenza vaccine market.”(Mercola.com)

Each and every year, when influenza epidemic is worst than the year before, new strands of protection is produced and manufactured for the masses.

Flu vaccine only protected 47 percent of people who had the vaccinations last year. This statistic fared even worse with seniors over 65 years of age (NBCNews)

According to the CDC and American Medical Association, Greatest Risk Category:

Children under 2 years old, adults over 65, pregnant women and American Indians are at a greater risk of suffering from flu complications. People with medical conditions like asthma, lung disease, heart disease and people with weakened immune systems are also at risk.

Mother Nature Network highlights that most common flu shots are made with formaldehyde, a key carcinogenic ingredient. “Another ingredient in the flu shot, thimerosal, contains mercury, which is known to impair neurological and immune systems. There are detergents, antibiotics, chemicals and allergens like polysorbate-80 that causes infertility.”

The CDC claims, that at least in the case of thimerosal, “There is no evidence of harm caused by the small amounts of thimerosal in flu vaccine.”

The CDC says that it takes about two weeks for antibodies to develop in your body and provide protection against the virus.

Types of Flu Vaccines

Currently, there are four types of flu vaccines on the market:

A standard flu shot

A high-dose flu shot for those 65 and older

An intradermal-administered shot for those who are needle-phobic

A nasal spray

Contrary to what many people believe, the first three vaccines listed above do not contain the live flu virus.

Side Effects of the Flu Shot (CDC)

Some children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 have reported the following side effects after receiving the live version of the flu vaccine:

Runny nose

Nasal congestion

Cough

Headache and muscle aches

Abdominal pain

Occasional vomiting

Diarrhea

Fever

Wheezing

In addition, some adults aged 18 to 49 have reported the following side effects after receiving the live version of the vaccine:

Runny nose

Nasal congestion

Cough

Chills

Tiredness/weakness

Sore throat

Headache

How Vaccines Are Determined

CDC has to guess which strain of influenza will be dominant in a particular year and it may not always guess correctly.

“[The CDC] only choose three to five strains of influenza A out of 250-plus strains, and they take only two or three influenza B strains out of 75-100 that are out there at any one time. If they don’t guess the right one, you’re going to get sick. You’re putting your faith in the CDC’s ability to guess the one that might be a pandemic.”

Determine your route to wellness and protection against the flu and flu season.

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About Me

Nancy Lin DeGregori, Ph.D.

Dr. Nancy Lin DeGregori is the founder and CEO of truthNhealth.com (operating through Truth N Health, LLC) and has spent the last fourteen years studying nutrition and wellness for babies, children, adults, and seniors. She is the author of the book, An Etiological Theory of Chronic Disease: The Paradigm Shift of Modern Medicine, and is a holistic nutrition, health coach, and fitness consultant.