Every week, I get emails forwarded and sent to me from
patients and doctors going on and on about the swine
flu and what to do for it. Most of the ones that
I read are from holistic practitioners offering practical
advice and holistic options for treating the flu.
In reality, they could probably just cut and paste
last year’s newsletter from this time of year and
resend it with a couple of updated name changes.
Every year, as we approach the “theoretical” flu season,
another new terrible threat arrives on the front
pages of newspapers and in the evening news. Billions
of dollars of taxpayer’s money is shipped overseas
to pharmaceutical companies and stockpiles of unnecessary,
ineffective vaccines that never get used go to waste.
One year it was the Avian
Flu that was going
to decimate the population. Another year, it was
the SARS
Flu that would leave thousands of people
dead in its wake. This year, it’s the Swine
Flu ,
which perhaps, we should rename the Mexican Flu,
as this seems to be the country of origin and the
only people who have really been affected by it.
And while we’re at it, shouldn’t we probably rename
the Spanish
Flu as the American Flu, just to give credit to the country
where it is believed to have first originated? After
all, the Asian Flu, Hong Kong Flu, and Russian Influenza
all got their proper due.
What no one tells is us is that most of these flues
have been around for decades. The Avian Flu of 2005
was first identified in Scottish chickens in 1959.
The Swine Flu actually broke out among soldiers at
Fort Dix in 1976, so it should be called the Fort
Dix Flu. Sorry, Mexico. The CDC has reported that
over 200 strains of viruses come to us from Asia
each year. Most of these viruses are associated with
chickens and pigs and passed onto humans at some
point along the way. In the end, outside of making
up for slow news days, does it really matter?
More and more, we humans are being identified as “Super-Organisms.”
The human body is made up of 10 trillion cells, and
the digestive tract contains over 100 trillion micro-organisms,
populated by over 5600 species of bacteria, virus,
mold, yeast, fungus, parasites and lesser, but no
less important, species. If a virus is lucky enough
to make it past your skin, mucous membranes, and
acid barriers, then it has to make it past 100 trillion
other organisms and their enzymes and secretions,
as well as millions and millions of immune cells.
And since 70% of the body’s immune system is in the
digestive tract, keeping the digestive tract balanced
will have the biggest impact on our overall health.
So what does it matter? Staying healthy and being attentive
and aware of our state of health at all times is
important. Involve yourself in exercising, relaxing,
meditating, eating nutritious foods, laughing, spending
time with others, and enjoying life. Take time to
detoxify the body periodically and correct imbalances
that may show up from living in a toxic world. If
you need to take something for a flu or cold, I would
recommend Immunocal,
Detox
Essentials,
Maitake
Extract,
and homeopathics from Heel
– Aconitum, Gripp, and Sinusin.
Mother Teresa said, “The biggest disease today is not
leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of
being unwanted.” Show someone that you care by sharing
this message and time with them. And if you feel
like wearing a big “S” on your chest, go ahead. You’re
quite the Super-Organism!
Dr. Jeffery McCombs, DC
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