FIGHT OFF THE FLU BEFORE THE FLU GETS YOU!
H1N1, scientifically significant because it is a novel strain consisting of bird flu, swine flu and human flu virus, does not appear to be making a graceful exit. Mutation into a deadlier form is a very real risk as the “swine flu” makes the rounds this season. Now we’ve all heard the usual advice about frequent hand washing with warm, soapy water, the usefulness of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, eating well, drinking plenty of water and not cutting corners on much-needed sleep.
To the above I would add a few more protective measures: Get plenty of sun each day — in addition to an immune-boosting vitamin D/calcium supplement — take time-released vitamin C, and a quality multivitamin to boost your immunity. But here’s where this flu-fighting advice takes it a step further than you’ve probably heard anywhere else:
Make a practice of gargling with warm saline (sea salt) water at least once per day, preferably twice throughout flu season. Saline has long been a remedy for sore throats, but it also aids in gum health by reducing the number of infectious oral germs. Better yet, back that effort with the help of a Neti Pot — readily available at any drugstore or pharmacy — as a PREVENTATIVE measure. Usually reserved for those with bothersome sinus and allergy conditions, the ancient Neti Pot is used for a sinus flush involving lukewarm water and saline that helps speed the elimination of germs not only from the nose but the sinus cavities where bacteria and viruses are known to take root long before you appreciate the fact that you are coming down sick.
Saline irrigation of the sinuses and throat will not only help reduce inflammation and ease chronic infections, but possibly the risk of contracting cold or flu this season — if you start making a practice of this little-appreciated approach to hygiene/health before you contract a respiratory infection. This is an inexpensive, safe measure that is particularly relevant because the so-called swine flu is proving deadlier than authorities anticipated, and because “flu shots” are not always 100 percent successful at eliminating risk of infection.
PREDICTING OUTCOMES
This randomly updated commentary offers my unqualified guesses as to what medical research will one day confirm or discover. The following should in no way be taken as medical fact or substitution for qualified medical care; to the contrary, oftentimes my views will contradict prevailing wisdom. I post these out of curiosity to see, over time, which theories fall flat vs. those that pan out.
1. In view of the many scandals involving Chinese-made products as of late — to include everything from pet food and chloramphenicol-contaminated honey to lead-contaminated Mattel/Fisher-Price toys — it is my belief that researchers will speculate that the near-epidemic rise in autism may be linked, in part, to a longstanding trend of poor product safety. Underlying product safety problems is a lack of funding and accountability for watchdog agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration and others.
2. Within the next 25 years the Court will hear a conspiracy-of-silence-busting case regarding the lackluster effort the FDA and/or the USDA has made to prevent the spread of so-called mad cow disease, otherwise known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), which is the suspected cause of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. Most of the American population will react in shock at the revelation that virtually no effort has been made to prevent the neurological horrors of vCDJ from striking consumers. But for those with eyes wide open it will be old, albeit sad, news. Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, in a 2004 effort to win back their wary overseas customers who don’t sit well with the reality that less than one percent of US beef cattle are screened for BSE, decided to voluntarily test its own beef products at their own cost — a move the USDA prohibited for transparently spurious reasoning. Why, you might ask? Because essentially, Big Brother doesn’t want private industry to cater to their health-conscious markets because in so doing they may shake consumer confidence in ordinary, untested cattle (the cattle the beef lobby is allegedly opposed to testing on the grounds that doing so will undermine profits — the same power-to-be-reckoned-with cohort that sent Oprah Winfrey running for First Amendment cover in a 1996 lawsuit filed by by the National Cattlemen’s Association). How ironic that the government agency sworn to put consumer interests first, is now the agency who is spearheading a Great Farce, which apparently holds that a don’t-look, don’t-tell policy is in our best interest. And we thought they worked for us! While they’re at it, perhaps the USDA should strong-arm the Mayo Clinic to persuade them to look the other way, too. In “Mad Cow Disease: Still a Concern“, the Mayo Clinic concedes that “because children are more likely to eat hot dogs and hamburgers, they may be at higher risk” for developing vCDJ.
