host posted on October 31, 2007 19:28
Article by Kyle Drew
Think back to 2003, or so. It was the “cold and flu” season, and the only thing you ever heard on TV was how important it was to get a flu shot. You’d see news reports in front of clinics where the huddled masses were standing in coats and gloves waiting for the magic elixir.
Back in that year, something interesting happened: The scientists who determine which flu “strain” was going to be active that year got it wrong! They made the wrong flu shot. It didn’t work.
So, I thought we were going to hear reports about how awful it was that the flu shot didn’t work and that millions of people would have to do without. But that’s not what happened. Instead, believe it or not, the “experts” told us to get the shot anyway, even though they knew it wouldn’t work!
I’m not a doctor. Maybe if I were, I’d have the IQ to understand why we’re supposed to pay for a shot that doesn’t work. As an ex-drug rep, I can certainly tell you why I think that happened. It starts with a huge warehouse full of vaccines that don’t work but do have an expiration date, along with stockholders who depend on the numbers adding up profitably. “Hmmmm….What should we do with all this inventory……?”
What I’m about to tell you isn’t medical advice. It’s just my story.
I don’t take the flu shot anymore. “Anymore” means that I used to. I’d stand in the line and pay for it and walk away feeling protected. That is, until I got sick a couple of days later. Every year this happened to me, and every year I was told that it was a coincidence. Oh, and many years I’d wind up with the flu, even though I had the shot. Neither of these things was supposed to happen, and the “experts” would probably tell you that it didn’t happen – it was all in my head.
A huge reason I don’t take the flu shot is because it has historically contained a preservative called Thimerosal. Thimerosal is made with mercury. When I worked at a blood bank, if we spilled mercury, we had this elaborate system of cleaning it up, and we weren’t allowed into the mercury-exposed room for a period of time, just to be safe. But evidently the drug makers don’t worry about mercury if it’s put in a syringe and injected directly into our bloodstream. Thanks, I’ll pass.
Another reason is because I don’t feel that I need it anymore. When you change your diet, exercise, wash your hands often, drink plenty of water, purify your indoor air, and take the right supplements, you tend not to worry about these things as much. (You know, your immune system is actually supposed to help you with things like colds and flu! When I nourish it, I just don’t expect to get sick the same way I did when I ate donuts and pizza all the time.)
Finally, flu shots are a lot like hot dogs – you just don’t want to know how they’re made! I don’t have a weak stomach, but hearing about what goes into a flu vaccine makes me weak in the knees - stories of sick birds and their infected livers and kidneys all ground up….ugh…I’ll stop there. Anyway, I halfway believe that they make it as an injection because you’d never be able to force it down by mouth! Let’s just say that, if you choose to take the shot, don’t ask what goes into it.
If you’re new to health and nutrition, I wouldn’t advise against the flu shot.
On the other hand, if you’ve studied health and nutrition and watch Doug’s show, you probably stopped taking it a long time ago. It would probably be a mistake to avoid the flu shot if you don’t know how to eat right and adopt healthy habits. In that case, you’re asking for a lot more trouble than just the flu! But if you can recite Doug’s Phase One Diet by heart, if you know how many carrots and garlic cloves it takes to make just the right amount of a morning juice, if your running shoes wear out before your pharmacy discount card does, and if you’re on a drop-ship program with some of your favorite supplement companies, you may be qualified to ask your doctor if you can pass on the flu shot this year – whether it “works” this time or not!