Don't be afraid

For anyone feeling worried about the new flu epidemic, I have some reassurance for you. First of all, no matter what they said, I wasn't worried about it because the job of the media is to create emotion/drama. Of course they're going to paint this awful picture- people panic and other people make money.

Here are some stats from my favorite 'doctor', Dr. Schulze, and amazing herbalist.

"Influenza virus infects both humans and animals. The two main animal viruses are the Bird Flu, which affects birds, and the Swine Flu (officially called SIV, or Swine Influenza Virus) that is a respiratory viral disease of pigs.

Occasionally humans get both of these viruses, but usually only a very few people get infected and usually these people have had direct contact with the sick animals. It is not normal, and very difficult, for these animal viruses to spread from human-to-human.

When they do, as it is suspected now, it can be dangerous. In the past when this happens, and an animal virus starts spreading from human-to-human (and does this easily), it usually also dies out quickly. But, on rare occasions, it can cause a pandemic, which is a widespread, worldwide epidemic, making millions sick and killing millions more. Notably, this happened in the 1890's with the Russian Flu, the most famous being the Spanish Flu of 1918 that killed about 100 million people on the planet (killing more people than the Black Death of Europe in the 1300's), and the Hong Kong Flu of 1957 that almost killed me.

This current Swine Influenza outbreak may actually not even be a Swine Flu virus at all. It is suspected that it may be caused by a new strain of Influenza type A, subtype H1N1, and also a blend of an avian (Bird Flu) and possibly a few strains of Swine Influenza Virus all mixed together in a dangerous and potentially lethal new viral cocktail. But, identifying viruses, especially rapidly, is not an exact science."

Should you be worried?

Not really, but you should always be prepared.

The Dr. Schulze "Swine Flu Scale":
I say on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being "who cares" and 10 being "it is time to get your food, guns and herbs in the basement and staple-gun 10-mil plastic over your house", we are currently at a Dr. Schulze Stage 3.

Medical doctors, scientists and even I all agree that we are overdue for a worldwide influenza pandemic of huge proportions. That said, in spite of the news hysteria, the reality is that very little is actually known so far, and very few people are getting sick, fewer hospitalized, and very few deaths, but it is certainly worth watching and being cautious.

It could turn into a worldwide pandemic killing millions and millions, but it probably won't.

I say this simply because I lived through the big Swine Flu Scare of 1976, when the American government's panic was so overblown, they said that we were going to have a killer Swine Flu epidemic / pandemic. They almost forced inoculations, Congress actually voted it in, and people lined up and rushed to get their Swine Flu Shot. Television and newspapers made millions, pharmaceutical companies made billions, and then... nothing happened. Well, actually something did happen.

There were very few cases of actual Swine Flu, but 25 times more people died from the inoculation than from the Swine Flu itself. So, I have seen flu panic, and medical flu treatment, kill.

Also, to put this in perspective, hundreds of Americans die every year from taking aspirin, and to date, 100 more people have died so far this year from bee stings in America than the Swine Flu, and 1 million will die from taking doctor prescribed prescription drugs, so we need to take a step back, take a deep breath, put this outbreak into perspective and observe. And we don't need the government, the CDC, the WHO, the news media and the office of Homeland Security turning this into a political pandemic."

Furthermore, there is a great article discussing the flu by Dr. Mercola. You can read it here.

But to be smart in general, because there are so many diseases going on, there are things you can do. We all know that vitamin C is important for boosting immunity. I like to buy the drink packets called EmergenC, which is 1000mg of vitamin C in each packet, empty into water or juice and it fizzes up. Easy for everyone to drink.

Also, being sure that your body is properly nourished with healthy fats, being hydrated, balancing protein and whole grains and reducing any processed foods or white sugar would CERTAINLY help :)

Echinacea, preferably taken in tincture form, is also very well known for boosting the immune system. I prefer Dr. Schulze's formula, because he packs as much herbs as you can possibly get into his vats and it's a high quality product. He recommends taking it for the first week of each month.

Garlic, duh. Garlic kills the bad super quick. Hot peppers boost circulation and kick things into gear, plus, if you can eat hot peppers, I doubt a virus could survive in your body for long :)

Now here is another thing that I just learned and was amazed at. Our thyroid glands filter all the blood in her our body every 17 minutes. As it passes through, the iodine in the gland is able to weaken any bad invaders to the point of them dying. However, if you are not taking in enough iodine, you thyroid is weak, can become sluggish resulting in a HOST of problems. I just had no idea how important the thyroid was to the body and how important iodine is to the gland.

I learned all of this here. Getting more iodine is easy. Make sure your salt has iodine in it, eat foods high in iodine, taking kelp tablets, or paint yourself with iodine tincture :) Yesterday I took some kelp, and it really did help when I was feeling low.

But most importantly, you need to know what God says about this.

"You shall not be afraid... of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction tha] lays waste at noonday. " Psalm 91:4

Pestilence- plague or disease

"A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; [But] it shall not come near you." Psalm 91:7

But you must take refuge in God, you must dwell in His secret place and abide in the shelter of the Almighty. You must say with you mouth that the Lord is your refuge and that you trust in Him. God is bigger than any swine flu, He can keep you from getting sick and He will, you just have to believe on His Word no matter what you see or feel.