The weather has changed and it's cold and flu season. At the office people are either getting sick or trying to stay healthy with antibacterial cleaners and sprays. The media and healthcare professionals are pushing the seasonal and H1N1 flu shots on the public as a way to lessen the effects of the flu virus. One of my favorite health blogs by Dr. Mercola, a Chicago medical physician and health researcher, strongly recommends to avoid both flu vaccines in his blog post "Flu Vaccine Exposed."Mercola writes, "According to the CDC, the majority of flu vaccines contain thimerosal. Some contain as much as 25 mcg of mercury per dose. This means that it may contain more than 250 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limit for mercury." He later writes in the story about other toxins found in most flu shots. And the virus strains in the seasonal flu shot are made before the flu season hits so taking the vaccine does not always prevent that you won't get sick. It depends on the virus strains that you are exposed to in the real world.
What are the flu symptoms? Most people suffering from the flu are experiencing: fever, chills, cough, fatigue, diarrhea, runny nose, decreased appetite, and sore throat. Taking acetaminophen or ibprophen can help break your fever and reduce your symptoms.
My friends in major cities such as the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago have been able to get thimerosal-free flu vaccines, but in Indianapolis, I'm hard pressed to find them. In fact, most people I speak to here have never heard of mercury in the flu shots. They are taking them blindly!
I'm 19 weeks pregnant and during my recent doctor visit, the nurse recommended that I take both flu shots since pregnant women are consider high risk for more severe flu symptoms. I told the nurse that I don't want to expose myself or my baby to mercury and I plan to use natural immunity boosting methods to avoid getting sick or lessen the symptoms. I told her that after limiting my mercury exposure with fish in my diet and ensuring that I'm taking mercury-free fish oil for my DHA supplement that I don't see how I can expose myself to that much mercury. The nurse had nothing to say to that, other than suggesting that I find a mercury-free flu shot.
And this week, Aaron is sick with the flu. It's possible he has the H1N1 flu for all we know, but that's not preventing me from eating dinner with him, kissing him, or being near him. So far What I am doing is boosting my own immunities naturally.
Natural Immunity Boosters:
- Adequate sleep - 8 hrs
- Hydrate with pure water
- Exercise
- Vitamin D (using supplements or sun exposure) - see my post
- Whole food nutrition-rich diet - avoid processed foods
- Washing hands with soap and warm water
I never get flu shots, and I'm allergic to thimerosal. I also think flu shots are simply unnatural with no guarantee that you won't get the flu! No thanks.
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