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H1N1 Flu Update

Thursday, November 5th, 2009




As I was composing my 3rd installation of the basics, on water consumption, I began getting more questions about the H1N1 flu and shots. There are many thoughts and discussions out there about the H1N1 flu shot, and the seasonal flu shot. As of this date, there is a shortage of vaccines and supplies are less than previously anticipated.



I urge people to be calm. I am quite disconcerted at the level of panic that has been created. Many people have asked me about the H1N1 shot and what I think about it. Like I approach health care, I believe it is important to look at the short and long term consequences and benefits and risks, and take into account the individual. Look at all the alternative options as well. THEN make well-informed choices that are right for you.



Here are my recommendations:



  • Support your immune system to be able to have the best fighting chance of beating any sort of illness, including the flu. Even if you have the shot, it is not 100%.
  • Talk to your health care provider about the vaccine and the benefits and risks and whether you are high risk and therefore on the priority list. Then make an informed decision. The reality is that not everyone who wants to get the shot will be able to…at least not before this present flu season is over. And apparently only about 50% of the population is interested in getting the vaccination.
  • There are plenty of unknowns about the H1N1 flu and the vaccine. The information will change and it is important to be okay with that. Medicine and health care is always evolving. New information is uncovered daily. The flu strain may get weaker or stronger. No one knows at this point. The vaccine has many unknowns such as long term effectiveness, among others. Like any vaccine, it also has risks. And the risks and indications are different for the nasal vaccine(composed of live virus) and the shot (dead virus).
  • If you do get the shot, do not take Tylenol (acetominophen) afterwards unless you really need to. Recent research shows that children who take Tylenol (acetominophen) after immunizations, have a weaker antibody response, making the shot less effective.
  • If you do get flu symptoms now, most likely it is H1N1, because the regular seasonal flu season has not begun yet. I still recommend getting tested as it is good for the public health department to keep track. If you are sick, stay home, rest and get plenty of liquids.
  • There are conventional anti-virals but they need to be given within the first 48 hours to be the most effective. Health care providers are often only utilizing these for those at highest risk of complications. Because lab tests will not be in within the first 48 hours, these medications may be started before confirmation of a diagnosis.
  • There are natural remedies (anti-virals and immune system stimulants) that can be recommended/prescribed by your complementary care provider that can help hasten the recovery should you get ill.




This flu is affecting pregnant women, children and those up to age 49 the most significantly. With that said, it is important to remember that most children who are basically healthy recover from this flu without complications. It is well known that although there are deaths associated with this flu (as there are with any flu) many people are getting only mild symptoms.



My biggest message today is to be calm about H1N1. It is easy to get alarmed. But the stress of alarm actually negatively affects your immune system by raising your cortisol levels. It doesn’t mean to be too laid back either. The best way to combat the flu is to do the best you can by being the healthiest you can. Prepare for the flu to come knocking on your door, like with any flu season. You can’t avoid being exposed. We all go to public places or have exposure to others that go to public places. But you do have control over making your body as strong as possible to combat the flu or other infectious diseases. And it is important to have your immune system strong whether you recieve the vaccine or not. It will help mount a successful immune response either way.


Here are some helpful websites specifically concerning the H1N1 flu and shot:


kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/preparedness/pandemicflu/swineflu.aspx
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/general_info.htm


Oh, yeah, and in terms of water….staying well hydrated has been shown to improve resistance to infection among other things. So, drink that water.



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Stress-Part 2- Sleep

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Sleep is a critical part of our health and well being, yet as a nation, we are constantly pulled in the direction of less and less sleep. For the past 10 years, there has been a trend for adults to get less and less sleep. Study after study shows a correlation between less sleep and mental, physical and social health concerns.


It seems to be true that, as we are all different, we have individual needs for sleep. Also, we may have a variation within the year of sleep needs, such as if we are ill or have stress in our lives. But, we often delude ourselves into thinking we can get by on less than we really need. But the statistics are becoming clearer.


Insufficient quality sleep is associated with the following conditions:

  • Obesity
  • Depression
  • Fatigue
  • ADD/ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Accidents
  • Irritability and Impatience
  • Breast and Colon/Rectal Cancer
  • Recurrent acute illnesses, like colds
  • Quality of life indicators




Most of us think we can just catch up on our sleep on the weekend, but it doesn’t help us much and can actually hurt us in the long run in terms of setting up a poor sleep cycle. Our bodies need to have sleep become something it relies on at a certain time.  Otherwise, we are always somewhat jetlagged as the body is trying to set a new clock all the time.


Here are a few tools to get your body set to a healthy pattern:

  1. Go to sleep at the same time every day, even on weekends.
  2. Don’t watch TV before bed, especially programs that raise stress hormones, such as the evening investigative news shows, crime shows, etc.
  3. Turn off the technology for a couple of hours before bed.
  4. No TV or computers in the bedroom or sleeping area
  5. No lights on in sleeping area, even lights for phone charger, etc. If you have a light like that, block the front from your view. Light suppresses melatonin which will decrease your ability to go to sleep and your quality of sleep.
  6. Set aside the worries of the day. Basically like putting your work clothes away. You can do this mentally or by writing things down. Sometimes people visualize placing these things in a bank or balloon or even to float down a river, so that they release or let go of it so they can let their mind relax into a deep sleep.
  7. Go through a mental list of whet you are grateful for. This puts the body and mind in a calmer state of being. And it is always important to train ourselves to remember the good, so in those tough times, we can easily access them to support ourselves.
  8. Don’t eat or exercise within a couple of hours before bed.
  9. No caffeine or alcohol or nicotine for at least 3 hours before bed.
  10. Some folks with hypoglycemia or chronic stress do need to eat a small portion of protein before bed and if they wake at night. Please contact a health care provider if you are one of those people as the underlying issues should be addressed.
  11. Quiet. If you live in a noisy environment, you may want to play a tape of music to go to sleep. This can also help the mind contain itself and begin to shut down for the night.


These sleep promoting activities take time to make into a routine. Choose one or two at a time and do it for 2-3 weeks, and then add the next.


We all get accustomed to how we feel with the amount of sleep we presently have, but if you are someone who gets less than 7 or 8 hours nightly, try to increase the amount of sleep even by 30 minutes nightly and see the difference over the next few months.


Some folks will need more assistance than the basics above in getting adequate sleep. There are many naturopathic and homeopathic remedies that can help, but seeing a health care provider to get evaluated and finding the root of the problem would be the best solution.


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Stress • Part 2: Breathing

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

There are basic underlying needs in our health. Without these, our health and well-being suffers. In fact, unless these underlying needs are adequately met, it will be an uphill battle to get well and stay well.


What I consider the top three basic needs are:
1.) Breathing
2.) Sleep
3.) Clean and adequate water


These seem so simple, and at first glance, most of us would say those are taken care of in our lives, but I ask everyone to look a bit closer.


Breathing. Do we take deep breaths? Do we have clean air? Think about how you are breathing now. How deeply does it go? Does your chest expand? Do you breath shallowly? Even in your sleep? When we are tense, our breathing becomes tense as well. When you say you can hear stress in someone’s voice, it often stems from their lack of deeper breathing. Breathing is an important aspect of staying grounded and calm when stress begins to creep up.


We can train ourselves to optimize the benefits of breathing. We do it with athletic training, yoga and meditation. It is often used in acupuncture.


Here is an exercise that is easy and quick and can have some deep long term benefits along with short-term ones. Find a quiet place. Sit with your back straight and both feet on the floor if you are in a chair. Close your eyes. Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose. Feel your chest expand. Hold the breath for a count of 2 or 3 and then slowly exhale through your mouth. Do this three times in a row. You can feel the stress melt away. Try to do this 3 times daily. As you make this more of a routine, the benefits of the stress release last longer.


Put a little reminder on your desk at work. Put a reminder on the computer or TV at home. Put a reminder next to your bed. This is an easy, inexpensive and low time impact exercise. Give it a try.


Remember that Inspiration means to ‘breath in’. Let’s all be inspired.


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New Statistics on Autism

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

The journal Pediatrics just published new statistics on autism disorder prevalence in the US. The studies show that 1 out of every 91 children have autism or a disorder on the autism spectrum. This includes kids diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder. And 1 in every 58 boys is struggling with this. This is a huge change of the CDC’s previous estimates in 2007 of 1 in 150. They are changing their numbers next month to 1 in 100 kids in the US, which translates to greater than 770,000 kids.


This news confirms what people in the autism world have long known – that more families are affected by this than the previous statistics show. I am not convinced that in 2 years, there is such a huge rise in the number of kids affected (although the instances have been rising over the past few decades), but the awareness, education and willingness to see these situations has improved.


Hopefully this news will encourage more research in the causes and treatments of these disorders and more support for the families who are working 24/7 to try to improve the lives of these kids and set them on as healthy a course in adulthood as they can. Considering these numbers, approximately 1.5 million adults are living with these disorders. Some are able to find a niche that works for them and are doing well.


It is estimated that lifelong care will cost 2/3 less if there is early intervention not to mention the improvement in quality of life and independence and success in life. The awareness and education that allowed for these apparently darker statistics has the stronger benefit of making positive changes.


Some successful early intervention strategies include, but are not limited to:

  • Naturopathic Therapies such as therapeutic nutrition, supplements to replenish chronically depleted nutrients found in autistic children, herbs, homeopathy, diet changes, (DAN), allergy testing, toxin testing, digestive support.
  • Neurological and psychiatric medications and assistance
  • Specific educational programs- some including sign language
  • Physical Therapy including cranio-sacral therapy among others



What is the take away from this news? Increased awareness can help bring more funding and energy to research, support services and early intervention.

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Stress and Your Health – Part I

Sunday, October 4th, 2009




Stress. We hear the word every day. We see it on the faces of friends, family and strangers. We often feel it in the air. Stress can be a powerful friend; but is a powerful foe if out of balance. When we are “out of control”, the stress is controlling us … calling the shots. We are just trying to keep up and put out the fires. This can manifest either emotionally or physically, and it makes it difficult to even think spiritually. So, it is time to see how it can work for you and against you.



Stress is a physiological/endocrine response that allows you to save yourself in times of perceived danger (stressor). The ‘fight or flight’ response. It is supposed to last only a few moments and then the body gets back into regular balance once the stressor is gone. If you feel or have constant stressors (things that stress you out like finances, health, family, domestic violence, substance abuse, reminders of uncontrollable threats) then this system response does not shut off, and begins to create problems or dis-ease on a mind, body and spiritual level.



In the meantime, one thing I have observed is when a person feels more “in control”, their stress responses can change for the better even in the same situations. Those who have the tools to change their lives, even in small ways, can decrease the negative responses to stress. In addition, people who feel useful and affect positive change in others also decrease the negative impact stress has on their own lives. Fix something in the house you have been meaning to fix. Write a nice card to someone. Volunteer. Read a book you have wanted to read. Change your furniture around. You may be surprised how simple acts like these can have a positive effect on you.



Stress is such a big topic, that I will cover different aspects over the next few weeks in this blog which will cover symptoms, age responses, and some ideas to modify that stress.

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