Best Anti-Virals and Good Info to Help Beat Flu – Natural News

Here is a list of several good, natural antivirals to help beat the flu and other infections, found at Natural News.  One that I will tell you about is my favorite, Vitamin D (Vitamin D3 capsules).  Research seems to show we can safely take 2,000 IU a day, even more for a short period of time to build up levels… but did you know that 15-20 minutes a day in the sun, 3 or 4 days a week, will give your body what it needs?  The Sunshine Vitamin!! No wonder people get sicker in the cold months!!  Get those Vitamin D levels up!  You can buy it even somewhere like Wal Mart, for not very much at all.  It is a natural antibiotic. Take them separately from your iron supplements…  they can interfere with each other, hindering absorption.  I usually take them about 4 hours apart from each other. Here are some good links to get you up to speed on Vitamin D… there are also blog posts I have written here on this site about it, just look under the health and flu categories.

http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_Anti-Viral_Remedies_Influenza_4.html

http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/vitaminddose.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/health-fitness/health/Vitamin-D-is-natures-antibiotic/articleshow/5263795.cms

http://www.ehow.com/how_5343048_use-vitamin-flu-medicine.html

The following information can be found at the link below, and you may click the link to read in its full entirety.  It is definitely worth reading.  I have only listed some of the information in this post, but the whole article is very enlightening, and I recommend it. http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_Anti-Viral_Remedies_Influenza_0.html

(Natural News)

AVOID THE ANTACIDS DURING A PANDEMIC:

Antacid drugs like Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid
http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_Anti-Viral_Remedies_Influenza_4.html
In a pandemic, use of these popular antacid drugs can actually lead to your death. How? A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concludes that these PPI drugs significantly increase the risk of deadly pneumonia.

Read the full story here: http://www.naturalnews.com/026361_d…

These acid-suppressing medications, it turns out, are linked to a 30 percent increase in the risk of acquired pneumonia. And if you’re suffering from something like the swine flu, pneumonia is the most common cause of death. It’s the secondary bacterial infections, after all, that killed most people in 1918, and that’s what’s likely to cause the greatest number of fatalities in the next great pandemic as well.

If you want to protect yourself from influenza, avoid taking antacid drugs (including over-the-counter antacids).

Special Report from Natural News

“(NaturalNews) This is a special report the FDA doesn’t want you to read. In fact, this is the story that the corporate “leaders” of the natural health products industry don’t want you to read, either. Why? Because they’ve all been hijacked by Big Pharma interests, and they no longer represent real natural medicine like the kind revealed in this story. Read more about this consumer betrayal by the natural products industry leaders here: http://www.naturalnews.com/026215.html

When it comes to H1N1 influenza (Swine Flu), all the “authority” institutions in America agree on one thing: Keep the American people ignorant! Don’t allow people to learn the truth about the anti-viral properties of herbs, superfoods and dietary supplements.

Knowledge is a dangerous thing. It gives people options. It allows people to be independent from the government and independent from the medical system. It gives people control over their own lives, and in a police state society that seeks to dominate the health decisions of every citizen (http://www.naturalnews.com/026305.html), giving people control over their own lives simply cannot be tolerated.

That’s why this article will be blasted as “irresponsible” by health authorities. It will be portrayed as “dangerous” by pharmaceutical pushers. If the FDA could ban this website, this article would be precisely the kind of content they would target for censorship.

And what’s so dangerous about this article? It dares to advocate specific anti-viral products as protection against the H1N1 swine flu.

Big Pharma Profits

Knowledge of natural anti-viral products is, of course, a huge threat to the profits of Big Pharma — an industry that just received a whopping one billion dollars to make useless swine flu vaccines (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health…).

When I say “useless,” I mean that quite seriously. Vaccines are only useful against the specific viral strain that was available at the time of their manufacture. But influenza viruses mutate quickly, and as the WHO has already said, the real concern with H1N1 swine flu is that it will combine with seasonal flu in the Fall, creating a new, deadly strain that will of course be immune to all available vaccines.

Antiviral herbs suffer from no such limitations. Because they contain literally thousands of different medicinal compounds, they are able to attack viruses with a full spectrum of synergistic natural medicines. Thus, even mutating viruses find themselves unable to escape the multifaceted medicinal cocktail of antiviral plants.

That’s why this special report lists the top five anti-viral products I currently recommend. I have no financial relationships with any of these companies, nor do I earn any profits from the sale of these products. These are 100% independent recommendations offered under the Free Speech protections of the United States Constitution. I will not remove this article, and I will not be intimidated by health authorities wishing to see this information censored. The People have a right to know about natural medicine, and NaturalNews will continue to bring you this information regardless of the false authorities who attempt to deny the People the right to know this kind of information.

Top Five Antivirals:

Super ViraGon – a potent combination of garlic, olive leaf extract (a powerful anti-viral!), onion, ginger, zinc and other nutrients.
It’s available from www.BaselineNutritionals.com

The PowerImmune anti-viral tincture offered by Fitura (www.Fitura.com) combines organic Echinacea, Cat’s Claw, Shiitake Mushroom, Olive Leaf and many other ingredients (all organic).

Lomatium Dissectum – This product is the “secret” anti-influenza herb that very few people know about, even in the natural health industry. The root of the Lomatium is perhaps Mother Nature’s “perfect” anti-influenza herb because its anti-viral action is combined with a respiratory clearing action that’s especially useful for dealing with the secondary infections caused by many strains of influenza.

The indigenous American Indians grew Lomatium and used it as medicine. If you live in the American Southwest (or other dry, hot climates), you can probably grow this medicine, too. It might be one of the best investments you can make in your own health defense, because herbs that are growing in your yard are always more potent than herbs found in bottles.

If you can’t grow it, of course, you’ll need to buy it. Nature’s Answer has a 1-ounce tincture that’s available at Vitacost.com (http://www.vitacost.com/Natures-Ans…).

HerbPharm Virattack Compound – Speaking of Lomatium, HerbPharm offers an herbal tincture that combines it with St. John’s Wort (also a powerful anti-viral), lemon balm, olive leaf and other powerful anti-viral herbs.

This is a superb combination. It’s really, really powerful in defending against influenza infections. Vitacost offers it at nearly half off the retail price (http://www.vitacost.com/Herb-Pharm-…).

Olive Leaf Extract – One taste of real olive leaf extract and you’ll be convinced: This is powerful stuff! The best-known phytochemical in olive leaves is oleuropein, a very potent antimicrobial medicine that also has natural anti-viral properties.  Your best value on a standardized extract, in supplement form, is the NSI brand from VitaCost (http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Olive-L…).

Natural Anti-Virals

Now let’s get to the good news. The good news is that natural medicine can save your life. If a pandemic strikes, Tamiflu supplies will be tightly controlled. Unless you’re an emergency worker or a health care worker, your chances of ever being given Tamiflu are rather slim. Vaccines, of course, will be utterly useless once the influenza virus mutates, so even receiving a vaccine shot offers no protection other than what’s available through the placebo effect.

This leaves natural medicine and the world of anti-viral plants.

Due to the mass brainwashing of the public by pro-Pharma health authorities, most people have no awareness whatsoever of the fact that plants manufacture their own anti-viral medicines.

In fact, there’s no such thing as a plant that does not contain anti-viral medicine. EVERY plant on our planet manufactures at least one anti-viral medicine in its own cells.

Did you ever wonder why? It’s because plants are under constant attack by viruses, too. And if they don’t create their own internal mechanisms for dealing with viruses, they will not survive.

This is especially true with plant roots, which are immersed in soil that’s rich with both bacteria and viruses. If those roots do not possess anti-viral and anti-bacterial defenses, they will quickly be consumed and destroyed, killing the plant.

Thus, in virtually all plants, the manufacture of anti-viral medicines is the most natural thing in the world. It happens from day one of the plant sprouting, and it continues through the entire life of the plant.

Simply eating grass (or better yet, juicing grass) is, all by itself, an empowered act of medical self treatment. Grass contains anti-viral compounds, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and hundreds of other health-enhancing phytochemicals. (Don’t juice grass treated with pesticides, obviously.)

There are other plants, of course, with far greater anti-viral potential than grass. I merely mention this to point out the utter simplicity of finding and consuming anti-viral medicine: If you have a lawn, you have a pharmacy in your yard! (Even better if you have dandelions and other “weeds.”)

Wild foods offer the strongest anti-viral medicine. That’s a whole different area of expertise, of course, and if you want to learn more about wild foods, I have two sources to suggest:

• Peter Ragnar – www.RoaringLionPublishing.com

• Daniel Vitalis – www.Surthrival.com (his website is currently sparse, but look for upcoming announcements on seminars and teleconference events from Daniel Vitalis…)

In addition to the top five I’ve already mentioned here, there are other antiviral products and nutrients worth mentioning:

• Nascent Iodine – (www.IntegratedHealth.com) – Offers additional protection against infectious disease while supporting your thyroid gland.

• Amazon Herbs – The Amazon Herb Company’s numerous products from the Amazon rainforest are also, in their own ways, powerful anti-virals. Even their Zamu juice is a good choice (as it contains Sangre de Drago) for protection against infectious disease. Cat’s Claw (Una de Gato) is also a powerful antiviral, and it’s available in numerous Amazon Herb products.

• Probiotics – Virtually all probiotics will boost your defenses against infectious disease. Scientific research has even shown that probiotics directly reduce the risk of contracting H1N1 swine flu. You can find probiotics at your local health food store. Read more here: http://www.naturalnews.com/026265.html

• Wildcrafted oregano oil – (www.P-73.com) or (http://www.vitacost.com/productResu…) – This is a phenomenal wildcrafted oil with too many health benefits to mention here. It’s extremely useful as a first aid product, too, and can help your body heal more quickly. (It’s also known to be very useful for topically treating spider bites and insect bites.)

A related product, also available from Vitacost.com, is called OregaRESP (http://www.vitacost.com/North-Ameri…), which is an extremely potent encapsulated form of oregano oil. (Just open this bottle and inhale, you’ll be floored!)

http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_Anti-Viral_Remedies_Influenza_3.html

Swine Flu Vaccine Support Crumbles

It pays to research both sides of the story… so here is the side you may not have heard.  If it sounds too unbelievable, research it for yourself and see what you find.

(I personally am shocked (well, I guess I shouldn’t be) that the FDA has already approved the vaccination with NO SAFETY OR EFFICACY TESTING DONE FIRST!  Article here: http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_vaccines_swine_flu_the_FDA.html )

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.  In fact, we haven’t been for a long time.  (I would like to call your attention also to a previous blog post of mine from May 3, click to read)

The below article comes from the Natural News.

Related articles:   Ten Things You’re Not Supposed to Know about the Swine Flu Vaccine

Urgent lawsuit filed against FDA to halt swine flu vaccines; claims FDA violated federal law

Previous post: Vitamin D May Help Protect From FLU

Vaccine revolt! Swine flu vaccine support crumbles

as flimsy rationale for H1N1 shots becomes apparent

(NaturalNews) Public support for the swine flu vaccine is evaporating by the day as the rationale for the vaccine appears increasingly ludicrous to anyone paying attention. Moms, nurses, day care workers and members of the general public are increasingly realizing that Big Pharma’s rationale for swine flu vaccination just doesn’t add up.

Recent polls conducted by the mainstream media indicate that more than fifty percent of moms are refusing to expose their children to the swine flu vaccine, and nurses and health practitioners across the US and UK are going vocal with their opposition to the vaccine.

Legal action against the FDA’s approval of the swine flu vaccine is already underway (http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_v…), and public protests are gaining momentum in raising awareness about the primary objections to the swine flu vaccine. Intelligent, informed people everywhere are saying NO to this vaccine!

Popular support for the vaccine is crumbling by the day, and health authorities are now turning to exaggerated scare stories to try to drum up demand for their vaccines. Where scientific credibility is lacking, fear is being invoked in its place.

Why the swine flu vaccine doesn’t add up

So why is the justification for the swine flu so flimsy? It all comes down to these five crucial reasons being pushed by the vaccine industry… but as you’ll see below, each of these five reasons is demonstrably false!

Reason #1) The H1N1 swine flu pandemic is dangerous and deadly!

Why it’s flimsy: While the infection rate of H1N1 is currently high, the fatality rate is remarkably low. In fact, it’s no higher than a normal, seasonal flu.

Reason #2) The vaccine protects you from the virus!

Why it’s flimsy: There is absolutely no scientific evidence demonstrating that the swine flu vaccine offers real-world protection against the circulating H1N1 virus. While there is evidence showing that it produces antibodies, as people who have studied vaccine effectiveness already know, the mere existence of vaccine-induced antibodies doesn’t directly translate into functional, real-world immunity! Vaccines are often, in effect, fabricated immunity that often don’t provide practical immune defense in the real world.

Reason #3) The vaccine is perfectly safe, even for kids!

Why it’s flimsy: This reason is truly laughable. None of these vaccines have been properly safety tested by the FDA or the drug companies. They were approved by the FDA with a waiver, utterly bypassing the normal process of long-term safety testing that the public expects the FDA to enforce. In fact, according to attorney Jim Turner, the FDA’s baseless approval of these swine flu vaccines is a violation of federal law. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027205_v…)

Reason #4) There’s nothing else you can do to protect yourself from the swine flu (therefore you must take the vaccine shot).

Why it’s flimsy: This reason is an outright lie. In order to sell more vaccines, the pharmaceutical industry (and all its bureaucratic cohorts at the CDC and WHO) are intentionally keeping people ignorant of far safer and more effective options such as vitamin D and anti-viral herbal remedies.

http://www.naturalnews.com/027222_swine_flu_flu_vaccine_swine_flu_vaccine.html

WHO declares 1st 21st century pandemic, news from RSOE

WHO declares first 21st century flu pandemic 2009.06.11 15:41:39 Worldwide The World Health Organization declared the first flu pandemic of the 21st century on Thursday, Sweden’s health ministry said. The health ministry said the United Nations agency was raising its pandemic flu alert to the top phase 6 on a six-point scale, indicating the first influenza pandemic since 1968 is under way. “Today… the Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson has called a press conference following a decision by the WHO to raise the pandemic level to six for the influenza A H1N1 virus,” the ministry said in a statement. WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan was due to give a news conference on the influenza (A) H1N1 pandemic at 1600 GMT, following a meeting of the WHO’s emergency committee of flu experts, and WHO spokesmen declined to comment before that. The move will trigger heightened health measures in the WHO’s 193 member states as authorities brace for the worldwide spread of the virus that has so far caused mainly mild illness. The move to phase 6 reflects the fact that the disease, widely known as swine flu, was spreading geographically, but not necessarily indicate how virulent it is. “Phase 6, if we call a phase 6, doesn’t mean anything concerning severity, it is concerning geographic spread … Pandemic means global, but it doesn’t have any connotation of severity or mildness,” WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said. “In fact, what we are seeing with this virus so far is overwhelmingly to date mild disease. So we would think that this event is really a moderate event for the time being, because the numbers are high but the disease is overwhelmingly mild,” he told Reuters Television before the committee meeting. David Heymann, a former top WHO official now chairing Britain’s Health Protection Agency, said that countries had tried to contain the virus through measures including school closures during the previous phase 5. This has extended the precious time needed to prepare for a full-blown pandemic. “During phase 5, the government and people in the U.K. have had the time to prepare for a pandemic — this has hopefully decreased any surprise and concern that might be associated with a WHO announcement of phase 6, if one is made,” he told Reuters. As it spreads in humans, science cannot predict what course the virus will take, the disease it causes and the age groups infected, Heymann said. “The severity of that disease, the effectiveness of antiviral drugs and the stability of the virus must all be watched closely,” he added. A pandemic could cause enormous disruption to business as workers stay home because they are sick or to look after family members and authorities restrict gatherings of large numbers of people or movement of people or goods. World markets shrugged off the possibility of a pandemic, as investors focused on possible global economic recovery.

WHO set to declare level 6 swine flu pandemic

Level 6 may be coming – newest update on this topic from the RSOE:

WHO set to declare level 6 swine flu pandemic — first time since 1968
2009.06.11 15:13:00 Worldwide

As the death toll climbs, the World Health Organization is set to declare a swine flu pandemic, a move that could prompt fast-track production of preventive vaccines. The declaration of a global epidemic was expected Thursday as WHO officials huddled in an emergency session in Geneva in the wake of 141 swine flu deaths worldwide, including 12 in New York City. “It is likely in light of sustained community transmission in countries outside of North America – most notably in Australia – that level 6 will be declared,” Scotland’s Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told Scottish lawmakers. If WHO moves from level 5 to level 6 on its pandemic alert scale, it would be the first flu pandemic declared since the Hong Kong flu killed an estimated 1 million people in 1968.

On Wednesday, WHO reported 27,737 cases worldwide, most of them mild and requiring no treatment. WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan says she believes a pandemic is under way, but was seeking proof that the H1N1 strain is spreading rapidly from person to person outside the Americas before declaring a global epidemic. The world is better prepared than ever for a pandemic, with stockpiles of antiviral drugs like Roche’s Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza, experts said. Sanofi Pasteur and other major pharmaceutical companies have been working on a swine flu vaccine since last month, when WHO gave them a “seed stock” of the virus created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It could take up to six months before large amounts of a swine flu vaccine are available, GlaxoSmithKline spokesman Stephen Rea said. On Wednesday, city officials reported three more swine flu deaths, bringing the death toll to 12. The City Council scheduled an oversight hearing for Thursday on the H1N1 virus. The Health Department estimated that more than 500,000 city residents may have been sickened by the virus. The highest incidence is in Queens, where the outbreak began in April. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year. Without vaccines, the H1N1 flu strain could return to the northern hemisphere in a far more virulent form in winter, cause widespread sickness and death, mass work absences, and major disruption to trade, some experts fear. The World Bank estimated last year that a serious pandemic could cost $3 trillion and cut global gross domestic product by nearly 5%.

Australian scientist says Swine Flu possibly created in lab accident

Received this from the RSOE Pandemic Monitoring System this morning:

A Canberra researcher reckons the swine flu virus could have been created inadvertently by scientists working with eggs to grow new viruses and test new vaccines. Retired Australian National University virologist Adrian Gibbs was quoted Thursday by the website ScienceInsider as suggesting that a laboratory accident may have created the virus now sweeping the world.

Influenza specialists at the World Health Organization are examining the theory that swine flu – a mix of genetic material from pigs, birds and human beings – is an escapee from a research laboratory. “I bumped into an advertisement for an influenza vaccine for pigs that contained three different viruses,” Gibbs told ScienceInsider. “Not killing off the virus could explain the whole thing very neatly, but it’s only one of several possibilities.” Gibbs, who contributed to the research that produced the drug Tamiflu used to treat influenza cases, said he was ready to be proved wrong. “Scientists are trained to be iconoclasts, not to believe what they are told,” he said. “And they don’t believe until they have really had a good go at it.”

Here are the links:

http://www.idemc.org/read/index.php?pageid=news_read&news_id=78

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/268720,australian-scientist-says-swine-flu-created-in-lab-accident.html

Swine Flu pales compared to other viruses, say experts

Found this optimistic, from the RSOE monitoring system:

Swine flu pales compared to other viruses: experts
2009.05.06 14:02:13 Worldwide

The A(H1N1) virus behind the swine flu outbreak pales in comparison with fearsome pathogens that kill millions of people worldwide each year, experts said. Seasonal flu strikes 57,000 to 96,000 people a week in the world, leaving in its wake 4,800 to 9,600 dead, according to the World Health Organization. In comparison, the A(H1N1) virus has infected 1,085 people and killed 26 worldwide in the past 10 days, the WHO said.

“This infection is behaving like what we call a seasonal flu, like a more typical, conventional influenza outbreak,” said James Nataro, an epidemiologist at the University of Maryland. “It’s not behaving like the influenza pandemic of 1918.” The 1918-19 pandemic of “Spanish flu,” described as the biggest plague of the 20th century, killed between 20 and 50 million people. The number of cases and deaths attributed to A(H1N1) remains low compared to those registered every year as a result of seasonal flu, the physician said, noting the moderate virulence of the virus. “So right now, we are trying to maintain some cautious optimism in the face of a frenzy of activity,” Nataro told AFP.

Tamiflu Maufacturing Predicted a 531% Sales Increase for 2009

This is interesting…

Tamiflu Maufacturing Predicted a 531% Sales Increase in 2009

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread459238/pg1

Click to go to the link… have a look at page 3 from this pdf, found at the above post: www.chugai-pharm.co.jp…

Might not mean anything… but you gotta admit… it’s definitely interesting considering – and 531% is A LOT.  How in the world could they make such a prediction to their shareholders…???

Lingle: WHO discussing raising alert to level 6

Click text for source link : (AP) — HONOLULU – Gov. Linda Lingle says the World Health Organization is considering raising the pandemic alert level to phase 6, the highest level indicating a global outbreak of the swine flu.

Lingle says the possible move was discussed Friday on a conference call with federal and state health officials.

She says it is not an indication that the outbreak is more severe, or more people are getting sick or dying. It means the geographic distribution of the virus has widened.

Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, Hawaii’s adjutant general and head of state civil defense, says the alert level could be changed this weekend.

WHO officials Thursday said there were no indications in the past day that would prompt the U.N. body to raise the alert further.

What concerns me is the discrepancy in numbers that we have heard, and what is the actual threat level of this?  Different scientists are saying different things – some say it’s not as bad as we are hearing… others say it is as bad or worse.  The thing is… if Level 6 happens, what amounts to martial law could happen very easily.  If you don’t know what that means, a quick google search will let you know, as well as the link below.  Some things are for our benefit, I understand that, but … if things are being told wrongly… I have to question… why? and the next question is obvious – if things are *not* as bad as we are hearing… then why the need for level 6?  Here is a link that I found interesting.  Whether you agree or disagree, it is worth reading.  Click the link below for the full article from prisonplanet.com:

Imposing a level 6 would give governments around the world a perfect excuse to impose martial law, even though many scientists believe the H1N1 virus is no more of a threat than seasonal flu.

On Thursday, Fox News ran a segment on how declaration of a pandemic might result in a loss of constitutional rights. “If it becomes a pandemic, you could lose some simple rights — like going to the movies,” said host Steve Doocy, who completely understated the issue.

Here’s what Fox and the corporate media are not telling you — the government has a wide palette of dictatorial options ready to go: Executive Order 12919 (would put the United States under total martial law and military dictatorship), Executive Order 12656 (allows the government to increase domestic intelligence and surveillance of U.S. citizens and would restrict the freedom of movement within the United States and grant the government the right to isolate large groups of civilians), Executive Order 11921 (allows FEMA to “develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency”), and a blizzard of additional EOs allowing federal seizure of all communications media in the US, seizure of all electric power, fuels, minerals, public and private, seizure of all food supplies and resources, public and private and all farms and equipment, seizure of all means of transportation, including cars, trucks, or vehicles of any kind and total control over all highways, seaports and water ways, and ominously seizure of American people for work forces under federal supervision, including the splitting up of families if the government so desires. This last one is detailed in the Army’s Civilian Inmate Labor Program document.

Swine Flu (H1N1) interactive map and timeline

Just saw this:  Interactive Swine Flu map and timeline

Happy Saturday everybody :)

Hi all & Happy Saturday.

I don’t have any real updates today about the H1N1 slash swine flu sitch.  Things seem pretty much the same.  I have *heard* that the WHO is considering a level 6… I hope not because a Level 6 pandemic means some other problems too that come with that… other than that, though, things are about where they were.  Mild cases are continuing to pop up… Mexico says the deaths seem to be levelling off, that’s a good thing… and you may have heard or read my post about the actual number of *confirmed* cases of Mexican deaths from the swine flu being much different than the numbers we were originally given.  If not, my post is below where you can read it.  To quickly get a summary of swine flu posts, go to the “Categories” section on the right and click on Current Events: Swine Flu Updates… it will take you to a page where all the SF items are neatly arranged in order for you to read.

I’ve mentioned a couple different sides of the story – I really don’t know what to think.  So far no deaths have occurred outside Mexico, except for the toddler who *came* from Mexico into the US and who was already sick.  It came out he had underlying health problems even before this  happened.  I am so sorry for the Mexican people dealing with this, my heart goes out to them. I am grateful that so far no other deaths have occurred, that we know of.  For updates, please see my below posts on links to the RSOE site, also don’t forget that you can contact the local public health dept for your state.

For our part, I have just been making sure my family has lots of Vitamin C (I am a firm believer in that) and of course continuing to practice good cleanliness.

We have gotten the RAIN the past few days!!!  It rained so much last night and today, I thought for sure I was going to see Noah go sailing by and waving, with a giraffe sticking his head out of a little ark window! hahaha  :P  Seriously, it didn’t just rain, it POURED and STORMED and thundered and lightning.  Which, I kinda like the storms a little bit, I love the sound of the rain and some thunder. I know, that’s probably weird.  But I don’t like seeing small rivers on the road and at the foot of my steps! :P

OH… for those of you like me, practicing a GF (gluten free) diet… found something out that I want to pass along.  The GF thing is still new to me so I definitely appreciate any little tidbit I can get.  I found out that gluten takes its own sweet time leaving the body – could be as much as 6 to 9 months. If you’ve already been gluten free for a little while and then you get “glutened” it can take about 3 weeks (my goodness!!!) to leave your body.   This was interesting to me because I think I got glutened last weekend at a Thai restaurant.  The food was great, don’t get me wrong, but hubby is a photographer and he was doing some pictures for their advertising.  They kindly served us the food that they made for the shoot.

Of course, I was very wary of whatever I might/might not be able to eat, but they were so nice and I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.  So, I settled on something that I thought (hoped) would be okay, it was made with rice noodles and the broth was just heavenly.  LOL a little too heavenly.  I had mentioned to them I had a wheat allergy (gluten intolerant) and they seemed to think I just didn’t want to eat their food… that made me feel bad… I didn’t want them to feel that way.  So anyway… I had a rice noodle soup… but I noticed their soy sauce has GUESS WHAT wheat in it (Kikkoman’s) and I think there must have been some (probably definitely) in the soup.  I felt *terrible* later on.  I have been feeling so great lately that I could tell right away something was wrong. Amazing how when you get healthier, and start feeling good… you recognize immediately when things are not right.

The next morning, my skin was bloated, and my poor puffy eyes… I had the same old headaches like I used to get which lasted a couple days… I still don’t feel 100% yet, but I am better.  Next time, even at the risk of hurting someone’s feelings (which I try hard not to do)… but I will not eat something that my instinct tells me to stay away from.  And if you are gluten free, or a celiac, I offer the same advice to you.

People don’t truly understand when you tell them.  I tried to tell my husband and he kind of “pooh-poohed” it saying it was “all in my head” (OH I hate when he does that! haha) but he just didn’t understand, he’s never dealt with anything like that.  I’ve tried to share what I’ve learned with him and for the most part he has been supportive in helping me find GF foods, which I appreciate, but sometimes he acts like it’s just me.  And that is really hurtful.  Anybody GF out there run into the same thing with their family members? :rolls eyes: haha

Well, here’s hoping it will be a great Saturday for all of you… stay well, take lots of Vita C, and try not to worry about all this flu too much.  There’s not really much we can do, except use wisdom and caution. Blessings and light to each of you :)

Amy