Ki Center Blog

I am not a big fan of vaccines. Every year we are bombarded by reports and warnings about potential flu epidemics and scare tactics designed to separate you from your money—at the expense of your own health. I am also very wary of anything the carries the support of the FDA, CDC, WHO, UN, AMA, or any other government agency testifying to the safety and efficacy of drugs.

Creating Panic

Remember the swine flu epidemic of 1976? How about the SARS epidemic from Hong Kong and of course the H5N1 Bird Flu that was going to potentially kill 20% of the population? And of course who can forget (recently) the Swine Flu pandemic (H1N1) that brought most countries to a level 6 medical alert? What do all of these events have in common? They never happened.

What did happen though was that a lot of money was made by organized medicine. In addition, Congress passed legislation that exempted drug makers from being sued by anyone harmed or killed by these vaccines. Stay tuned for more hype and regulatory shell games as there is now a new super bug identified in Japan that is resistant to all forms of antibiotics.

What to do now

So what are we to do? I, like many of my clients, pursue natural immune enhancement that will strengthen the body's ability to mount a normal and powerful defense against viruses, bacteria and microbes. Notice that I said mount a defense not prevent? We will still be exposed to various things that can make us sick. The key is to stop it in its tracks or severely limit the duration and severity of the attack.

Things that can be done now to strengthen the immune system are eating a variety of whole foods, organic when possible, and limit the amount of processed non-foods that have no redeeming nutritional value. Eat the colors of the rainbow. By that I mean to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that are deeply colored as these foods contain thousands of enzymes, micro and macro nutrients, sterols and fatty acids that combine synergistically, that is, they work together perfectly and are absorbed properly because they are whole foods, not synthetic non-foods. Getting exercise, drinking clean water, getting adequate sleep will support and strengthen your immune system as well.

Powerful natural products

When I need extra help, especially during cold and flu season, I use and recommend to my clients three basic products. They are Congaplex, Immuplex, and Echinacea Premium, all from Standard Process Labs. These are the big guns as they go straight to the heart of immune building.

Congaplex is for systemic infections, fever reduction and stimulates the thymus gland to produce more white blood cells. I have used this product personally with great success--and is generally used short term. Immuplex will also support and enhance the body's immune response. It is primarily used for viral and bacterial infections and can be used as a long term immune system building agent. Echinacea premium on the other hand is made from both Echinacea angustofolia and Echinacea pupurea. Both are needed to be effective and be properly assimilated by the body. When these products are combined, the immune response is impressive--quick and effective, and generally successful within 24-48 hours.

Overuse of drugs

Of course, if you have been diagnosed with a massive bacterial infection of any type, then a course of potent antibiotic may be necessary to get you out of the danger zone. If that is the case, then a follow up of immune building products like I have described, would be of great benefit for the recovery and preventing possible recurrent infections.

Over use of antibiotics has created more resistant strains of bacteria, this is a medical fact. The use of stronger medicines to offset this resistance can and will lead to more serious side effects. Why not use powerful natural products, with proven efficacy, to stave off infections in the first place? Or, if infected, let the body (with help) fight it the way it has been designed to do. The end result will be an immune system stronger than before and much more capable of resisting future infections of all type.

Once again we come upon the dreaded cold and flu season. We know it’s the season because just like Christmas decorations going up at your favorite store, the drug companies and the media are all warning us of the need to get our flu shots. But once again there is a short supply and only the most at risk are encouraged to seek this drug out before its all gone.

I will not tell you to get a shot or not, that would be your decision. I will however tell you why I will not get one now or in the future nor will my family get this concoction of toxic chemicals to prevent something my body is perfectly capable of taking care of itself.

First of all the heavy metal Mercury is used in the manufacture of these vaccines. Each dose contains approximately 25 micrograms of the substance. Mercury is a brain toxin. It destroys brain cells. The elderly and infants are the two groups most susceptible to damage from this poison and are the two groups most encouraged to get a shot. If you, like me, have mercury amalgam fillings in your teeth and are over the age of 40, then adding more mercury to my system just doesn't seem appropriate or wise.

Secondly, there is no substantiated proof that the shot prevents you from getting the flu. Even the medical review periodicals have stated that no significant prevention is realized with the vaccine. In many cases of reported flu it was caused by the vaccine itself. There are many other reasons why I won't subject myself or my family to these shots but let me illustrate the body's ability to effectively deal with this issue of colds and flu on its own accord.

If your immune system is functioning well and you use wise hygiene practices and engage in a bit of prevention then you probably won't be affected. Even if you are exposed there are natural ways to eliminate the virus from your body with a minimal of discomfort and time actually being sick. I personally have used these protocols to effectively eliminate the symptoms and recover in as little as 48 hours.

On the subject of prevention, the basics of course are to get good rest, eat well and minimize exposure if you can. To augment this I recommend an immune boosting combination of Immuplex, a thymus stimulating nutrient and Echinacea Premium both from Standard Process. The combination of these two products raises your immune system substantially and is capable of preventing most colds and flu. For those of you already taking Echinacea please be aware that a combination of Echinacea Purpurea and Echinacea Angustofolia has proven to be a potent combination far exceeding that of most echinacea products out there just containing purpurea alone. Read your labels and give me a call to get further information on this subject.

Don't forget calcium as an important part of the immune system. In order for your cells to effectively get rid of waste products your white blood cells need calcium to support the chemical process of ingesting foreign bodies. Vitamin C of course is important but I highly recommend the whole food version as opposed to the synthetic form containing ascorbic acid as its only ingredient. Cataplex C from Standard Process Labs contains the whole composition of vitamin C found in nature and is far superior and effective for prevention then ascorbic acid alone.

Finally if you do get the flu or a severe cold please consider that if you cover up the symptoms with over the counter medications you are more than likely going to increase the time you will be sick. Also remember that a fever is a good thing. It is your body's natural way to defend itself. I generally don't get too concerned up to temperature of 103 degrees

To boost the immune system when in the grip of the flu or severe cold I will then recommend a Thymus stimulating nutrient such as Thymex or Congaplex again from Standard Process, along with the Echinacea Premium to eliminate the problem within 24-72 hours. As I said I have personally used this protocol to treat my own rare instance of illness that took hold with such force and virulence that I actually considered going to the hospital. Fortunately I came to my senses early and took care of it myself with great results.

I am not one for conspiracy theories. But if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck then it must be a duck. Anyone who has followed my column for any length of time is familiar with my views on drugs and vaccines. They can be appropriate but honestly, I believe they do more harm than good.

Government out of Control

Most recently, the CDC has released the 2007-2008 recommended immunization schedules for adults. The schedule includes 11 different types of vaccines including tetanus, HPV, measles mumps and rubella, influenza and herpes zoster (shingles). When you consider the amount of toxic chemicals in these vaccines, it is no wonder that our society is experiencing a dramatic increase in auto-immune types of diseases.

If that is not enough, legislation is being introduced to force parents to immunize their children with a toxic cocktail of drugs during their most formative years. There are documented instances where a parent not choosing to immunize their child has had them taken away and made a ward of the state. Since when have we as a nation given up our right to choose what is best for ourselves and our children?

The HPV immunization for young girls is a perfect example of this type of government control. It (the vaccine) has only been on the market since 2006, with a small percentage of women being immunized. Of those women, 82 serious side effects have already been reported. That of course is only what is reported; many problems do not get reported. This drug is far too new and untested to evaluate the potential for harm over the long term. Frankly it scares me to death that it may be mandatory at some point.

I have had clients that couldn't have their kids in school unless they were medicated for ADD/ADHD. How many stories are out there of adverse side effects for these types of psychiatric drugs? I see more and more physicians, as well as specialists in the field of psychiatry, rallying against the use of powerful drugs for unwarranted conditions. But when you get the pharmaceutical industry, along with their powerful lobbyists and combined support from the insurance industry, you have a recipe for profound abuse of these chemicals.

Any diagnoses of mental conditions carry an insurance code based on a recognized malady. This will qualify the patient to receive re-imbursement from their insurance company, receive a label for their condition, and most likely a drug of some sort to hopefully correct the problem. As an example, here are a few of the new insurance recognized maladies that will be covered by your insurance, along with drug therapy---Mathematics disorder, caffeine disorder, disorder of written expression, telephone scatialogia (I don't even want to know), and malingering! It's no wonder we are nation on Prozac.

The industry is even working on a vaccine for cavities! The CDC has actually defined dental carries (cavities) as an infectious, communicable disease. This is beyond ridiculous! There are many cultures in the world that have no tooth decay whatsoever. And it is a result of eating indigenous foods appropriate for their nutritional type, not processed food and sugar.

In my opinion, and I am in good company on this, nutritional deficiencies are the main cause of most of our disease and illness problems. When you combine a diet devoid of any nutrition from processed foods, toxic chemicals from our environment, an over abundance of toxic drugs and immunizations, what do you expect your body to do? It will revolt and do it's best to get your attention to correct it.

Distorting the facts

We are in the flu shot season now. I have stated before I will not participate in this debacle as there are no statistics to prove efficacy of this drug. What you have heard from the CDC is that in 2005 there were approximately 36,000 people who died of the flu. This is a gross distortion of the facts. There were only 1806 people who died of the flu in that year. The statistics that the CDC sites here is that anyone dying of pneumonia can be classified as having the flu, so when their numbers came out, and rest assured the pharmaceutical industry will grab a hold of this for marketing purposes, it looks as though the flu is a scary problem bordering on an epidemic.

If you are healthy and you have a strong immune system, your body has an amazing capacity to fight off many of the problems we face today. But a continual diet of processed foods, drugs for every little symptom, and subscribing to the fear- based marketing programs that big business throws at us, we will continue on our downward spiral as one of the sickest nations on earth.