FLU SHOT OR NOT?

Here's a great article written by naturopathic doctor, Kelly Jennings.

November marks the onset of flu season, when people begin to wonder whether to get flu shots. In general, I do not recommend them for healthy adults & children. There are many safe alternatives to prevent the need for the flu shot; you should certainly be well-informed and know your options.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that everyone over age 65 get a yearly flu shot and a one-time dose of pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccine as part of their adult vaccination schedule. The CDC is also recommending flu shots for infants over 5 months of age.

What you should know:

1) Use of the influenza vaccine was not associated with preventing hospitalizations or reducing physician visits for the flu in children age 5 and younger during two recent seasons, perhaps because the strains of virus in the vaccine did not match circulating strains, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. (http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/flu-vaccine-not-associated-with-reduced-hospitalizations-or-outpatient-visits-among-young-children-17517.html)

2) Prevention is key. Researchers have shown that exercise alone protects mice against the flu, even when these mice were specifically infected with the influenza virus. (http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2004/1/2004716.shtml)

When you exercise you increase the circulation of blood and immune components throughout your body, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness early on, before it has a chance to spread. Exercise, and other activities that promote circulation, like hydrotherapy and dry skin brushing, help your immune system to be more efficient in weeding out and acting upon viruses and diseases. For more information about hydrotherapy and dry skin brushing, call the office to schedule your preventive medicine and lifestyle assessment, part of your annual physical.

3) Know what’s in your vaccine!

Some common additives to the flu vaccine include thimerosal, formaldehyde, chicken egg protein, hydrocortisone and phenol. (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf).

4) It’s Benefit May Be Overestimated

In a February 2005 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases compared flu-related mortality among older people to rates of immunization. Their finding: During the past quarter century, immunization rates for the elderly have climbed substantially while the elderly flu-related mortality rate has stayed the same. The authors of the research wrote: “We conclude that observational studies substantially overestimate vaccination benefit.”

5) It May Work, It May Not

Each year the flu vaccine is newly redesigned, using several strains from different types of flu that were common the season before. So the 2008-09 vaccine is, in theory, ideal for protecting you from last year’s primary flu types. Vaccine developers assume that whatever new flu mutations come our way this season will not be much different than last year’s strains. The CDC admits that “In some years when vaccine and circulating strains were not well-matched, no vaccine effectiveness may be able to be demonstrated (Bridges,JAMA 2000). It is not possible in advance of the influenza season to predict how well the vaccine and circulating strains will be matched, and how that may affect vaccine effectiveness.”

6) The Best Defense

If you pick up a flu virus, you won’t necessarily come down with the flu. Whether or not you become ill––or how sick you actually get––depends on how well your immune system deals with the virus. The key is immunity.

The flu shot is designed to prepare the immune system to fight specific virus strains. A more effective approach might be to prepare and strengthen your OVERALL immune system by taking these steps:

* Enhance circulation: exercise, hydrotherapy, dry skin brushing
* Eat a balanced diet of nutritious, fresh, whole foods
* Manage stress levels
* Get the right amount of sleep
* Supplement! Use proven immune system enhancers, such as Vitamin D, C, A, and antioxidants: all of which have been shown to help fight colds and flu. Selenium is also an effective flu fighter, as is zinc and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an amino acid that stimulates your body to produce the powerful antioxidant enzyme glutathione.