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Did You Get The Flu This Year?

This is an informal poll conducted by a nosy, er, curious writer who used to get flu shots but gave them up two years ago. And no, I didn’t catch the flu – yet. Hopefully not at all. However, I know several people who got the shot and who now have the Lisbon 12 strain of flu not included in the vaccine. They’re not happy campers, believe me, and this strain seems to be a particularly long-lived one. My brother-in-law has been down for the count for over two weeks. His doctor told him it can hang on for a month. Yuck!

Are you one of those unlucky ones? How will this affect whether you get vaccinated next year?

After reading some of the ingredients that go into those vaccines, my hubby and I decided to go another route: boost our immune systems. Since most immunity originates in the gut, we take a probiotic every morning, eat lots of fresh veggies – steamed, raw or slow roasted – fruits, nuts, and nut butters, and, since we live in the cold north, take a vitamin D3 supplement to make up for lack of sunshine, and get our Omega 3s. We cut out white flour products, dairy, fried foods (well, except for the occasional french fry) and cut back on red meat. At first it was difficult, but now we don’t miss those items at all. Our energy levels have risen dramatically and we’re getting eight hours of deep sleep. Will it keep us from getting the flu? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, I sure do feel good.

And truthfully, after reading those tragic reports of the poor, sick cows being treated so inhumanely, I don’t even feel like eating red meat, mainly to protest the cruel treatment of those animals and hopefully to hurt the profit of the beef producers. They should be ashamed of themselves. Truly ashamed. I would like to wish that anyone involved could experience it firsthand. Painfully. If my child were in a school that used that meat, I’d be making some phone calls.

In the meantime, I’m going to increase my giving to the Humane Society of the United States so they can keep up the good work of being our watchdog for calamities such as that. It’s obvious that the government meat inspectors aren’t doing it.

Stay healthy!
Kate

13 Responses to “Did You Get The Flu This Year?”

Did I get a flu shot? Yes, since my immune system was severly depleted due to the Chemo. I haven’t gotten it yet, but my work is a breeding ground for the germs I think. I have felt bad a couple days like I was going to get sick but it went away. (Knock on wood.)

Kate I think its wonderful you are looking at your diet to boost your immune system. As Americans, I think we fall too quickly into the trap of looking at “disease” rather than lifestyle to fix our ills. I still don’t use added artificial sweeteners and fake fat because I believe they cause cancer, which is funny since I just went through the year of Breast Cancer.

I’m trying to add more veggies and drink more water not just to lose weight but to be healthier.

by Lynn on February 24th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Lynn, you’re right. We play catch up — waiting until we have something and then trying to cure it instead of trying to prevent it in the first place. (And if we prevented illness, how would big pharma make money?)

I totally agree about the artificial sweeteners and fats. Any food that is chemically altered is supsect to me. And from everything I’ve read, cancer feeds on sugar, so we’d be much safer and healthier if we just cut down on all those sweets (she said, clutching her dark chocolate bar to her breast) and got our sweet fix naturally. BTW, raw agave nectar is a good substitute for sugar in tea. Not as cloying as honey.

by Kate Collins on February 24th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Kate, I eat pretty much the same way you do and at 55 I’ve never felt better. It’s amazing how much I’ve changed what I eat over the last 3-4 years. And what I find the most interesting is how little I actually need to eat if I eat the right things. Haven’t had the flu in years and hopefully this healthy way of living will add a measure of protection in itself.

by Betty on February 24th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I have a multitude of health problems that are all on the “if you have such and such, you should get a flu shot” list. So, yes, I got mine. However, this season is so bad, I’m not getting out in public any more than absolutely necessary. I got the flu last year (even with the flu shot) and I have no desire to repeat the experience any time in the 30 or 40 years. *g*

by Tori Lennox on February 24th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Kate:
I’m still not at a point where I can cut out sugar or cut down on coffee. During chemo, sweets were the only food that tasted normal so that’s what I ate. So now it’s weaning off time again.

by Lynn on February 24th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Betty, like you, I’ve changed my diet drastically in the past 2 years and have never felt more energetic and fit — and full. I always avoided nuts, thinking they would make me fat. Boy, talk about a myth. Now I eat a mix every day, along with avocado and apple with almond butter in between meals - and I’m never hungry. I used to be ravenous about 11 a.m. and again around 4 p.m. to the point of feeling nauseated.

Tori, I wonder how many people get the flu shot and still get the flu. I’m sorry to hear you’re on the list of the “must haves” and hope you can work your way back to health.

Lynn, I’ve watched my mom and a friend deal with chemo and I totally understand about the appetite — or lack thereof. At that point, anything you can and want to eat is a good thing. Good luck weaning off. Try the agave nectar, too. It’s healthy and sweet!

by Kate Collins on February 24th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Thought you’d be interested in this short omega-3 video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIgNpsbvcVM

by susan allport on February 25th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Five years ago my husband was diagnosed as a Type II diabetic. At that point, we went to a nutrionist and since then we have totally altered our lifestyle to the point that he longer needs to take any medication. We are not quite 40 yet, but have never felt as healthy and energetic in our lives. What is a positive for us is that our 6 yr old son has grown up knowing this lifestyle and hopefully he can be the break in the chain that my husband and his family have of hereitary diabetes. We haven’t gotten a flu shot ever - any of us - and my husband and I have not had any flus or colds in about four years. Our son has gotten the typical sniffles here and there, especially since he started school this year. But even he rebounds very quickly and doesn’t really seem to get as sick as some of the kids around us have been.

by Cathy on February 25th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’ve never had the flu shot, and never had the flu. But I got it now and it sucks. I’m with you though, Kate–bolster the immunity system. I know how I got it–by just running down because of taking care of sick kids with it and trying to get other stuff done.

I am with you on the meat too. There are some very scary things going on with meat in this country. I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but if the govt. was on the up and up with what our meat is filled with then no one would eat it. And, the inhumane treatment of these gentle animals horrifies me. The cruelty of man always amazes me. I don’t get it. I really don’t.

Michele

by Michele on February 25th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I had the flu once several years ago and it was a fate worse than death in my book, so I always get the flu shot. I’m not saying I WANT to get it since I’m terrified of needles, but I do. I lucked out this year. I’ve been going to my local doctor for a few years now instead of the clinic I used to go to 45 minutes away. I have been begging the woman who gives the shots and does the blood work (I’m convinced all doctors and their employees are vampires) to give me the shots in my leg since I can’t feel anything there. She always refuses and insists that she has to give me all shots in my arm. Nice woman, but she’s wrong there…blood work, yes, other shots, no. The last time I had an appointment, someone else was giving the flu shots. I asked her if she’d give it to me in my leg, and she agreed. I was SO happy!

Oh, and a P.S. that I have to share even though it is a bit off topic, but still about shots. I have to share this. I had to have blood work done recently (before the flu shot). I am convinced I experienced divine intervention. At the exact moment the blood sucker was about to poke me with that dagger…um..needle…a nurse came in with a woman and her baby to weigh the baby. I’m convinced God sent that baby to distract me from the pain of the needle.

by Traci on February 26th, 2008 at 4:35 am
I can’t agree with you more about those poor cows. The video I saw on the news made me absolutely sick. The first thing I said is those people should be treated the same way someday when they get sick and crippled. There is just no excuse for such treatment.

by Melissa on February 26th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Kate,

I read a few books of Michael Pollan’s about the food system lately, and have been changing my ways and buying meat from small farmers when possible. Those big factory farms are a nightmare, aren’t they?

And no flu yet; we had the vaccine, but that’s no guarantee. Fingers crossed!

by Karen on February 27th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I just watched Susan Allport’s Youtube video. Wow. What an eye-opener. If you haven’t seen it yet, check the link in her comment. It’s short and amazing.

Thanks, Susan, for sharing that!

by Kate Collins on February 28th, 2008 at 11:40 am

Did You Get The Flu This Year?

13 Responses to “Did You Get The Flu This Year?”

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