Health & Fitness

While the drug industry is quick to claim that anyone questioning its integrity is part of a “war against science,” the evidence of industry malfeasance is simply too great and too disturbing to ignore.

From my perspective, the drug industry itself is to blame for the public’s dwindling confidence in scientific findings. Loss of confidence is a natural result when lie after lie is unearthed, and there’s been no shortage of scientific scandals to shake public confidence in recent years.

One researcher who has helped expose industry bias in research is professor Peter Gøtzsche, a Danish physician-researcher who in 1993 co-founded the Cochrane Collaboration and later launched the Nordic Cochrane Centre.

Cochrane publishes hundreds of scientific reviews each year, looking at what works and what doesn’t, and was for decades considered the gold standard for independent scientific meta-reviews.

The organization’s reputation remained remarkably unblemished all the way up until 2018, when Gøtzsche and Cochrane-affiliated researchers Lars Jørgensen and Tom Jefferson published a scathing critique of Cochrane’s review of the HPV vaccine,¹ pointing out methodological flaws and conflicts of interest.

Gøtzsche was subsequently expelled by the Cochrane governing board (although the board insists his removal from the board was due to “repeated misuse of official letterhead to espouse personal views” and had nothing to do with his criticism of Cochrane’s HPV review²). Four board members (Gerald Gartlehner, David Hammerstein Mintz, Joerg Meerpohl and Nancy Santesso) resigned in protest of Gotzsche’s removal from the Cochrane governing board.³

In a three-page letter⁴ to the Nordic Cochrane Centre, Gøtzsche addressed his expulsion and questioned the path Cochrane’s leadership has chosen in recent years, noting “the central executive team of Cochrane has failed to activate adequate safeguards … to assure sufficient policies in the fields of epistemology, ethics and morality.”

Cochrane Founder Highlights Corrupted Flu Vaccine Research

In a February 9, 2020, tweet, Gøtzsche wrote:⁵ “Cochrane corruption. A Cochrane review did not find that flu shots reduce deaths … ‘After invitation from Cochrane,’ a financially conflicted person ‘re-arranged’ the data and vaccines reduced deaths. They don’t …”

This information, he says, is included in his new book, “Vaccines: Truth, Lies and Controversy.” Indeed, in years’ past, Cochrane has repeatedly found flu vaccinations are ineffective and have no appreciable effect on influenza-related hospitalizations and mortality. For example:

Its 2006 systematic review6 of 51 studies involving 263,987 children, which sought to “appraise all comparative studies evaluating the effects of influenza vaccines in healthy children; assess vaccine efficacy (prevention of confirmed influenza) and effectiveness (prevention of influenza-like illness)” found: “Live vaccines showed an efficacy of 79% and an effectiveness of 33% in children older than two years compared with placebo or no intervention. Inactivated vaccines had a lower efficacy of 59% than live vaccines but similar effectiveness: 36%. In children under two, the efficacy of inactivated vaccine was similar to placebo.”

Cochrane’s 2010 review7 of 50 influenza vaccine studies found that: “In the relatively uncommon circumstance of vaccine matching the viral circulating strain and high circulation, 4% of unvaccinated people versus 1% of vaccinated people developed influenza symptoms … Vaccination had a modest effect on time off work and had no effect on hospital admissions … Inactivated vaccines caused local harms and an estimated 1.6 additional cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome per million vaccinations … There is no evidence that they affect complications, such as pneumonia, or transmission.” This review also included the following notice: “WARNING: This review includes 15 out of 36 trials funded by industry (four had no funding declaration). An earlier systematic review of 274 influenza vaccine studies published up to 2007 found industry funded studies were published in more prestigious journals and cited more than other studies independently from methodological quality and size. Studies funded from public sources were significantly less likely to report conclusions favorable to the vaccines. The review showed that reliable evidence on influenza vaccines is thin but there is evidence of widespread manipulation of conclusions and spurious notoriety of the studies. The content and conclusions of this review should be interpreted in light of this finding.”

Cochrane’s 2010 review8 of 75 studies of vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly concluded that: “Due to the general low quality of non-RCTs and the likely presence of biases, which make interpretation of these data difficult and any firm conclusions potentially misleading, we were unable to reach clear conclusions about the effects of the vaccines in the elderly.”

Cochrane’s 2018 review9 of 52 clinical studies on vaccines for preventing influenza in adults, including pregnant women, found only 15% of the studies were well-designed and conducted. Based on 25 studies that looked at inactivated influenza vaccines, Cochrane concluded they have only a minor protective effect against influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI), noting: “Inactivated influenza vaccines probably reduce influenza in healthy adults from 2.3% without vaccination to 0.9% and they probably reduce ILI from 21.5% to 18.1% … 71 healthy adults need to be vaccinated to prevent one of them experiencing influenza, and 29 healthy adults need to be vaccinated to prevent one of them experiencing an ILI … We identified one RCT and one controlled clinical trial assessing the effects of vaccination in pregnant women. The efficacy of inactivated vaccine containing pH1N1 against influenza was 50% in mothers (NNV [number needed to vaccinate] 55), and 49% in infants up to 24 weeks (NNV 56). No data were available on efficacy against seasonal influenza during pregnancy. Evidence from observational studies showed effectiveness of influenza vaccines against ILI in pregnant women to be 24% (NNV 94), and against influenza in newborns from vaccinated women to be 41%.”

In its 2018 review10 of 41 clinical trials on live and inactivated vaccines for preventing influenza in children, they found: “Compared with placebo or do nothing, live attenuated influenza vaccines probably reduce the risk of influenza infection in children aged 3 to 16 years from 18% to 4%, and they may reduce ILI by a smaller degree, from 17% to 12% … Seven children would need to be vaccinated to prevent one case of influenza, and 20 children would need to be vaccinated to prevent one child experiencing an ILI … Compared with placebo or no vaccination, inactivated vaccines reduce the risk of influenza in children aged 2 to 16 years from 30% to 11%, and they probably reduce ILI from 28% to 20%. Five children would need to be vaccinated to prevent one case of influenza, and 12 children would need to be vaccinated to avoid one case of ILI … Adverse event data were not well described in the available studies. Standardized approaches to the definition, ascertainment, and reporting of adverse events are needed.”

Two States Rejecting Big Pharma's Vaccine Mandates

In recent years, medical freedom has come under intense attack. In state after state, vaccine makers and their lobbyists have rammed through legislation that implements forced vaccination by eliminating vaccine exemptions. People in California, New York, Washington and Maine all lost vaccine exemptions last year, as detailed in the National Vaccine Information Center’s annual state legislation report “Vaccine Exemptions Under Attack in 2019.”

Although 4 states lost vaccine exemptions last year, exemptions were protected from removal in 22 other states by the active participation of vaccine choice advocates who educated legislators about why it is important to have flexible medical, religious and conscience exemptions in vaccine laws.

In New Jersey, bill S2173 was halted in the Senate, both in December 2019 and again in January 2020, due to persistent public protests against the bill proposing to eliminate the religious belief vaccine exemption.^11,12,13

The fact that New Jersey managed to thwart this broad attack on freedom is an encouraging sign. Never underestimate the power of the people! The key is numbers — you have to actually take action by contacting your legislators ahead of time to communicate your concerns about a bill you oppose (or support) and showing up at public hearings and on days when votes are taken in your state Capitol.

Thousands of individuals gathered in hallways and outside the Capitol building in Trenton in protest of S2173 on multiple occasions, and it was undoubtedly the sheer size of the opposition that greatly helped to defeat the bill that many considered to be an attack on religious freedom.

Another ray of light shines brightly in Maine. While the state legislature repealed the religious and philosophical belief vaccine exemptions in May 2019 by passing LD 798, residents rapidly succeeded in collecting more than enough signatures of registered voters to get an opportunity to repeal the new vaccine law, and it is now referendum Question 1 on the March 3 ballot.¹⁴

So, March 3, 2020, residents will have the opportunity to go to the polls to repeal LD 798 and reinstate religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions by voting YES on referendum Question 1.¹⁵ As noted by RejectBigPharma.com:¹⁶

Why Everyone Needs to Support Maine’s ‘Yes on 1’

It’s important to realize that a victory in Maine would be a victory for all states, as it would set a crucial precedent. The good news is that it’s far easier to win in a state with a small population like Maine because there are fewer people to educate, which means less money is required for advertising.

Maine has an advertising saturation point of about $3 million, meaning if you spend $3 million, you will reach a majority of residents and further advertising will not make a significant difference.

Since Maine will be the first state to put government vaccine mandates and repeal of exemptions to a popular vote, it’s important to support Maine’s Yes On 1 campaign regardless of where in the United States you live. By helping them succeed, they will set a precedent for other states to follow.

As of February 6, 2020, the “Yes on 1 Reject Big Pharma” campaign had raised just over $300,000.¹⁷ The campaign needs to raise at least $1 million to stand a chance against the vaccine industry’s deep pockets. So, please, make a donation to this campaign today!

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Of course, if you’re a registered voter in Maine, you can cast a YES vote on March 3, 2020, to restore vaccine exemptions in your state.

Also remember to register to become a user of the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal, operated by the National Vaccine Information Center, to stay up to date on vaccine-related bills that are moving in your state this year, including bills proposing to take away (or expand) your right to obtain a vaccine exemption for yourself or your child.

The NVIC Advocacy Portal also provides access to bill analyses and talking points that you can use to educate your legislators about what the bills will mean to you and your family.

Pharma-Led Opposition Cranks Out Misleading Ads

To win, it’s crucial we make sure Maine’s Yes on 1 campaign gets the funding it needs. Make no mistake, the opposition has no financial constraints, as it is led and supported by the drug industry itself.

Ironically, the opposition is accusing the “Yes on 1: Reject Big Pharma” campaign of misleading voters, saying the drug industry has nothing to do with the removal of vaccine exemptions, and doesn’t make any money on vaccines.

In reality, vaccines are a primary profit driver for the drug industry.¹⁸ Merck, which is just one of several vaccine makers, reported over $6.1 billion in sales of their childhood vaccines during the first three quarters of 2019 alone.¹⁹

A January 2020 vaccine market report²⁰ states the global vaccine market was worth $41.7 billion as of 2019, and is estimated to hit $58.4 billion by 2024. One of the factors attributed to this rapid growth is “the rising focus on immunization.” Anyone thinking this focus isn’t manufactured by the drug industry itself is fooling themselves.

What’s more, as reported by Yes on 1 at a February 11, 2020, press conference, “No on 1” has already spent $476,000 on just three weeks’ worth of television ads. Yet the opposition — which claims to be a grassroots organization without any pharma funding or connections — report raising only $56,000 in donations. So, where did the rest of it magically come from? At the press conference, a spokeswoman for the Yes on 1 campaign revealed the obvious truth:

“As reported in the Bangor Daily, Bobby Reynolds, spokesman for the ‘No’ campaign … answered this question when he announced that the massive ad buys were funded by — wait for it — vaccine manufacturers.²¹ Let that sink in.

After months of denying any connection to Big Pharma, the No on 1 campaign yesterday admitted that they were funded by Big Pharma themselves — the very vaccine manufacturers whose products would be mandated under this law.”

Eliminating Exemptions Is a Big Pharma Business Strategy

Of course, vaccine makers have enormously deep pockets, which is how many of these laws are getting passed in the first place. One of the reasons they have so much money to spend on lobbying for the removal of vaccine exemptions is because they don’t have to pay for the damage their products cause.

As noted by Dr. Meryl Nass in a February 11, 2020, post on CentralMaine.com, in support of referendum Question 1:²²

“Pharmaceutical companies face no lawsuits for vaccine injuries, so long as their vaccine has been added to the childhood schedule by CDC. Pharmaceutical companies don’t need to advertise required vaccines, since the government mandates them and 94% of Maine children already receive them.

But the industry wants 100% guaranteed uptake, because it is about to roll out a number of new vaccines. The 21st Century Cures Act, passed in 2016, abbreviated the process for testing, licensing and adding vaccines to the childhood schedule. Over 200 vaccines are currently in development.

How many of those vaccines will be required over the next few years is anybody’s guess. There is a huge financial incentive to having your vaccine placed on the childhood schedule by the CDC: no liability for injuries. The right to choose which vaccines your child receives will disappear unless referendum Question 1 passes.”

No-Liability Industry Has No Right to Influence Policy

At the press conference (see video above), Yes on 1 also clarified the opposition’s deceptive message that Yes on 1 would “repeal Maine’s vaccine law.” This is a wildly inaccurate statement.

Yes on 1 simply repeals LD 798, i.e., the law that removes religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions, thus restoring Maine’s vaccine law to what it was before. In other words, certain vaccines will still be required for school attendance, but you will have the right to opt out by claiming a religious or philosophical exemption to one or more of those vaccines — just as you did before LD 798 was written into law.

“The Yes on 1 campaign is, and always been, about speaking truth to power … The truth is that mandate laws like this one have nothing to do with public health, and everything to do with Big Pharma profit, Big Pharma control, and Big Pharma deception,” Yes on 1 says.²³

“While this law [LD 798] masquerades as a public health issue, there’s no evidence it would do anything to improve outbreaks of vaccine targeted disease in schools. Countless cases across the country have shown that these diseases occur in fully vaccinated populations …

Why do we care about Big Pharma’s involvement? Because, a hated industry with no liability, no reason to improve the safety of its products, and an ever growing and aggressive schedule, should not be allowed to influence policy to mandate these very products.”

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In February 2020, a 4-year-old boy from Colorado tragically died from complications from influenza. NBC News then posted a defamatory news piece about the boy’s death, full of false allegations against the boy’s mother.¹

Outrageously, the NBC News piece, written by Brandy Zadrozny, does not include any direct quotes from the family, and it’s reported that she did not interview the boy’s parents, but rather relied on Facebook postings and a GoFundMe page for the details.

In fact, the NBC News article states “the mother did not respond to a request for comment,” and added, “NBC News verified the posts by cross-referencing them with a fundraising page set up by the family, along with published news reports quoting the family.”² The problem with this is that Zadrozny’s article blames the boy’s grieving mother for his death because of posts she made on Facebook relating to the drug Tamiflu.

“On Facebook, anti-vaxxers urged a mom not to give her son Tamiflu. He later died,” NBC stated, adding, “Online groups that routinely traffic in anti-vaccination propaganda have become a resource for people seeking out a wide variety of medical information,” and “Boy dies after anti-vaxxers urge mom not to give him Tamiflu.”³

These statements are misleading on many levels and, as CNS News noted, it’s possible the news outlet could be facing a defamation lawsuit as a result.⁴

NBC News Uses Boy’s Death to Slam ‘Anti-Vaxxer’ Groups

The focus of the NBC News article are posts made by the boy’s mother to a Facebook group called, “Stop Mandatory Vaccination.” There, she reportedly asked for advice, stating her doctor had prescribed the influenza medicine Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for everyone in her household because two of her four children had been diagnosed with flu.

The posts suggest that she decided not to pick up the prescription, but no further reporting was done to find out if she did or did not ultimately give the medication.

Posts from the Facebook group’s members included suggestions of natural remedies, but as Zadrozny wrote, “None of the 45 comments on the mother’s Facebook post suggested medical attention. The child was eventually hospitalized and died four days later,” which implies there was somehow a connection between the Facebook comments and the boy’s death — a grossly misleading journalistic leap.⁵

Not only did Zadrozny’s article incite death threats and calls for prison time and execution against the boy’s mother, but, as CNS News reported, “Lost in all of these crazed point-and-sputter diatribes were some pertinent, pesky facts.”⁶ This includes the glaring omission of not interviewing the family.

It’s unclear whether or not the family chooses to vaccinate their children and what type of medical interventions occurred before the boy’s death. However, it’s stated on the family’s GoFundMe page that the boy seemed normal, but suddenly passed out after a bath.

After calling 911, he was airlifted to a children’s hospital. A GoFundMe post that has since been deleted originally said the child had “an anoxic brain injury related to a seizure that may have occurred from a fever or from him losing his airway.”⁷ Only once he was in the hospital was the boy tested for influenza and found to be positive for influenza B and parainfluenza.

Still, the NBC News article focuses on Tamiflu and suggests the mother chose not to give it based off Facebook posts. However, when speaking with the local CBS Denver news station, the boy’s mother stated, “We called the doctors. We called the hospital. We gave them the medicine we were instructed to give. We did everything.”⁸

Tamiflu Shortens Flu by Only 16 Hours

Painting Tamiflu as the solution to stopping deaths from influenza is also misleading, as the drug has been found to shorten the duration of flu symptoms by less than a day, specifically, by just 16.8 hours, and did not affect the number of hospitalizations, according to a BMJ review.⁹

What’s more, the drug is said to inhibit the replication of the influenza virus, acting as an antiviral medication, but a Cochrane Review of the data on both Tamiflu and Relenza (zanamivir), another antiviral drug, noted that the drugmakers’ proposed mechanism of action, which suggests the drugs work via a multisystem and central action, does not fit with the clinical evidence they reviewed.

Any beneficial effects of the drug may have occurred due to lowering levels of proinflammatory cytokines or via depressing the central nervous system, the review found.¹⁰

It should be noted, too, that a whistleblower lawsuit has been filed against drugmaker Roche, alleging the company made false claims and misrepresented studies, causing the U.S. government to stockpile $1.5 billion of its influenza medicine Tamiflu (oseltamivir).¹¹

The lawsuit, which was unsealed in September 2019, alleges Roche duped the U.S. government into stockpiling Tamiflu while mispresenting its effectiveness. According to the Houston-based Lanier Law Firm, which filed the suit:

“The lawsuit claims the drugmaker’s scheme involved publishing misleading articles falsely stating that Tamiflu reduces complications, severity, hospitalizations, mortality and transmission of influenza. The company then used those articles to aggressively market the drug to the government for pandemic use.”¹²

In a BMJ editorial, Mark Ebell, professor of epidemiology at the University of Georgia, even described a multisystem failure that allowed Tamiflu to become a blockbuster medication.¹³

Examples of systemwide failures that let Tamiflu slip through regulatory cracks included a failure to publish all available evidence and make that data available at the individual patient level, along with a failure of recognizing the limitations inherent to observational data.

Considering the long-standing studies questioning Tamiflu’s effectiveness and safety, implying that a mother is at fault for her child’s death from influenza complications because she did not give Tamiflu is not only cruel but illogical.

Teen Girl Dies After Receiving Tamiflu

In deciding whether or not to take a medication, or give it to your child, the benefits must outweigh the risks. With Tamiflu, this is highly questionable. In exchange for reducing the duration of flu symptoms by 16.8 hours, Tamiflu causes nausea and vomiting and increases the risk of headaches and renal and psychiatric syndromes.¹⁴

Further, the NBC News article blatantly suggests that the Colorado boy died from flu because the mother, at the behest of “anti-vaxxers,” did not give the boy Tamiflu. But taking Tamiflu is not a guarantee of survival.

In Virginia, a 16-year-old girl died after being diagnosed with influenza B and going into cardiac arrest. She had received a flu shot¹⁵ and taken Tamiflu, vomited several times over the course of a few days, likely due to Tamiflu’s side effects, but sadly succumbed to the flu anyway.¹⁶

A 16-year-old girl from Ohio also died from influenza B in December 2019 despite taking Tamiflu.¹⁷ Others have also died due to psychiatric symptoms caused by the drug itself. Tamiflu and Relenza are part of a group of anti-influenza drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors, which work by blocking a viral enzyme that helps the influenza virus to invade cells in your respiratory tract.

The problem is that your nervous system also contains neuraminidase enzymes essential for proper brain functioning, and when blocked with these dangerous drugs, severe neurotoxicity may ensue, especially in the infants and children whose blood-brain barrier has not yet developed sufficiently.

One 6-year-old girl in Texas had hallucinations while taking Tamiflu and even tried to jump out of a second story window.¹⁸ A 16-year-old boy with no prior suicidal thoughts or depression committed suicide less than 24 hours after taking the drug, which his parents believe is what caused the suicide.¹⁹

Japan banned the use of Tamiflu in children and teens in 2007, after cases of teenagers trying to jump from apartment building windows while taking the drug. In 2018, the country lifted the ban, but still said the relationship between Tamiflu and the unusual actions is unclear and patients should be warned of such side effects.²⁰

Natural Methods for Flu Prevention

It’s undeniably tragic when a child dies from any disease, including complications from influenza. While health officials state that getting vaccinated is your best defense against this infection, during the 2018-2019 flu season, the vaccine failed to offer any protection more than half of the time, and for adults over 50, it was more or less useless, offering a mere 24% effectiveness rate against all influenza types.²¹

During the 2019-2020 season as well, the flu vaccine is not a perfect match. A survey of early season infections in Louisiana revealed unusual influenza B activity.

Eighty-three influenza B viruses were sequenced from 198 patients, revealing that 98% belonged to influenza B/Victoria V1A.3 subclade, while only one of the viruses belonged to subclade V1A.1, which, according to the CDC, “is the subclade of the influenza B/Victoria component (B/Colorado/06/2017) found in the 2019 to 2020 Northern Hemisphere vaccine.”²²

Everyone should strive to bolster their health during flu season to stay healthy, and one way to do this is by eating a keto diet, which reduced the number of times flu symptoms appeared in an animal study.²³

The association between low vitamin D levels and influenza has also been recognized for some time,²⁴ so be sure to optimize your levels to between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 and 200 nmol/L). Vitamin D testing and optimization has been shown to cut your risk of respiratory infections, including colds and flu, in half if you are vitamin D deficient.^25,26

Nutrients that support healthy immune function include zinc and vitamin C, so make sure to include these in your diet on a daily basis. Should a cold or flu strike, you may be able to significantly cut its duration and severity using either high-dose vitamin C or D (or a combination of both, short-term) and/or zinc lozenges. Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is also a powerful antiviral that “exhibits multiple modes of therapeutic action against influenza infection.”²⁷

Following other basic tenets of health, like eating right, getting sound sleep, exercising and addressing stress are also important, as is regularly washing your hands. Even simple interventions like changing the humidity levels in your home can reduce the survival of influenza virus in the air.²⁸

During flu season, and all year long, following a healthy lifestyle will support your immune system — your body’s best defense against infections like influenza. Meanwhile, remain vigilant when hearing sensationalized stories surrounding the flu like the once posted by NBC News — and be sure you have all the facts before making a judgment one way or the other.

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Delaware is the first state in the U.S. to pass a bill that would allow titers to be given in lieu of rabies vaccines for certain dogs, cats and ferrets. An antibody titer measures the concentration of antibodies in the blood produced after an inflammatory response to vaccination. Measuring the number of antibodies present is used to certify that a person or animal is immune to a specific antigen or virus.

If enough antibodies are present after recovering from the natural disease or being previously vaccinated, it can be used as “proof” of immunity to that disease. The Delaware bill — Maggie’s Vaccine Protection Act, formally known as House Bill 214 — was initiated by Al Casapulla, a businessman who lost his shih tzu, Maggie, due to over-vaccination.¹

Rabies vaccine requirements vary by state, but many require mandatory vaccinations, regardless of the health status of the pet. Although a few states, such as Illinois, Maine and New Hampshire, allow animals to be exempted from rabies vaccines if it would compromise their health, many other states have no exemptions to vaccinations.²

Once the bill is signed into law, Delaware will become the first state to accept a rabies titer in lieu of the shot. It will allow veterinarians to complete a titer on their pet patients and decide whether or not a rabies vaccination is necessary.

The bill reads, “This Act enables licensed veterinarians to exempt an animal from the mandated rabies vaccination, if the veterinarian determines, based on their professional judgement, that the vaccine would endanger the animal's health and a titer test may be administered to assist in determining the necessity of the vaccine.”³

Pet Vaccine Bills Aims to Protect Dogs From Over-Vaccination

Maggie’s Vaccine Protection Act passed the Delaware General Assembly by a unanimous vote.⁴ Casapulla told Coastal Point that the bill’s passing is the culmination of years of work aimed at protecting animals from the harms of over-vaccination:⁵

“I have been working on this bill since she [Maggie] died … My passion to see this through was more than the passion I had when I started my business, because I knew if this gets passed we would be saving the lives of so many innocent animals and allowing vets to use their discretion on making legal, educated exemptions … Maggie will be saving lives long after I am gone.”

The support for the bill was strong among legislators, including state Rep. Ruth Briggs King, who said pet owners and veterinarians should have the ultimate say on whether pets need vaccines, instead of them being forced into it due to the law.

“These are responsible pet owners,” she told Coastal Point, “so we are hopeful this time it’s going to move through. This is the second session for it, on the second legislature it’s been through.”⁶ Similarly, Sen. Gerald Hocker stated:⁷

“I feel it’s a good bill. It corrects something I wasn’t aware of. Vaccinations will be based on the health of the dog. Who better than the veterinarian to decide, depending on the health of the dog? Constituent Al Casapulla, who lost his dog, spent several hours working with vets.”

The Irony of Granting Pets Greater Rights Than People

The passage of Delaware’s House Bill 214 is excellent news for frequently over-vaccinated pets — something veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker writes about often — but the irony is glaring. Why can state legislators recognize the risks of applying one-size-fits-all vaccine mandates to pets, but overlook the same risks when applying vaccine schedules to people, especially infants and children?

Today we know, for instance, that some children, like those with mitochondrial disorders, are at increased risk from vaccinations, but efforts aren’t being made to identify these children to prevent unnecessary harm. Further, an individual’s response to a vaccine is influenced by many factors.

Gut microbes may help determine immune response to vaccines, for starters. In one study, infants who responded to the rotavirus vaccine had a higher diversity of microbes in their gut, as well as more microbes from the Proteobacteria group, than infants who did not mount the expected immune response.^8,9

Likewise, in a study by Nikolaj Orntoft and colleagues, researchers looked into changes in gene expression after diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccination in African girls to see which genes might be upregulated or downregulated (basically “turned on” or “turned off”).¹⁰ What they found is that there's really no way to predict which genes will be affected.

So, not only will each individual have a unique response to any given vaccine based on their age, current health status and microbial makeup, but each is also epigenetically predisposed to respond differently in terms of the side effects they might develop. You can see, then, how vaccine mandates may turn out to be health disasters for some children and adults, just as they are for some pets.

Combo Vaccines Risk Highest Reactions

Also at odds with human medicine are discussions by veterinarians suggesting that giving pets multiple vaccines at once may be dangerous, especially for smaller animals. Dr. W. Jean Dodds, founder of Hemopet Blood Bank, told Veterinary Practice News all the way back in 2009 that the frequency of vaccinations is heavily debated, with some suggesting that giving core vaccines every three years or every year is outdated.

“Few veterinarians are proactive about discussing the options clients have in protecting their pets against disease,” Dodds said. “The industry promotes more vaccines and veterinarians feel comfortable telling clients they’re necessary. Often, technicians have vaccines prepared before the doctor even examines the animal. Many vets don’t know how to handle titers or don’t want to bother with them.” What’s more, she noted:¹¹

“When vaccines are needed, they shouldn’t be given at the same site or at the same exam. Banfield Animal Health released two papers on this topic saying animals weighing less than 20 pounds and receiving combo vaccines are at the highest risk of vaccine reaction, yet few DVMs arrange separate visits as a precaution.”

In humans, however, multiple vaccinations are regularly given at the same time to infants and children — including multiple combination vaccines in one visit.

The fact is, all vaccines need to be carefully evaluated not only individually for long-term safety, but also for synergistic toxicity when the vaccine is given in combination with other vaccines and given repeatedly over a period of time, as well as given to people of varying ages and sizes — premature infants included.

For instance, among unvaccinated premature infants, no link to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) was found. However, a significant link between vaccinations and NDD was detected, regardless of whether the child was premature or full-term.

The combination of preterm birth with vaccination was associated with a 660% increased odds of NDD,¹² suggesting a synergistic effect and a need to fully research whether it’s safe to vaccinate premature infants.

‘Individual Situations’ Taken Into Account for Livestock

Again in the case of livestock, discussions are underway into whether or not to vaccinate very young calves, as many factors influence the outcome.

An article in Beef magazine, for instance, suggested that age and colostrum intake should be taken into account when deciding when to vaccinate, as calves that get colostrum may have higher levels of maternal antibodies. Chris Chase, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, South Dakota State University, told the magazine:

“In the 2-week old calf, there are two things you need to be concerned about. One is age, the other is colostrum intake.

Typically, even in a calf that got no colostrum [and no maternal antibodies to interfere with building its own immunity], the response for making antibodies [when vaccinated early] is not great under 3 weeks of age. If they have higher levels of maternal antibodies than the older calves, they also may not respond [to vaccination].”¹³

Chase went on to explain that when calves were vaccinated at two or three days old, then challenged with disease seven months later, 20% still got sick. But waiting to vaccinate until the calves were three to four weeks of age led to a better outcome, with less than 5% getting sick. Even then, however, age is only one factor, and he stressed the need to look into individual situations:¹⁴

“Age at vaccination is a big factor, but it all goes back to individual situations. If someone is having trouble with summer pneumonia, we’d have to say the vaccine at a young age [several weeks old] probably doesn’t hurt them, but how much good it actually does those calves may be minimal.

Then it goes back to colostral intake and whether it was low, and we still have the issue that they are young when you are giving the vaccine. A person can work with their own herd health veterinarian and take a look at what is going on in their particular situation, and figure out what to be most concerned about.”

Why Are Livestock and Pets Treated Better Than People?

Animals deserve to have their health put first when it comes to medical procedures like vaccinations, but people deserve to be able to exercise a more precautionary approach to vaccination as well. Unfortunately, these same commonsense approaches that are sometimes afforded to animals, in terms of evaluating individual risk factors when choosing whether or not to vaccinate, are not typically given to people.

Today, many doctors are not just strongly promoting vaccination, they are threatening to deny medical care to children and adults if all vaccinations recommended by health officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are not given on the federally recommended schedule.

Children may be vaccinated when sick, for instance, or kidney patients on dialysis given vaccinations upon arrival at a hospital, even before a diagnosis had been given or a doctor had approved of the shots.

Dr. Suzanne Humphries, author of “Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and the Forgotten History,” is a nephrologist who has raised similar concerns, suggesting that vaccines may not be safe for people with chronic conditions like kidney failure, or for babies, who have reduced kidney function compared to adults.

As Humphries said in a video, "We're very careful as nephrologists when treating babies because the kidney functions of babies isn't the same as adults — it's vastly reduced. But when it comes to vaccines, this reduced kidney function in infants is always left out of the discussion."

It’s no wonder why, in an online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association, 45% said they had doubts about vaccine safety.¹⁵ Unfortunately, vaccine exemptions are increasingly under attack.

The ability to make informed, voluntary vaccine choices for yourself and your children must be protected, because vaccines are not a one-size-fits-all-solution, nor is the U.S. public as a whole a one-size-fits-all population. It’s time that this became widely accepted for humans, just as it’s starting to be acknowledged for pets and livestock.

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These pre and post filming photo comparisons of the 2020 MAFS brides might surprise you.

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George Hood could possibly have abs of steel after officially breaking the Guinness World Record for longest abdominal plank held.

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With National Tidy Day quickly apporaching, IKEA Australia has launched their first-ever ASMR video to trigger your tingles. 

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Did you know 1 in 3 people don’t get enough of this all-important nutrient? Dietitian Melissa Meier reveals the foods that prevent magnesium deficiency.   

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In the quest to develop more effective treatments for parasitic diseases, scientists look for weaknesses in the organisms' molecular machinery. Researchers recently contributed to that understanding by discovering the function of a specific protein in the three related parasites that cause African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis -- diseases that are sometimes fatal and afflict millions worldwide.

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Researchers have developed a new, inexpensive technology that could save lives and money by routinely screening women for breast cancer without exposure to radiation. The system uses harmless microwaves and artificial intelligence (AI) software to detect even small, early-stage tumors within minutes.

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Neuroscientists have developed a new method that permits continuous regulation of eye pressure without damage, becoming the first to definitively prove pressure in the eye is sufficient to cause and explain glaucoma.

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In search of new ways to sequence human genomes and read critical alterations in DNA, researchers say they have successfully used the gene cutting tool CRISPR to make cuts in DNA around lengthy tumor genes, which can be used to collect sequence information.

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Using Salmonella enterica genomes recovered from human skeletons as old as 6,500 years, an international team of researchers illustrates the evolution of a human pathogen and provides the first ancient DNA evidence in support of the hypothesis that the cultural transition from foraging to farming facilitated the emergence of human-adapted pathogens that persist until today.

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Modern anticancer therapies aim to attack tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. A team of researchers has now produced tiny nanoparticles that are designed to specifically target cancer cells. They can navigate directly to the tumor cells and visualize those using advanced imaging techniques. Both in Petri dishes and animal models, the scientists were able to effectively guide the nanoparticles to the cancer cells. The next step is to combine the new technique with therapeutic approaches.

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A new study shows that visual rehabilitation is effective for patients who have suffered vision loss related to stroke or traumatic brain injury.

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Different types of food are linked to risks of different types of stroke, according to the largest study to investigate this. The study of more than 418,000 people in nine European countries investigated ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke separately.

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Different types of food are linked to risks of different types of stroke, according to the largest study to investigate this. The study of more than 418,000 people in nine European countries investigated ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke separately.

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For decades, researchers have suggested a link between oral health and inflammatory diseases affecting the entire body -- in particular, heart attacks and strokes. Results of a randomized pilot trial of Plaque HD®, the first toothpaste that identifies plaque so that it can be removed with directed brushing, showed that it produced a statistically significant reduction in C-reactive protein, a sensitive marker for future risks of heart attacks and strokes, among those with elevations at baseline.

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Experts believe that tuberculosis, or TB, has been a scourge for humans for some 15,000 years, with the first medical documentation of the disease coming out of India around 1000 B.C.E. Today, the World Health Organization reports that TB is still the leading cause of death worldwide from a single infectious agent, responsible for some 1.5 million fatalities annually.

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Following the recent withdrawal of standardized assessments, children with intellectual disabilities at special schools in the UK are again being treated differently to children at mainstream schools, says a new study.

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Researchers have found a specific bacterial profile in the gut of people with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a chronic and progressive disease that causes constriction of arteries in the lungs. The unique bacterial profile predicted pulmonary arterial hypertension with 83% accuracy.

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According to the most comprehensive global analysis^1,2,3 done to date, sepsis is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide each year, killing 11 million out of 56 million people in 2017 alone. The researchers call the finding “alarming,” as their updated figures are double that of previous estimates.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition triggered by a systemic infection that causes your body to overreact and launch an excessive and highly damaging immune response.

Unless promptly diagnosed and treated, it can rapidly progress to multiple-organ failure and death, so it’s crucial to be on the lookout for its signs and symptoms^4,5,6 whenever you’re ill or in the hospital.

This includes cases of suspected influenza, as sepsis can mimic many of the signs and symptoms of flu. In fact, as discussed in “The Alarming Reason Some People Die From the Flu,” sepsis is one of the leading causes for influenza deaths.⁷

Vitamin C Protocol Lowers Sepsis Mortality

The good news is, a protocol of intravenous (IV) vitamin C with hydrocortisone and thiamine (vitamin B1) has been shown to dramatically improve chances of survival.⁸

This sepsis treatment protocol was developed Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care doctor at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in East Virginia. His retrospective before-after clinical study^9,10 showed giving patients 200 mg of thiamine every 12 hours, 1,500 mg of ascorbic acid every six hours, and 50 mg of hydrocortisone every six hours for two days reduced mortality from 40% to 8.5%.

Importantly, the treatment has no side effects and is inexpensive, readily available and simple to administer, so there’s virtually no risk involved. More recent research,^11,12 published online January 9, 2020, found Marik’s sepsis protocol lowered mortality in pediatric patients as well.

The study was performed at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, and as noted by Science Daily,¹³ the preliminary data from this study “supports the promising outcomes seen in adults.” Between January 2014 and February 2019, 557 pediatric patients with septic shock met the criteria for inclusion in the study.

Forty-three received Mariks’s vitamin C-B1-hydrocortisone protocol, 181 received hydrocortisone-only therapy, and 333 received neither of these treatments. The 43 patients receiving the vitamin C treatment were matched based on clinical status with 43 untreated controls and 43 hydrocortisone-only patients.

At the 30-day mark, controls and the hydrocortisone-only groups had a mortality rate of 28% while the treatment group had a mortality rate of just 9%. At 90 days, 35% of the controls and 33% of those receiving hydrocortisone-only had died, compared to just 14% of the treatment group.¹⁴

As noted by the authors, “Our results suggest that HAT [hydrocortisone, ascorbic acid and thiamine] therapy, when administered early in the clinical course, reduces mortality in children with septic shock.”

Vitamin C Put to the Test Against Coronavirus

In 2009, IV vitamin C was shown to be a potentially lifesaving treatment against severe swine flu. Even before that, many studies had demonstrated the usefulness of vitamin C against infections of various kinds.

For example, a randomized double-blind study¹⁵ published in 1994 found elderly patients given 200 milligrams of vitamin C per day while hospitalized for acute respiratory infection fared significantly better than those receiving a placebo.

According to the authors, “This was particularly the case for those commencing the trial most severely ill, many of whom had very low plasma and white cell vitamin C concentrations on admission.”

Now, vitamin C will be put to the test against coronavirus as well. The study,¹⁶ “Vitamin C Infusion for the Treatment of Severe 2019-nCoV Infected Pneumonia” was posted to ClinicalTrials.gov February 11, 2020, and has not yet started recruiting patients. According to the study description:¹⁷

“At the end of 2019, patients with unexplained pneumonia appeared in Wuhan, China … Subsequently, the World Health Organization officially named the new coronavirus that caused the pneumonia epidemic in Wuhan as 2019 new coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and the pneumonia was named severe acute respiratory infection (SARI).

Up to February 4, 2020, over 20,000 cases have been diagnosed in China, 406 of which have died, and 154 cases have been discovered in other countries around the world. Most of the deaths were elderly patients or patients with severe underlying diseases …

Statistics of the 41 patients with SARI published in JAMA initially showed that 13 patients were transferred into the ICU, of which 11 (85%) had ARDS and 3 (23%) had shock. Of these, 10 (77%) required mechanical ventilation support, and 2 (15%) required ECMO support. Of the above 13 patients, 5 (38%) eventually died and 7 (38%) were transferred out of the ICU.

Viral pneumonia is a dangerous condition with a poor clinical prognosis … Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, has antioxidant properties. When sepsis happens, the cytokine surge caused by sepsis is activated, and neutrophils in the lungs accumulate in the lungs, destroying alveolar capillaries. Early clinical studies have shown that vitamin C can effectively prevent this process.

In addition, vitamin C can help to eliminate alveolar fluid by preventing the activation and accumulation of neutrophils, and reducing alveolar epithelial water channel damage. At the same time, vitamin C can prevent the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, which is a biological event of vascular injury caused by neutrophil activation.”

The researchers intend to treat patients with 24 grams of IV vitamin C per day for seven days at a speed of 7 milliliters per hour. The placebo group will receive an IV of normal saline.

The primary outcome measure will be the number of days without ventilation support during 28 days of hospitalization. Secondary outcome measures will include mortality, ICU length of stay, the rate of CPR required, vasopressor use, respiratory function, sepsis-related organ failure and more.

Time will tell what the outcome will be, but chances are it will be favorable. Back in 2003 during the SARS pandemic, a Finnish researcher called for an investigation into the use of vitamin C, stating:¹⁸

“Recently, a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In the absence of a specific treatment for SARS, the possibility that vitamin C may show nonspecific effects on several viral respiratory tract infections should be considered.

There are numerous reports indicating that vitamin C may affect the immune system, for example the function of phagocytes, transformation of T lymphocytes and production of interferon. In particular, vitamin C increased the resistance of chick embryo tracheal organ cultures to infection caused by an avian coronavirus.¹⁹”

He goes on to cite research showing vitamin C also protects broiler chicks against avian coronavirus, cuts the duration and severity of common cold in humans and significantly lowers susceptibility to pneumonia. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as though vitamin C was ever studied in relation to SARS, but it’s encouraging that China is now investigating its use against 2019-nCoV.

Health Benefits of Vitamin C Are Vastly Underappreciated

Vitamin C has two major functions that help explain its potent health benefits. First, it acts as a powerful antioxidant. It also acts as a cofactor for enzymatic processes. One of the most famous forerunners of high dose vitamin C treatment for colds and other disease was Linus Carl Pauling (1901-1994), a biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954.

Despite that, many felt he was too far out of his field of expertise with his research into nutrition, and his advocacy for vitamin C was largely ignored or mocked by mainstream medicine and nutritional science — with medical bloggers leading the pack as self-appointed judges of Pauling’s findings.²⁰

Others, however, have picked up on what Pauling was trying to point out, and are now trying to awaken the world to just how important vitamin C is for good health and vitality.²¹ As explained by the Linus Pauling Institute:²²

“Vitamin C is the primary water-soluble, non-enzymatic antioxidant in plasma and tissues. Even in small amounts vitamin C can protect indispensable molecules in the body, such as proteins, lipids (fats), carbohydrates, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), from damage by free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are generated during normal metabolism, by active immune cells, and through exposure to toxins and pollutants ...”

According to Dr. Ronald Hunninghake, an internationally recognized expert on vitamin C who has personally supervised tens of thousands of IV vitamin C administrations, vitamin C is “definitely a very underutilized modality in infectious disease,” considering “it’s really a premiere treatment” for infections.

In my interview with him, Hunninghake suggested one of the reasons why conventional medicine has been so slow to recognize the importance of vitamin C has to do with the fact that they’ve been looking at it as a mere vitamin, when in fact it’s a potent oxidizing agent that can help eliminate pathogens when given in high doses.

There are also financial factors. In short, it’s too inexpensive. Conventional medicine, as a general rule, is notoriously uninterested in solutions that cannot produce significant profits.

However, considering sepsis is now the most expensive condition treated in the U.S., costing $23.6 billion annually,^23,24 the need for an affordable solution is becoming critical. This is particularly true for lower income nations, where an estimated 85% of sepsis-related deaths occur.²⁵ Global pandemics like the coronavirus also call for lower-cost treatments that actually work.

Recognize the Symptoms of Sepsis

When it comes to sepsis, which can result from just about any infection, time is of the essence. It’s really important to familiarize yourself with its signs and symptoms, and to take immediate action if you suspect sepsis.

While the signs can be subtle at first, sepsis typically produces the following signs and symptoms:^26,27,28 Many of these symptoms may be confused with a bad cold or flu. However, they tend to develop quicker than you would normally expect.

A high fever with chills and shivering	Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
Rapid breathing (tachypnea)	Unusual level of sweating (diaphoresis)
Dizziness	Confusion or disorientation
Slurred speech	Diarrhea, nausea or vomiting
Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath	Severe muscle pain
Low urine output	Cold and clammy skin and/or skin rash

The Sepsis Alliance recommends using the acronym TIME to remember some of the more common symptoms:²⁹

• T — Temperature higher or lower than normal?
• I — Have you now or recently had any signs of an infection?
• M — Are there any changes in mental status, such as confusion or excessive sleepiness?
• E — Are you experiencing any extreme pain or illness; do you have a “feeling you may die?”

Another acronym you could use to memorize the signs and symptoms is SEPSIS, described in the video above:

• S — Shivering (fever, cold)
• E — Extreme pain
• P — Pale, clammy skin
• S — Shortness of breath
• I — “I feel like I might die”
• S — Sleepy (confused)

Educational Resources for Your Doctor

Marik’s sepsis protocol can be a lifesaver, so you’d be wise to discuss it with your doctor any time you’re hospitalized. Remember, sepsis is often the result of a secondary infection contracted while in the hospital, so it’s prudent to be prepared.

This way, should you develop sepsis while you’re admitted, your medical team already knows your wishes and can act swiftly. According to Marik, the best results are obtained when the concoction is administered within the first six hours of presentation of symptoms.³⁰ The longer you delay treatment, the less likely it will be successful.

If your doctor refuses to consider it offhand, convince him or her to review the studies cited here.^{31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39} While there are certain situations in which the hospital may still deny this treatment, if you are an adult who is sick, you will usually have the right to insist on it. I will actually be interviewing Marik shortly and hope to work with him on developing a process to make it easier for patients to implement this strategy in their local hospital.

In most cases, you’d probably just need to sign an “Against Medical Advice — Acknowledgment and Waiver” form (samples of which can be found in the references⁴⁰), which states you’ve elected to not follow the standard of care recommended by your doctor.

Contraindication for IV Vitamin C Treatment

The only contraindication to high-dose vitamin C treatments such as Marik’s sepsis protocol is if you are glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient, which is a genetic disorder.⁴¹ G6PD is required for your body to produce NADPH, which is a cousin of NAD+ and necessary to transfer reductive potential to keep your antioxidants, like glutathione and vitamin C, functional.

Because your red blood cells do not contain any mitochondria, the only way it can provide reduced glutathione is through NADPH, and since G6PD eliminates this, it causes red blood cells to rupture due to inability to compensate for oxidative stress.

Fortunately, G6PD deficiency is relatively uncommon, and can be tested for. People of Mediterranean and African decent are at greater risk of being G6PD deficient. Worldwide, G6PD deficiency is thought to affect 400 million individuals, and in the U.S., an estimated 1 in 10 African-American males has it. ⁴²

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The ketogenic diet is beneficial for many people as it helps with weight control and management and offers protection against a number of health ailments. Approached incorrectly, however, it can actually be harmful.

In this short video Dr. Eric Berg warns, "The last thing you want to do is get the benefits of the ketogenic diet but then have deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids." If you're following a standard ketogenic nutrition plan I recommend you focus on eating healthy fats and 1 gram of protein for every kilogram of body mass. You should also keep your net carbohydrates to not more than 10% of your daily calories.

However, if you're not getting enough omega-3 fat it can be detrimental to your health. As Berg describes, your body uses fat for many reasons, including the lining and protection of cell membranes, the processing of fat soluble vitamins, the catalyzation of chemical reactions, and the production of hormones and bile. Without enough healthy fat, and the right kinds of fat, you may increase your risk for negative health conditions.

Omega-3 fats are one type of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) you must get from your food since your body doesn't make them.¹ The second type of PUFAs are omega-6 fats. Your body needs both in a balanced ratio for optimal health.

As the National Institutes of Health describes,² "The three main omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA is found mainly in plant oils such as flaxseed, soybean and canola oils. DHA and EPA are found in fish and other seafood."

Omega-3 Fats Are Crucial to Heart Health

EPA, DHA and ALA each have unique functions. DHA is particularly important for your brain,³ as about 90 percent of the fat in your brain is DHA, while EPA appears to be of particular importance for heart health.⁴ ALA, found in plants, is the "parent fatty acid" and is used as a source of energy.

However, while some may be converted to EPA and DHA in the body, conversion to EPA is restricted and unreliable, and conversion to DHA is severely restricted.⁵ Making lifestyle changes, such as exercising, stopping smoking and improving your diet, have a significant impact on your heart health.

The authors of one study published in the New England Journal of Medicine⁶ analyzed the risk of a cardiovascular event while taking icosapent ethyl. The medication is a "highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester" that is "a synthetic derivative of omega-3 fatty acid."⁷

The data⁸ were based on information gathered from 8,179 participants who were followed over a period of 4.9 years. The researchers identified end points of the study as death from a cardiac event, or a nonfatal heart attack or stroke.

The participants either had heart disease or risk factors for it and were taking statins. They were given either a placebo or 2 grams of icosapent ethyl twice a day. Those who took the medication had a significantly lower number of ischemic events than those taking the placebo.

Although the drug had previously been approved in 2012 for people with high triglycerides, in December 2019 the FDA approved it for use alongside statins.⁹ Its mechanism of action has not been completely identified, but the American Heart Association lists the following reasons natural omega-3 may have an impact on lowering the risk of heart disease:¹⁰

Lowers triglyceride levels and increases HDLs	Decreases platelet aggregation and prevents blockage of coronary artery
Lowers resting blood pressure	Increases compliance of arteries
Decreases atherosclerosis	Reduces inflammatory markers
Decreases risk of abnormal heart rhythms

As explained in a meta-analysis published in Circulation,¹¹ scientists concluded there was a growing body of evidence that omega-3 fats can prevent sudden cardiac death by "modulating ion channels so as to stabilize the cardiomyocytes electrically."

EPA and DHA Lowers Inflammation, Pain and Depression

EPA and DHA have been shown to improve blood pressure,¹² reduce overall inflammation, reduce the effects of rheumatoid arthritis¹³ and depression¹⁴ and help to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.¹⁵

Other conditions linked to inflammation that are positively affected by omega-3 fatty acids are Hashimoto's disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Nutritionist Steph Lowe spoke with Starts at 60 about omega-3 fats, saying:¹⁶

"Fish oil is a natural alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), without the side effects but with the potential to reduce the inflammatory response and thereby reduces joint stiffness and pain."

Your Body Needs Cholesterol for Vital Functions

For decades you've been told that high cholesterol levels will increase your risk for heart disease. In fact, some in the health community continue to stress your level of cholesterol as a biomarker for heart risk, when in fact it's smarter to take a global view of cholesterol — how it affects your body and what you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease beyond the simple narrative which focuses on cholesterol as some kind of culprit.

Cholesterol is vital to your overall health, as it helps with the manufacturing of hormones and vitamin D. About 80% of the cholesterol in your body is made in your liver and intestines, while the rest has to come from your food.¹⁷

There are two categories of cholesterol: The first is high density lipoprotein (HDL), which many know as the "good" type that moves cholesterol out of your arteries.¹⁸

The second is low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or what many know as the "bad" type that may build up and form plaque in the arteries. The American Heart Association focuses on your total cholesterol number, which they recommend you keep at 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).¹⁹

In the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it's noted that the Institute of Medicine recommends²⁰ "… individuals should eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible while consuming a healthy eating pattern." However, in the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, it was acknowledged that "… cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption."²¹

It's troubling to know that the public hears one thing and something completely different is discussed at a medical advisory meeting.

Using cholesterol as a sole marker for the risk of heart disease is inaccurate because, like most things related to your body, its mechanisms are complex and interrelated. Increasing amounts of evidence show that people with higher levels of cholesterol live longer lives.²² As summarized by the authors of one study:

"Overall, an inverse trend is found between all-cause mortality and total (or low density lipoprotein [LDL]) cholesterol levels: mortality is highest in the lowest cholesterol group without exception … elderly people with the highest cholesterol levels have the highest survival rates irrespective of where they live in the world."

While evaluating your heart disease risk, consider your fasting insulin and blood sugar levels, waist circumference and iron levels. I discuss the relationships of these factors to your heart health and the importance of differentiating the types of LDL in "Important Facts About Cholesterol and Heart Disease."

There are a number of ways higher levels of cholesterol may have a protective effect on your health; these are discussed in "Higher Cholesterol is Associated With Longer Life." Instead of looking at simple levels, there are two indicators that are important: your HDL/total cholesterol ratio and your triglyceride/HDL ratio.

Why Testing Your Omega-3 Level Is so Important

An omega-3 deficiency leaves you vulnerable to several chronic diseases and lifelong challenges. Optimizing your levels is truly a foundational strategy to attaining and maintaining good health. The best way to determine if you're eating enough food with omega-3 is to get tested.

In fact, research²³ supported by the National Institutes of Health suggests that an omega-3 test is a good predictor of overall health and all-cause mortality.²⁴

Leaders of the study measured the omega-3 index in 2,500 participants; they found that those with the highest omega-3 index had lower risks of heart problems. The omega-3 Index is a measure of the amount of EPA and DHA in the membranes of your red blood cells (RBCs). As Berg mentioned, fat is a component of cell membranes.

Your index is expressed as a percent of your total RBC fatty acids. The omega-3 index has been validated as a stable, long-term marker of your omega-3 status, and it reflects your tissue levels of EPA and DHA. I just had my omega-3 index done last week from GrassrootsHealth and it was 11.1% and my 6:3 ratio was 2.7.

An omega-3 index over 8% is associated with the lowest risk of death from heart disease, while an index below 4% places you at the highest risk of heart disease-related mortality. Given its importance to your health, it is absolutely worth your time to complete the simple blood test required to determine your omega-3 index.

I firmly believe an omega-3 index test is one of the most important annual health screens that everyone needs. Please note I make no profit from these tests. I merely supply them as a convenience for my readers. It's the same price whether you buy it from me or directly from GrassrootsHealth.²⁵

Protect Your Heart and Brain With Animal-Based Omega-3

You can get all three types of omega-3 fats from your food, but EPA and DHA come mostly from fatty fish, seafood and grass fed beef and dairy products. Grass fed beef and dairy products, incidentally, offer a nearly 1-to-1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.²⁶ Lowe points out the importance of where you source your fish:²⁷

"As a nutritionist, my preference is always food, but one of the biggest challenges we face at the moment is that most of our oily fish is farmed and grain-fed."

Your best sources of fatty fish are wild-caught Alaskan salmon, herring, mackerel and anchovies. The larger predatory fish, such as tuna, have much higher amounts of toxins such as mercury. As Berg stated in the video, steer clear of grain-finished beef as the omega-3 fatty acids are significantly reduced.

As I touched on above, it's important to realize your body doesn't convert enough plant-based omega-3 to meet your needs. This means that if you're vegan, you must figure out a way to compensate for the lack of marine or grass fed animal products in your diet.

While the authors of some studies²⁸ suggest that algae products may be an effective alternative, the only way to know if you're on the right track is to test. If you are pregnant I urge you to check your vitamin D and omega-3 levels, as these two nutrients are vital for healthy fetal development and can dramatically reduce your risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery.

If your test results are low, and you are considering a supplement, compare the advantages and disadvantages of fish oil and krill oil as you'll see in the infographic below. Krill are wild-caught and sustainable; krill oil is also more potent than fish oil and is less prone to oxidation.

Embed this infographic on your website:

<img src="https://ift.tt/2P2BPzy" alt="krill oil vs fish oil infographics" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;" /><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">Learn why krill oil is a safer and smarter choice than fish oil through the <a href="https://www.mercola.com/infographics/fish-oil-vs-krill-oil.htm"><strong>Fish Oil versus Krill Oil: The Cold, Hard Facts</strong></a> infographic. Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version.</p> <pre style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin: 20px auto 0 auto; padding:10px; border:solid 1px #999999; background: #ffffff; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap:break-word;"><code>&lt;img src="https://ift.tt/2P2BPzy" alt="krill oil vs fish oil infographics" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"&gt;&lt;p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;"&gt;Learn why krill oil is a safer and smarter choice than fish oil through the &lt;a href="https://www.mercola.com/infographics/fish-oil-vs-krill-oil.htm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fish Oil versus Krill Oil: The Cold, Hard Facts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; infographic. Visit our infographic page for the high-res version.&lt;/p&gt;</code></pre>

Click on the code area and press CTRL + C (for Windows) / CMD + C (for Macintosh) to copy the code

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Although the common cold is generally considered to be a minor condition, it is responsible for most doctors’ office visits each year.¹ For some, a cold will last about a week, but for children and the elderly, it can last longer. The common cold can be caused by more than 200 different viruses.

The American Lung Association warns that colds are highly contagious and spread easily through droplets of fluid containing the virus. There are several factors that may increase your risk of getting a cold, including the time of the year, your age, your immune system strength and your exposure to a cold virus. Symptoms can include a sore throat, runny nose, coughing, headaches and sneezing.²

You have likely noticed that cold symptoms are close to those you may have with seasonal allergies or even flu. With seasonal allergies you may have a stuffy head and runny nose, but the symptoms are usually localized.³ However, with a cold and flu you often experience body aches and fatigue and you may generally feel miserable.

Influenza is often acquired in the same season as colds, but its symptoms are often worse and may include a fever and body chills. People have long sought remedies to shorten the length or severity of a cold and prevent one altogether.

Although Big Pharma may promise drug options to improve your symptoms, natural options offer effective treatment without the side effects associated with medications.

Short-Term Zinc Can Curtail Your Cold

Unfortunately, there is no cure for a viral infection. Antibiotics are not effective as they work on bacteria and not viruses. Since a virus is unable to replicate independently, it hijacks your normal cells, which in turn makes you feel sick. In most cases, supportive therapy is the recommended treatment as your immune system fights off the virus.⁴

The process your body uses to find, fight and destroy a virus is complex as it employs different types of cells.⁵ Zinc is an effective natural remedy that has demonstrated its ability to reduce the length of your cold by an average of 33%.⁶

An analysis of past studies showed that zinc can shorten the duration of the common cold between 28% and 40% using zinc gluconate or zinc acetate. While each was effective to a degree, the study’s authors didn't find a statistically significant difference in duration between those taking a higher dose and those taking a lower one.

In another study⁷ scientists analyzed data published from 1980 to 2003 and found clinical trials that supported the use of zinc to reduce the duration and severity of the common cold. It was noted that zinc consumption is effective when it is started within the first 24 hours of experiencing symptoms.

The action of zinc against the common cold was first investigated by Dr. Ananda Prasad in collaboration with James Fitzgerald, whose proficiency was in the design of research studies.⁸

Although Fitzgerald agreed to help, he was skeptical that zinc could influence the duration or severity of the common cold. The initial study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which people living in Detroit with the common cold were given either zinc lozenges or a placebo.

Fitzgerald told NPR: "Lo and behold, when I did the analysis it indeed did shorten common cold symptoms by about two or three days. I was stunned by that result." While the most current studies also show a positive result in using zinc lozenges, the formulation of the lozenge used in the first study in Detroit isn't available, as Fitzgerald shared with NPR.

Your Results May Vary

Before running out to pick up the first zinc cold lozenge you find, it’s important to recognize there will be differences in the product, which may impact your results. The author of the meta-analysis published in 2017, Dr. Harri Hemilä from the University of Helsinki, cautions it’s difficult to tell you what to purchase.⁹

Products sold at the local drugstore often contain more than zinc, which may interfere with the effectiveness of the product. Multiple ingredients have a way of interacting with each other, even when they are safe and effective when used on their own. For instance, Hemilä says the zinc products you purchase shouldn’t have citric acid in them because citric acid binds with zinc, so it’s not released into your body.

As described in the 2017 meta-analysis,¹⁰ Hemilä found zinc gluconate performed as well as zinc acetate in shortening the length of a cold. In past studies it had been suggested that zinc acetate was the preferred method of delivery since the zinc doesn’t bind as strongly to acetate as it does to gluconate.

The goal of this analysis was to compare the efficiency of zinc to reduce a cold duration after methodology problems were discovered in several past studies and a Cochrane Review of studies was withdrawn when multiple errors were identified.¹¹

Hemilä was careful in the selection of clinical trials for the analysis.¹² He didn’t include those in which ingredients in the product may have interfered with the results, such as one trial in which the product contained the sweeteners mannitol and sorbitol. There is some evidence that zinc binds with these sweeteners in the presence of saliva.

Others were excluded since the products contained either citric acid, tartaric acid or sodium bicarbonate — all known to bind with zinc. In each of the studies participants were given more than 75 mg/day of elemental zinc, which you may want to consider if you seek out a zinc lozenge product.

Zinc First Acknowledged as Essential in 1970s

The way zinc first came to the attention of science was again through the work of Prasad. NPR¹³ reports that in the 1960s Prasad was studying the lack of growth and development in young men from Egypt. He hypothesized that the issue may have been a lack of zinc. When given zinc supplements, the young men grew taller than Prasad anticipated.

This began a journey into understanding zinc that Prasad continues to this day as a 91-year-old scientist.¹⁴ He writes of the deficiency, finding,¹⁵ that in the past 50 years nutritional insufficiency may have affected up to 2 billion people in the developing world. He points to one component of cereal proteins, phytate, which reduces the amount of zinc your body can absorb.

Cereal proteins high in phytate include wheat bran, rice bran and wheat gluten.¹⁶ Prasad writes that zinc deficiencies may present with rough skin, impaired immunity, growth retardation and cognitive impairment.¹⁷

As NPR reports, it wasn’t until the 1970s that zinc was identified as an essential nutrient for human health.¹⁸ The National Institutes of Health recognizes the importance of zinc in relation to:¹⁹

“… approximately 100 enzymes and it plays a role in immune function, protein synthesis, wound healing, DNA synthesis, and cell division. Zinc also supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence and is required for proper sense of taste and smell.”

Cold Remedies That Work

Along with zinc, you could try other remedies with a positive track record for use during the common cold. A perfect example is the healing power of vitamin C. In one study the combination of vitamin C and zinc was more efficient than a placebo and it produced faster symptom relief.²⁰

As I’ve written in the recent past, high doses of vitamin C act not only like an antioxidant when you’re sick, but also more like a natural drug without side effects. In the article, “Concerns About Diabetes or Heart Health? Optimize This,” Dr. Suzanne Humphries talks about her work with vitamin C and the importance of using liposomal C to reduce side effects and improve absorption.

It is important to note that large doses of vitamin C or zinc — when taken on a regular basis — impact your copper levels.²¹ So, while temporary doses to combat a cold or flu are helpful, you could compromise your immune system by taking them year-round.

Another simple remedy to help prevent a cold and speed healing is to get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is associated with a long list of disorders and life disruptions, including negative impacts on your immune system²² as well as dementia.²³ The key to recovery is to support your immune system; getting adequate amounts of sleep will help.

If you have trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep or feeling rested when you wake up, you may have developed a few habits that are causing trouble. To get yourself back to good sleep habits and feeling well rested each day, see my tips at “Top 33 Tips to Optimize Your Sleep Routine.”

You may want to try adding apple cider vinegar to your routine for the benefits available from its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.²⁴ It may also help boost your immune function by raising the alkalinity in your body. Be sure to seek out a natural, fermented brand with the “mother” intact.

Care for Your Cold and Reduce Potential for Something Worse

There are more steps you can take to protect yourself during the cold and flu season. For instance, getting enough vitamin D is very important. Vitamin D offers powerful antimicrobial activity and is capable of fighting bacteria, viruses and fungi. Low levels can increase your risk of contracting a cold or flu.²⁵

Another factor that influences your immune system is stress. You’ve probably noticed that when you’re stressed, you’re more likely to get sick.

Whether the stress is associated with grief, relationship issues or projects at work, the result is the same — you’ll have trouble fighting off an infection. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University investigated why this happens,^26,27 and found that those who reported being under stress were more likely to get sick when exposed to a virus and then quarantined for five days.²⁸ When stressed, your body releases hormones like cortisol, which temporarily suppress the immune system.

Under chronic psychological stress you become less sensitive to cortisol, which increases your inflammatory response, also impacting the immune system. Lead researcher Sheldon Cohen commented on the results:²⁹

"The immune system's ability to regulate inflammation predicts who will develop a cold, but more importantly it provides an explanation of how stress can promote disease. When under stress, cells of the immune system are unable to respond to hormonal control, and consequently, produce levels of inflammation that promote disease.

Because inflammation plays a role in many diseases such as cardiovascular, asthma and autoimmune disorders, this model suggests why stress impacts them as well."

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