This wouldn’t be a health blog without me chiming in my two cents about how to stay healthy this season. There is much discussion about the value of supplementing Vitamin D to boost the immune system. Before I get into the article, please read How to Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Vitamin D. One thing to keep in mind is the source of Vitamin D. While I agree that Cod liver Oil is a great choice for adults and children, I do not feel comfortable with any of the brands readily available due to over processing. From what I can see, “Blue Ice High-Vitamin Fermented Cod Liver Oil” seems to be the best choice out there due.

Many people are nervous about the swine flu. Moms are extremely worried about their kids catching it, but it is my opinion that once you take basic swine flu precautions, many of which are guidelines for health living anyway, you and your family should be fine. The vast majority of those who do get the flu this season will recover normally, provided they take preventative steps to bolster their immune system. There is no need to panic. Follow this list of ten swine flu precautions to help keep yourself and your family healthy this flu season.

Swine Flu Precautions: Common Sense Precautions

A word about the following precautions: You can do all the right things such as eat well, take whole food supplements, avoid sick people, wash your hands etc and still get sick. One of the most often overlooked causes for sickness (as well as disease) is lack of adequate sleep and chronic high stress levels. Until you address these two highly damaging lifestyle issues, it will be difficult to achieve any kind of lasting and abundant health.

That being said, the following precautions are not just for swine flu. You should practice these habits every year during flu season.

1. If you’re sick, stay home! This is one of the best ways to prevent spreading of disease. While it’s true that symptoms often show up after you’ve already been contagious for a day or two, there’s no reason to expose others to your illness once you know for sure that you are sick. Staying home with a sick child may be a great inconvenience, but you really do need to do the right thing here and keep your child home until at least 24 hours after her fever is gone.

2. Try to avoid being in close contact with people who are obviously sick. Don’t worry about being polite! If you find yourself sitting next to someone who’s coughing, get up if you can and move to a different location.

3. Wash your hands frequently. No need for fancy antibacterial soaps. Simply washing your hands with soap and water is enough. If soap and water are not available, sparingly use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

4. Try not to touch your face. We tend to constantly touch our faces – especially kids. Be conscious of this habit as it can spread germs, especially when you touch your nose and mouth or rub your eyes. Try to teach your children to be aware of this habit too. This might prove challenging with small kids, but you should at least try.

5. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. As a last resort, if you don’t have any tissues, you can cough into your elbow. Do NOT cough or sneeze into your hands!

6. Avoid shaking hands! If you must, wash your hands afterwards or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.

7. Wipe counters and knobs around the house every night using a natural antibacterial cloth such as those made by Norwex. The influenza virus can survive on surfaces and can infect a person for 2 to 8 hours after deposited on a surface. It is also a good idea to regularly wipe Children’s toys.

Swine Flu Precautions: Alternative Medicine Precautions

8. Use a Neti pot to cleanse your nose. Sinus irrigation is a natural treatment for chronic sinus conditions and for allergies that can also help prevent seasonal flu and swine flu. A clean nose is an important part of your overall health. Sinus irrigation with a Neti pot is considered safe for pregnant women and for young children over two years old. Neti pots cost around $10 and are available over-the-counter at drug stores, health food stores, and online.

9. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water. This simple step prevents the H1N1 virus from breeding and multiplying in your throat. It’s easy and inexpensive, yet a powerful way to keep yourself healthy. Another easy way to keep your throat clear is to drink plenty of warm liquids such as tea.

10. Cleaning your nostrils once a day with warm salt water is another excellent natural precaution against swine flu. It works by preventing the virus from multiplying. Simply blow your nose and swab both nostrils with cotton balls dipped in warm salt water.

Whether you go with a traditional approach to preventing swine flu, or employ natural swine flu precautions, you should always boost your natural immunity with foods that are naturally rich in Vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, papaya, mango and kiwi. Remember to reduce your stress as much as possible. Cutting back on coffee or switching to green tea will give much needed relief to your adrenals and help you relax.

You might also find the following articles helpful:

What Most Doctors Won’t Tell You About Colds and Flus

Why I Never Get Flu Shots or Snorts

And before you get the shot, please view this video regarding the ingredients and possible risks. Regardless, I believe in informed decisions….not made from fear alone.

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Swine Flu Precautions: A Healthy Perspective

I have been following the swine flu debacle since the beginning. Other than stating what we are doing in our home to keep our immune system up, I have not written much about my position on flu vaccines and all the issues surrounding the swine flu scare. I wish I had more time to write because I am fuming, but a few links will have to do for now.

A letter from the FDA/FTC has been sent to Dr Andrew Weil. Dr.Weil is in violation of federal law for marketing that certain herbs and concoctions, used for centuries in many cases, would be helpful in fighting boosting your immune system and warding off the cold and flu.

Some of the statements in question are:

On a webpage entitled, “The Swine Flu – H1N1 ,” with the subtitle “Swine Flu and You”:

“[D]uring the flu season, I suggest taking a daily antioxidant, multivitamin-mineral supplement, as well as astragalus, a well-known immune-boosting herb that can help ward off colds and flu. You might also consider. .. the Weil Immune Support Formula[,] which contains both astragalus and immune-supportive polypore mushrooms ….”

On a product webpage describing the Immune Support Formula:

“The Immune Support Formula contains astragalus. . . . Astragalus … is used traditionally to ward off colds and flu and has been well studied for its antiviral and immunity-enhancing properties.”

“Th[e] synergistic combination of immune modulators [found in the Immune Support Formula] is especially useful for those who tend to get every bug that goes around during the winter.”

On the same webpage, under “Supplement Facts,” describing the Astragalus supplement (which is one element of the Immune Support Formula):

“Astragalus … is … used traditionally to ward off colds and flu, and has demonstrated both antiviral and immune-boosting effects in scientific investigation.”

On the website’s home page, DrWeil.com:

“Worried About Flu? Dr. Weil’s Immune Support Formula can help maintain a strong defense against the flu. It contains astragalus, a traditional herb that boosts immunity. Buy it now in one click, and start protecting your immune system against flu this season.”

On the Dr. Weil Vitamins – Daily Vitamin Packs webpage:

“[L]earn more about Dr. Weil’s Immune Support Formula, which contains astragalus – an herb Dr. Weil recommends to help ward off colds and flu.”the H1N1 virus.

You might as well consider this letter as a saw that is cutting off your hand. Imagine if you are unable to purchase natural health products from suppliers you deem as trustworthy. Your local health food store?

I want the right to choose to buy whatever I want, regardless of what they deem as a national security risk or not. The only pushers here are the drug pushers who will stop at nothing to profit from the fear they are creating.

This is the slow erosion of rights and freedoms in the name of “public security.” Keep your eye on the slow move for mandatory vaccinations and if you think mandatory vaccinations will end after the swine flu scare has lifted. think again.

I’m so tired of the argument that the FDA has public health and safety in mind. Studies have shown that many of the investigators who approve drugs were former employees of the company they are evaluating.What a conflict of interest.

The FDA/FTC state that there needs to be scientific evidence of the claims natural practitioners make when they recommend certain products as beneficial. How convenient that they have made it impossible for anyone to market a product as preventative or curative unless that product is a pharmaceutical (drug) that is synthetically produced and patentable.

Suffice to say, there is a major undercurrent of distrust flowing through the population about the virus and the vaccine.

Here are a few links I found interesting relating to the swine flu:

The Flu Case – the official site of Jane Burgermeister. A courageous Christian woman whi filed charges against Baxter/WHO

Jane Burgemeister Interview Project Camelot – very interesting interview with important message. A five star rating video.

Ron Paul Discusses the Swine Flu

H1N1 – Questions Worth Considering

How Serious is H1N1? Deaths and Transmission Rate Uncovered

CBS Reveals that Swine Flu Cases Seriously Overestimated

Special Swine Flu Update

CBS News Unplugged- H1N1 cases overestimated

No matter how you look at it…this whole issue is going to be messy. Very messy.

Hey, come visit the me and leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed this article, thank you for giving it a boost on social media. © All rights reserved. This post is from HealthyGreenMoms and cannot be republished without express written permission.

Swine Flu Rant

We are all recovering from ??? we’ve got. When I read the symptoms of the H1N1 virus, I find that we have many of them (although mild) so maybe we have swine flu. Do I care if we have swine flu, a regular flu or a cold? Not really.

The symptoms of swine flu / H1N1 seem to be pretty standard so it puzzles me why the big scare from the media’s (not so objective) reporting. Plus, the big push for getting as many people vaccinated as possible is, in my opinion, a big scam and possibly a big health risk.

My in-laws are visiting. Having immigrated from Communist Poland, they are pretty quick to respond when asked about the threat of mandatory vaccinations. “They inject me? Without my permission? We left this type of government years ago.”

Control can be difficult to detect in our own country. They often suck your blood but leave no hole. It’s difficult to question, much less fathom, that there could be other motives besides protecting our health by imposing mandatory vaccine regulation.

The development of the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine and a push for mandatory vaccinations just reeks of post election promises to Big Pharma. I’m just saying…I hope your not surprised by my stance on this.

Is our health top priority? Britain is paying their doctors for every jab of the H1N1 vaccine. People have a hard time believing that their doctor could be “bought” however my years in the service industry showed me that lavish dinners for doctors (while promoting the latest drug) on Big Pharma’s tab occurs often. Interestingly, I recently read about a little known law that holds big Pharma accountable regarding this unethical practice.

Recommending that we test a new vaccine on pregnant women and small children also has me shaking my head in disbelief…

However, the (suspicious) Swine Flu  H1N1 hype also creates mixed emotions in me. A pandemic? How scary.

They make it sound like healthy people are going to drop like flies.

But why should I be scared?

Do I live with the trust and knowledge that we can handle illness or not?

I often find I have to fortify myself against the constant suggestion that we are somehow inadequate to handle anything by ourselves.

Don’t trust simple remedies. Don’t trust the Natural Laws that govern health (and much of our lives for that matter). Don’t trust your baby, your parenting instincts,  your body, your intuition.

Instead, leave it to the experts because they  have all the answers.

And yet, despite constantly relying on the experts, a simple thing like being strong and healthy, remains an elusive concept for many. (Obviously I’m not referring to experts such as natural health practitioners, therapists etc)

What if we begin to trust ourselves, learn a little more and start seeing ourselves as the expert of our own body for a change?

Dis-ease of all types begins with a thought. Then an emotion about that thought and so the cycle goes.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the first step to health is also through the mind and emotions.

Too many invite sickness and disease into their home simply because their thoughts and emotions are wrapped in fear.

And perfectly healthy people feel it is not enough and get jabbed. Why?

Because the message is loud and clear that your health cannot be trusted in your hands.

In our home, we are the experts. We are not vulnerable to suggestions that we should lose faith in our body’s defenses.

This does not mean that we don’t ever get sick, but that everyday we choose to live as though we are healthy, even when we have a stomach ache or a runny nose.

How many people literally invite sickness into their home? Signing up for the hotly debated H1N1 vaccine is inviting sickness into your home. Constantly watching the news and feeling fearful is inviting sickness. Feeling vulnerable because you do not possess the knowledge to protect your immune system is also inviting sickness. “Bracing yourself” for sickness (mental and emotional) is not empowering your immunity by any standard.

Instead of injecting ourselves with yet another flu vaccine, although for the record I have never been jabbed and almost never get the flu, we choose to take 100% responsibility for our immune system.

Off the top of my head, here’s how we help our immune systems year round:

• We keep our stress in check and try to play as often as we can
• We have gratitude for our life and our health
• We wash hands often and wipe counters and knobs with a Norwex cloth.
• We eat a healthy diet rich in veggies, fruit and whole grains
• We drink lots of water
• We get enough sleep
• We take a whole food vitamin and mineral supplement – the synthetic and isolated supplements are a waste of money and likely not beneficial for your health either.
• We take daily Probiotic to empower our immune system (since health begins in the gut and intestines)
• We take a daily teaspoon of cod liver oil or Vitamin D3 supplement which also empowers the immune system (not D2 – the synthetic form in most fortified foods and drinks that your body does not recognize)
• We Juice everyday. The juicer I chose is working out great. My new favorite is yams and sweet potatoes with oranges and a touch of ginger! Sooooo good.
• Homeopathic medicine also works great for us – our symptoms are much milder.
• We (adults) treat with high doses of Vitamin C in a whole food form such as Camu berry. Whole forms like these stay in your body 3 times longer and have longer lasting benefits. The synthetic and isolated forms of Vitamin C widely available are not a complete Vitamin as found in nature and therefore harder for your body to assimilate, therefore much is peed out.
• We eat raw garlic. 1 teaspoon chopped and swallowed without chewing.

Although media does not report it, your best defense against swine flu is a strong immune system, not a jab in the arm.

As I re-read my post, I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m flippant or aloof about the health troubles people face. I know it’s hard. I have confidence now, but this was not always the case. At one point, I didn’t think I’d reach my 30th birthday.

I can’t say the road to health has been quick. Nor has it been just about taking a bunch of natural health products.

I do know that a huge part of my health has been to take responsibility for it. To be open. To listen. To respect what my body is telling me, even when it’s inconvenient or terrifying.

Don’t live in fear of H1N1 or any other illness. Take your health in your own hands and learn the unique recipe that helps you feel your best and stay healthy.

Hey, come visit the me and leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed this article, thank you for giving it a boost on social media. © All rights reserved. This post is from HealthyGreenMoms and cannot be republished without express written permission.

H1N1 Not Welcome Here