Today the Forum printed my letter to the editor. I usually don’t get riled up enough to write a letter. In fact, this is the first one I think I’ve ever written to the Forum. They very graciously published and it appeared today. It looked a little like this:
I have been waiting for someone in this area to come forth and address some alternate viewpoints on H1N1 besides the “you need to get the shot, we’ll try to get you your shot as soon as possible, even if the majority of you don’t want the shot.” There are other viewpoints to consider.
What bothers me the most is that there is little reporting on what can be done to prevent or lessen the effects of H1N1 (besides wash your hands and cover your mouth).
A recent Associated Press article in The Forum focused on all of the wild, weird, strange “cures” that are out there for the swine flu, but they left out many tried, tested and common-sense strategies, many of which focus on strengthening the immune system, which will prevent or lessen the effects of any illness, including H1N1.
These include vitamin D, vitamin C, echinacea, elderberry (Sambucol), oscillococcinum (used successfully throughout Europe for more than 20 years to lessen flu symptoms), silver biotics, vitamin E, getting plenty of rest, cutting down on sugar consumption (it weakens the immune system), maintaining a healthy body alkalinity, eating fresh, healthy food, de-stressing as much as possible, and getting plenty of fresh air and exercise. All of these can be researched, validated and tried with little worry of side effects or drug interaction difficulties.
Ionic foot baths, chiropractic, massage and acupuncture are all helpful healing modalities to check into as well. It’s not all or nothing, as most of the news would have it appear to be. Either you go with the way out, wacky “fake” stuff (as reported in the AP article), or you toe the party line and get your shots because someone tells you to. I’ve only listed a few other options - there are countless alternatives to vaccines and drugs.
I think it’s possible to practice discernment and trust our own instincts. We can ask ourselves if we think we need to get the vaccine. We can ask ourselves if it makes sense to us, given all of the information available (from several different sources, not just one-sided). We can take responsibility for our health and our lives, no longer finding it helpful to blindly listen to everything we’re told just because someone says they know better than we do.
Living a healthy, empowered life is more work than just taking a shot or a pill, but in the long run we’re creating healthy bodies that will serve us well for hopefully years to come.
And feeling in charge of your life and your health may make you feel less scared about H1N1, and any other illnesses, diseases or challenges that are out there.