In the fall season you may be considering whether you or other members of your family ought to be getting the ‘flu vaccine. Advertisements flooding the print and visual media, present a foregone conclusion — “get vaccinated now!” However, the research data regarding whether the flu vaccine is effective is less than compelling. Indeed, the literature search that I did for this article indicates that there are a number of studies both for and against vaccination. To believe the advertisements is unwise because they are based on fear and incomplete evidence. For example, they fail to point out that the deaths from influenza that they quote are almost totally related (75%) to those people who are chronically ill and over the age of 70. Deaths from influenza rarely occur in healthy adults and children.

What is a person to do? There are a number of points to consider when thinking about whether to get vaccinated against the flu or not. Here they are:

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1. Realize that influenza is often confused with the common cold, sore throat or cough. ‘Flu vaccines do not protect against the common cold or sore throat, and those who claim that they do are misinformed.

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2. There are many viruses that cause real influenza. Each year scientists attempt to evaluate which viruses are likely to be causing influenza in the subsequent year. About once in every 5 to 10 years they are totally wrong, and the vaccine has no impact at all on the incidence of influenza in the subsequent year. That means that if you have a shot that year then you have taken it in vain.

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3. Although several studies have been done in the last 10 to 15 years regarding the effectiveness of the ‘flu vaccine the results of these studies are inconsistent because:

(a) Many of the people in the studies did not suffer from influenza but actually had what is called “influenza-like illness” or ILI. This means that they may have had the symptoms of the ‘flu, (often similar to the symptoms of the common cold or cough), but that the diagnosis of influenza was not confirmed by laboratory.

(b) Studies based on this presumption are unscientific. In Canada in 2004/2005 only 15% of those tested with ILI were positive for influenza virus.Some studies on the elderly suggest that they reduce mortality and others do not. The same applies to many of the studies in different groups reviewed over the last 15 years. There is no evidence to suggest children less than 2 years benefit form the vaccine, and more importantly there are no studies of safety in children at all!

(c) There is a ’selection bias’ in many studies suggesting that the results of the study are influenced by selection of the population studied. This may over-estimate the effectiveness of the ‘flu vaccine

If you are a health care worker, evidence suggests that there is no point in being vaccinated unless the patients that you are in contact with are vaccinated as well. Side effects (that we know about) are few, but there are some serious ones including a creeping paralysis known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. This occurs in about 1.6/100,000 people. Its incidence may increase with the flu vaccine. Supposedly reversible it can nevertheless leave you with chronic illness. If only 1/4 vaccinations actually prevents the “real ‘flu” then why risk this? Flu vaccines contain mercury, and are derived from egg. Those allergic to eggs and those concerned about mercury for whatever reason should avoid the vaccine.

There are still too many unanswered questions and not enough consistent results to recommend whether a flu shot is advisable. One of the most prominent researchers and commentators in this area is Vittorio Demicheli who has made several comments about the provincially funded Ontario, Canada vaccination program initiated in 2000. On the heels of the 2000 decision by the Ontario government to invest $38 million of taxpayer’s money in a universal flu vaccine program, Demicheli writes in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2001:

“Given the quality of the information available… the Ontario decision… [could be considered] an experiment, a sort of pilot project. Unfortunately, the level of uncertainty that still surrounds the problem of influenza prevention is so high that the consequences of this decision… will probably raise many new questions and leave the crucial ones unanswered.” So where does that leave you, the reader, in terms of making a decision? In my opinion, if you are a healthy person between the ages of birth and 70, stay away from the ‘flu vaccine. If you are over 70 and you have a chronic illness that might result in increased lung infections, then the flu vaccine may be considered helpful in preventing either the flu or possible pneumonia or other respiratory infection, although some would disagree even with this advice. If you have fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, multiple chemical sensitivity, or chronic fatigue syndrome then you should definitely stay away from the flu vaccine. In these chronic conditions the immune system is sufficiently compromised that its stimulation by vaccine is unwise.

Probiotics have been proven to prevent and treat common antibiotic side effects such as\r

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• upset stomach

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• diarrhea

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• vaginal infections

Some form of antibiotics, such as especially cephalosporins, clindamycin , or fluoroquinolones, induce colitis, an inflammation of the large intestine, in some individuals. This type of colitis is caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium difficile, which is resistant to many antibiotics and which proliferates in the intestines when other normal bacteria in the intestine are destroyed by the antibiotics.

You can protect yourself from these uncomfortable side effects by following these guidelines:-\r

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• take an extra dose of probiotics a few days before taking antibiotics. An extra dose could be an additional 10 billion CFU of probiotics supplement or a serving of yogurt or kefir.

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• during the period of antibiotics intake, take two or more doses of probiotics in the day time. Take probiotics at least 3 hours apart from antibiotics. Taking both at the same time simply defeats the purpose as the friendly bacteria will be totally destroyed by the drug.

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• obtain variety of bacteria by taking yoghurt and kefir or supplements with six different bacteria strains.

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• use saccharomyces boulardii, a non-pathogenic yeast that works like a probiotics. Antibiotics can only kill bacteria and cannot eliminate yeast.

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• keep on taking an extra dose of probiotics a day for one week after the completion of antibiotics medication to replenish the good bacteria.

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• support the growth of your good bacteria by eating a diet high in fiber.

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Note to People with Yeast Infections/Candida and/or Milk-Sensitivity

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• Supplements works best if you are sensitive to the cow’s milk in yoghurt and kefir or if you have Candida. Brands like UAS Labs and Natren carry the dairy-free version.

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• Saccharomyces boulardii is completely unrelated to candida, the yeast responsible for yeast infections. Rather, S. boulardii is recommended by nutritionists for the treatment of Candida overgrowth. Research has also shown that this form of yeast is effective against Clostridium difficile infection. Florastor is a well-known brand for this health promoting yeast supplement.

Sleep is one of the most essential aspects of our lives. If we are deprived of it, our bodies go into a form of survival mode. During sleep, the body heals through a process called REM (rapid eye movement). This is where we process the events of our day which include the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects. REM sleep is a very precious tool that we have to heal and stay healthy but it is normally not treated as such.

There are many things you can do to sleep better and ensure that you have very restful sleep such as meditation and exercise such as yoga. However, there is one way that is so often overlooked and is a common interrupter of good sleep. Television.

What you read, watch, or talk about before you go to sleep is what you process the most. Imagine watching the news every single night before going to bed or worse, while you are already in bed. This can not only zap you of your energy, but you are programming your subconscious mind since it does not know what is real and what is not. Your conscious mind can discern what is real but your subconscious mind is vulnerable to all information. The more you watch TV, for example, the greater the gap between your conscious and subconscious mind.

You become what you watch. You become what you engage in. There is not one human being that has total control over this. There is a “breaking point” for each person, and although it may be different for everyone, it is still there.

Anything that goes against our soul’s nature will disrupt the way we interact with the world around us. If you watch TV daily you will know that there is more violence and negativity than there is positive. At a core level, this is what is being programed in your mind. If action follows thought and energy proceeds thought then what you feed your mind will ultimately show up in your life.

In order to sleep peacefully, be peaceful. Do peace things. Do things that make you feel relaxed, happy, and good inside, especially before you go to bed. Your life will change as you change how you live it.

Recently I was given a CD promoting a new health product. The doctor promoting the product reinforced the necessity of getting a solid eight hours of sleep daily. He was really saying everyone needed a good quality eight hours restful sleep every day.

The bottom line was if we didn’t get this amount of good quality rest our health would not be optimal. Our body would not be able to regenerate and rebuild itself as is required.

I am not sure about you, but in this day and age I don’t know of too many people who get this kind of rest. We either get eight hours of fitful sleep, or we get four hours of some kind of sleep. So the question becomes what can or should we do? As physical beings we have one body and only one body. Cloning is not an option so we can’t arbitrarily pick up spare parts as needed.

Our fast-paced, harried lifestyle with dual-income plus families, two cars in the drive way, along with one or more of the following toys: motorcycle(s), RV(s), speed boat(s), etc. is literally limiting our healthy life span. Are all these toys really worth the trade offs we make with our health?

What good is making all the money if you just end up spending it later to get your health back? (That is if you can get it back). Do we really think about what we are doing to our bodies, and our lives, or do we delude ourselves that somehow it won’t affect us?

Now I’m an electrical engineer, I’ve had more semesters of math than I can count. I can tell you that 1 + 1 does indeed equal 2. An attorney once told me that 1 + 1 equaled whatever he wanted it to. Personally I think if that’s the way you treat your health you shouldn’t be surprised when you get to spend a lot of quality time with your doctor.

Life is about choices. We make them every day. Some are big decisions, some are not. I am talking about the ones that we make almost unconsciously. Should I order the salad, or should I get a large order of fries. I really don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out what is better for our body.

So why do we do the things we do as opposed to the things we know we should do? That is the $64,000 question and the only one who can answer that is you. So what is your body telling you? And are you listening or not?

Many people suffer from what they think is insomnia when in most cases it is anxiety. You may be wondering what this has to do with beds, but the truth is that this anxiety can keep them from falling asleep and having a good night’s rest. It all comes down to the body’s ability to relax and if the bed is not comfortable then relaxation will not come easily.

Before you lie down; stretch!

Everyone stretches out in the morning, but when you chose to stretch a bit before lying down, you are allowing yourself to be more relaxed and therefore are able to become more comfortable in bed. This will help you sleep better.

Clear your mind!

Those racing thoughts keep you up till the late hours of the night, while stopping them is no easy task, you should make every attempt to clear them out of your mind so you can focus on falling asleep.

Find a comfortable position.

Once you have found a comfortable position, stay there! Do not allow yourself to roll around looking for something that is even more comfortable because all you are doing is preventing sleep from finding you.

Don’t forget to breath!

We all know this, but did you know that if you put forth an effort to not only control your breathing, but also pay attention to how it is done such as feeling the air going in the nose, down the throat and into the lungs then back, you can actually fall asleep quicker.

A glass of warm milk!

Whether you are going for milk or hot cocoa, drinking something warm before bed will increase your body temperature leaving you more relaxed. As a result sleep will be able to find you a whole lot easier.

No matter how you choose to look at it, sleeping is important to everyone. We spend a third of our life doing it, but when you allow things like thoughts and daily tasks, interfere with this sleep, you will end up feeling more tired and less capable of completing those tasks that you are so worried about. Break the cycle and focus on a great night’s sleep instead and notice the difference.

Many people suffer from what they think is insomnia when in most cases it is anxiety. You may be wondering what this has to do with beds, but the truth is that this anxiety can keep them from falling asleep and having a good night’s rest. It all comes down to the body’s ability to relax and if the bed is not comfortable then relaxation will not come easily.

Before you lie down; stretch!

Everyone stretches out in the morning, but when you chose to stretch a bit before lying down, you are allowing yourself to be more relaxed and therefore are able to become more comfortable in bed. This will help you sleep better.

Clear your mind!

Those racing thoughts keep you up till the late hours of the night, while stopping them is no easy task, you should make every attempt to clear them out of your mind so you can focus on falling asleep.

Find a comfortable position.

Once you have found a comfortable position, stay there! Do not allow yourself to roll around looking for something that is even more comfortable because all you are doing is preventing sleep from finding you.

Don’t forget to breath!

We all know this, but did you know that if you put forth an effort to not only control your breathing, but also pay attention to how it is done such as feeling the air going in the nose, down the throat and into the lungs then back, you can actually fall asleep quicker.

A glass of warm milk!

Whether you are going for milk or hot cocoa, drinking something warm before bed will increase your body temperature leaving you more relaxed. As a result sleep will be able to find you a whole lot easier.

No matter how you choose to look at it, sleeping is important to everyone. We spend a third of our life doing it, but when you allow things like thoughts and daily tasks, interfere with this sleep, you will end up feeling more tired and less capable of completing those tasks that you are so worried about. Break the cycle and focus on a great night’s sleep instead and notice the difference.