Should you or your kids get the Flu Shot? / Vaccine Info

Kelly, this is what happened to me last year. I did not get the shot, but I did get the flu. It was the actual “real” flu, which I hadn’t really had since I was a child. (Many people call things the flu that aren’t really the flu). It WAS awful – I’ve never felt so bad, so sore, so weak in what I can remember! HOWEVER – my flu lasted 3 days……. 3 DAYS! The first day, I felt like “something was coming on”, the second day I felt like a steamroller had literally flattened me, and the third day I was “on the mend”.

A) My flu didn’t last a WEEK like everyone elses and B) I got zero “secondary infections” like EVERYONE else did that I KNEW that got the flu last year. (Most people developed a secondary respitory infection that lasted another 2 weeks!)

I talked with my doctor about it and he actually said that it was because of my whole foods diet – my immune system is healthy and is actually doing what it’s SUPPOSED to do, and that my little bout with the flu, although not “fun”, went a long way to strengthen my immune system so that it’s “locked and loaded” for the next virus that comes my way.

The majority of people have immune systems that are SO taxed because their bodies are dealing with the onslaught of chemicals, preservatives, dead foods that add nothing to their health, etc etc etc…. that they are laid out by everything that comes their way. My doc has told me before that you can gauge the “health” of your immune system by whether or not you seem to “catch every little bug”. He said that if your immune system is healthy, you shouldn’t be “catching” everything (your immune system would have dealt with it before you realized the cold was even coming on) OR if you do feel it coming on, you should be able to get over it w/o having to go see the doctor in a short time.

How many people do you know that are ALWAYS into the doctor for EVERY little thing….. or they can’t “lick” something, so they finally break down and go in…… I know a LOT.

I imagine perhaps that push for immunizations started because we’ve become a population that can barely handle the common cold w/o developing a secondary infection.

I also had a pediatrition tell me that most vaccines are developed and marketed for convenience. He *actually* told me that when the chicken pox vaccine came out that he had reps telling him that this was PERFECT for all the working parents who didn’t want to bother with taking a couple days off of work to tend to a sick child! ARG! This could have been an isolated case, but the ped was pretty unnerved by the comments, as was I!

He also went so far to tell me the last time that I saw him for my allergies: “I wish all my patients ate the way you do. Pretty much w/o exception, my patients who eat real, whole foods exclusively, have virtually NO complaints. My patients who eat the typical American way have MANY complaints and MANY diseases!”

Shauna

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HAHAHAHA! I find it completely laughable that the government expects me, a 10 week-pregnant young woman to get a flu shot. I’m very healthy — I think I may have gotten the actual flu ONCE in my life. And now that I’m pregnant, I’m eating better than ever! Cutting processed sugar out of your diet goes a VERY long way in preventing and/or shortening the length of disease.

Follow the money, people!

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Thanks Kelly. Reading all this makes me feel better about my decision to not vaccinate. Last year was the first year Grace and I did not get a flu vaccine and the first year Mike did! Grace was okay, but I got very sick. Over the past 18 months though we’ve made such progress at getting rid of high fructose corn syrup and anything artificial in our diets that we have to be in better shape to face this year’s viruses.

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I’ve never had the flu. I agree, Shauna, that many people call lots of things the flu that are not due to the influenza viruses.

I’ve only ever had one flu shot, in am moment of weakness about 7-8 years ago (before I experienced a paradigm shift regarding health) when two people in their late 30-early 40s (my age at the time) in my neighborhood had severe complications from influenza. One survived, but was in a coma for 3 months and he still doesn’t look well, and the other, a mother of 8 children, tragically died, despite being fit and according to everyone who knew her, healthy (her husband was a chiropractor). But I don’t get flu shots now.

There is a theory that susceptibility to flu is due to low Vit D status, which makes a lot of sense when you think of the minimal amount of sun exposure in the winter. Even in So Cal, where I live, there is only a small amount of time during mid-day with the right light waves to make Vit D. And it is often chilly enough to wear clothes that don’t expose much skin. So unless one is a lifeguard or has similar sun exposure, it is really difficult to get enough sun Vit D production happening even here, let alone in cold northern or overcast climates.

Vit D is very important to immune function. Many people now go into the winter with already with low Vit D status and by the time the flu is really spreading around in mid-late winter, they are really deficient and vulnerable. It’s important to get Vit D levels checked (ideal times are mid-summer and mid-late winter) and to supplement with D3 if they aren’t at optimal levels.

I’ve had my levels checked twice in the last year, and despite trying to get Vit D with a prudent amount of frequent sun exposure (I’ve had a skin cancer so I take extra care not to burn) and pastured animal food in my diet that have some natural Vit D (Vit D isn’t plentiful in foods, especially processed or CAFO industrial foods), I still need to supplement quite a bit (2000-4000= iU daily) and I still can’t get the levels up to an optimum level. But at least my level isn’t deficient. BTW, milk is supplemented with D2, a cheaper synthetic D, not the same D3 the skin makes from sun exposure. D3 is much better for absorption and bioavailability.

More info on how vit D3 (from sun, food, and/or supplements) protect health and maintain immune function can be found at the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit group of Vit D research scientists. http://www.vitamindcouncil.org

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My doctor hounded me to get a flu shot when I was pregnant. I just kept smiling and saying I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. She kept bugging me about it so I switched doctors.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten flu shots. Maybe I had to as a child, I don’t remember, but I have never gotten them as an adult. I always thought it was nonsense.

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It is time we, as a people, started to be accountable and reponsible for our own health! Who do doctors reccommend for flu shots? The young and the elderly. Who has the weakest immune systems? The young and the elderly. Check out the CDC website and see who dies the most from the flu- the young and the elderly. How many of those have had the flu shot? The majority HAVE but the deaths are classified as symptoms from the shot(cardio, pneumonia,etc.)and not directly from the shot itself. Have you ever looked into the ingredients of this awesome flu vaccine? If you did you would never think twice about getting it or having a loved one take it. The shot is developed and produced in anticipation (guessing) 18-24 months before it enters your system. Flu shots are a no brainer oh but then again we don’t need to use our brains because doctors and the government will tell us what to do and we’ll follow. I wonder why neurological diseaes have exploded over the last 30 years? Vaccines prevent NOTHING they only limit the possibility (30-45%)of getting a “bad” case. I’ll take my chances on the flu anyday compared to the short and long term possible side affects.

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