The Flu Shot Epidemic
With each newsletter we do our best try to provide health information in a positive and insightful manner. So I've got to start this time by saying that some of you will likely not find this article particularly "warm and fuzzy". Consider that "fair warning" and read on at your own risk...
Few things are so effective at aggravating me professionally as the pharmaceutical industry and medical community influencing the health care decisions of patients without telling the entire story. This particular rant will address the issue of the flu shot. You see it advertised on television and throughout the community just like I do. It has become a veritable epidemic in our society and the problem is this: For a significant portion of the population, the flu shot is largely unnecessary and potentially detrimental to our long-term health and wellness. Clearly this a big claim to make, but to understand why I make such a statement I'd ask you to think about the premise for the flu shot, its application and your personal views on health and wellness.
The premise for any type of vaccination sounds great on paper. Patients could be given a magic shot or pill that could provide a given health outcome without side-effects while netting short and long-term health and wellness benefits. Sound good? Of course it does. The problem is that in any avenue of healthcare, chiropractic included, there are no magic secrets to health. If you've heard otherwise, you've been misinformed. It's as simple as that. The real problem comes in the application. In simple terms, each year a particular strain of influenza virus is selected as that "most likely" to be prevalent during that year's "flu season". The problem is that it's all just a guess and the guessers aren't always right.
So I'd ask you to consider that your body comes fully equipped with an immune system capable of responding to bacterial and viral agents such as the influenza virus. It's a system that is working each and every day as we interact with our environment. And our immune systems get stronger by facing natural challenges. A flu shot, even if the guessers get it 100% right, introduces an altered or "killed" virus into the body. This doesn't stimulate the true immune response that simply encountering the flu virus in the environment would have. The result is an immune system that didn't achieve its fullest potential to overcome future challenges.
So you might ask, have I considered that some people have compromised immune systems such as in the case of advanced HIV infection or other terminal disease? Certainly, but cases such as these require special consideration and are not representative of the majority of the population. What about the question of why my primary care physician has not shared these concepts with me? Well at the risk of answering a question with a question, when was the last time that you saw a Pepsi advertising for Coke? Because the chiropractic profession does not deal in drugs or surgery, there is no gain financially or otherwise whether or not a patient chooses to receive a flu shot. Can the medical profession or the pharmaceutical industry say the same? And what about the inconvenience of actually getting the flu? Well, feeling under the weather is certainly not on anyone's list of favorite things to do. However, consider that we are merely talking about "the flu" here. This isn't the plague or some type of bio-warfare. It's the flu! For a huge percentage of the population, you will overcome any and all symptoms in 7-10 days with proper rest and diet while gaining long-term memory cells to prevent and/or minimize future symptoms.
So it all comes down to this: Life and health require proactive maintenance and there is no magic shot or pill to obtain true health. If you take in more calories than your body is able to use for energy, you will gain weight over time. If you do not exercise the muscles necessary to bench press 500 pounds, you will likely not be able to bench press 500 pounds. This isn't rocket science! If you want a healthy life, consider all that you put into your body and what activities you do to proactively maintain your body over a lifetime. There is a journey and pathway to health just as there is a path to sickness and disease.
And most importantly, the good news is that you have a choice for you and your family. If you randomly got a flu shot or a particular vaccine this year because friends, co-workers or employers suggested that you should, you have an amazing opportunity (and perhaps even an obligation) to make a more informed choice next year. And please understand that ultimately your healthcare decisions are exactly that, yours. You have to make decisions for you and your family that are congruent with your philosophy of health. After reading this perhaps you'll choose as you have in the past or just maybe you will make a different choice. The choice is yours and I wish nothing but health for you in all of your healthcare decisions.
With each newsletter we do our best try to provide health information in a positive and insightful manner. So I've got to start this time by saying that some of you will likely not find this article particularly "warm and fuzzy". Consider that "fair warning" and read on at your own risk...
Few things are so effective at aggravating me professionally as the pharmaceutical industry and medical community influencing the health care decisions of patients without telling the entire story. This particular rant will address the issue of the flu shot. You see it advertised on television and throughout the community just like I do. It has become a veritable epidemic in our society and the problem is this: For a significant portion of the population, the flu shot is largely unnecessary and potentially detrimental to our long-term health and wellness. Clearly this a big claim to make, but to understand why I make such a statement I'd ask you to think about the premise for the flu shot, its application and your personal views on health and wellness.
The premise for any type of vaccination sounds great on paper. Patients could be given a magic shot or pill that could provide a given health outcome without side-effects while netting short and long-term health and wellness benefits. Sound good? Of course it does. The problem is that in any avenue of healthcare, chiropractic included, there are no magic secrets to health. If you've heard otherwise, you've been misinformed. It's as simple as that. The real problem comes in the application. In simple terms, each year a particular strain of influenza virus is selected as that "most likely" to be prevalent during that year's "flu season". The problem is that it's all just a guess and the guessers aren't always right.
So I'd ask you to consider that your body comes fully equipped with an immune system capable of responding to bacterial and viral agents such as the influenza virus. It's a system that is working each and every day as we interact with our environment. And our immune systems get stronger by facing natural challenges. A flu shot, even if the guessers get it 100% right, introduces an altered or "killed" virus into the body. This doesn't stimulate the true immune response that simply encountering the flu virus in the environment would have. The result is an immune system that didn't achieve its fullest potential to overcome future challenges.
So you might ask, have I considered that some people have compromised immune systems such as in the case of advanced HIV infection or other terminal disease? Certainly, but cases such as these require special consideration and are not representative of the majority of the population. What about the question of why my primary care physician has not shared these concepts with me? Well at the risk of answering a question with a question, when was the last time that you saw a Pepsi advertising for Coke? Because the chiropractic profession does not deal in drugs or surgery, there is no gain financially or otherwise whether or not a patient chooses to receive a flu shot. Can the medical profession or the pharmaceutical industry say the same? And what about the inconvenience of actually getting the flu? Well, feeling under the weather is certainly not on anyone's list of favorite things to do. However, consider that we are merely talking about "the flu" here. This isn't the plague or some type of bio-warfare. It's the flu! For a huge percentage of the population, you will overcome any and all symptoms in 7-10 days with proper rest and diet while gaining long-term memory cells to prevent and/or minimize future symptoms.
So it all comes down to this: Life and health require proactive maintenance and there is no magic shot or pill to obtain true health. If you take in more calories than your body is able to use for energy, you will gain weight over time. If you do not exercise the muscles necessary to bench press 500 pounds, you will likely not be able to bench press 500 pounds. This isn't rocket science! If you want a healthy life, consider all that you put into your body and what activities you do to proactively maintain your body over a lifetime. There is a journey and pathway to health just as there is a path to sickness and disease.
And most importantly, the good news is that you have a choice for you and your family. If you randomly got a flu shot or a particular vaccine this year because friends, co-workers or employers suggested that you should, you have an amazing opportunity (and perhaps even an obligation) to make a more informed choice next year. And please understand that ultimately your healthcare decisions are exactly that, yours. You have to make decisions for you and your family that are congruent with your philosophy of health. After reading this perhaps you'll choose as you have in the past or just maybe you will make a different choice. The choice is yours and I wish nothing but health for you in all of your healthcare decisions.
Yours In Health,
Dr. Barry
