Recent news reports have been filled with information on the swine flu epidemic.  This strain of flu is of concern because, unlike seasonal flu, it has the ability to jump from species to species (in this case, from infected pigs to humans who handle them – not necessarily humans who eat them) which means that it is capable of mutating.  This has happened in the past with other flu strains, but this time around it is of more concern because it is quickly spreading from human to human.  The apparently quick movement of the virus has people worried that it will mutate so quickly and so often that drug companies will not be able to produce specific vaccines in time to help people before they come in contact with the virus.

This may sound very scary, but it is important to remember that in many cases people have made a full recovery from this type of flu.  To put it in perspective, common seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people annually.  As of the writing of this blog, an estimated 150 people have died from swine flu in Mexico.  I am not making light of this virus – it is a very serious concern with dangerous possibilities, but it is entirely possible that the virus will mutate to a less virulent form and “fizzle out” over the coming weeks.  With all the media hype it’s easy to forget that possibility.  The elderly, children, and those with compromised immune systems are usually the most at risk for contracting the flu but in this case everyone should take precautions.

As mentioned above, there is no vaccination for this flu and medications are only helpful after you already have the virus.  Prevention is going to be your best bet!  Here are some basic health tips for flu prevention:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water.  Hand sanitizer can be used in a pinch, but soap and water is preferable because it actually removes physical particles instead of just sterilizing them.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth – especially when you’re out in public.
• Get enough sleep (7-10 hours, depending on your personal needs).  Lack of sleep can lead to immune system suppression.
• Stay hydrated, which is vital to keeping the immune system functioning.
• Eat a healthy diet that contains plenty of whole foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables, and fruit.  Nutrition is foundational to proper immune function.
• Include coconut oil in your diet.  Coconut oil contains lauric acid, a fatty acid with natural anti-viral properties.
• Minimize allergenic foods such as pasteurized dairy and wheat flour, which may suppress the immune system.
• Avoid white sugar, which directly suppresses the immune system.  Replace sugar with natural sweeteners such as stevia and xylitol – not with artificial sweeteners, which are difficult for the body to process.
• Include plenty of immune-boosting herbs in your diet such as garlic, ginger, onions, and cayenne.  If you can’t get enough of these foods in your diet or want additional support, use a tincture such as Marilyn Farms SuperForce.
• Use immune-supporting supplements to your advantage.  Some of the essentials include:
  • Vitamin C, which supports immune cell function.  For information on dosing vitamin C visit read this article on Vitamin C for Cold and Flu
  • Zinc, which is necessary to make immune cells.  For food sources and dosing visit http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/
  • Echinacea-based herbal blends, which boost immune cell formation such as Marilyn Farms Immune Boost, Virus Defense, or Cold n’ Flu
  • Elderberry, which has anti-viral properties
  • Probiotics, which are healthy bacteria that shield the gut.  They can be eaten in cultured foods like yogurt or taken in pill form (Custom Probiotics)

If you have general symptoms of cold or flu, please stay home, take care of yourself, and contact your doctor.  And above all, don’t panic – it’s bad for your immune system!

NOTE: Please talk to your physician before making any dietary or supplement changes.  This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner.

Yes, this blog is titled correctly – there are actually benefits to having relatively high levels of cholesterol.  I’m not posting this as a sensational statement to increase sales of fast food.  I’m posting this to help you see that there is much more to cardiovascular health than getting your cholesterol levels checked.  Also, you can’t ignore the studies that prove over and over again that people with higher levels of cholesterol live longer and healthier than those with very low levels of cholesterol.  The link below will take you to a detailed article that includes scientific references on this topic:

http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/benefits_cholest.html

If you’d like to learn more about cholesterol and how it relates to your health, please attend next month’s webinar which is appropriately titled “The Truth About Cholesterol.”  Click here to register: http://www.marilynfarms.com/index.php?main_page=mfc_product_info&products_id=460&zenid=b702c04304fa811c27a007d51a6d44db

The link below will take you to a portion of the website www.bodyburden.org, which posts the results of an ongoing project put on by the Environmental Working Group.  The project is called “The Human Toxome Project” and is working to “map the pollution in people.”  The particular page I wanted you all to see is a sampling of the results gathered by testing levels of 413 different toxins in newborn babies.  They performed the test by looking at blood from the umbilical cord that was taken shortly after birth.  Ten babies were tested from all over the world, and every single one tested positive for at least 213 different toxins.  Here is the link:

http://www.ewg.org/sites/humantoxome/participants/participant-group.php?group=in+utero%2Fnewborn

Scary stuff, don’t you think?  I’m not sharing this with you to make you want to hide in your closet, I promise.  I’m sharing it because I thought it would be a good reminder during spring cleaning season that our world is not as clean as it used to be, so we need to be careful to avoid toxic input and do all we can to make sure the detoxification systems in our bodies are working right.  Just looking at this website makes me want to schedule my next cleanse!

Yesterday during our second spring snowstorm, I started thinking about how depressing it is to have TWO spring snowstorms in a row, and then started to think about how many people have told me that lately they just feel a little depressed.  I know there are many factors involved with depression, but living in Iowa where the winter lasts half the year I have found that obtaining adequate intake of Vitamin D helps many people to feel happier.  Vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight (which we don’t get much of in the winter here), from food, and from supplements.  If you’re going to take a supplement, look for D3 (the usable form) instead of D2 (the synthetic form). 

Here is a link to an article with more info on Vitamin D and depression by one of my favorite Vitamin D researchers, Dr. John Cannell, MD:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/depression.shtml