That's right, I'm moving out of the US and into Africa! After a brief stint in NY/DC, I should arrive in Uganda on Nov.16, where I will be for nearly 3 months helping to do some research related to the mental health of a displaced group (Acholi) from the north of Uganda. Hopefully I will also get to do some rafting at the source of the Nile, trekking on some 16,000+ ft. volcanic peaks, see some of the biggest waterfalls in the world, and maybe even spy on a mountain gorilla (and lions and giraffes and rhinos, oh my!). Of course that all requires cash, and since I will be a student again come Feb, that is one thing I'm short on. That's ok though, because I'll be a student in fabulously beautiful Cape Town! where I'll busy braai-ing and kloofing and diving (did you just hear Bob Barker announce that in your head? I did!). But only when I'm not busy studying, of course.
Really though, I'm very excited at the prospect of living in Cape Town and getting to know it apart from the tourist track. It's an incredibly dynamic city and there's a lot to learn about development, conflict, education, race relations, the role of nonprofits, and so much more.
So here's to the unknown, to finding my groove, to international living, and to being a positive force in society! Cheers!
29 October 2007
17 October 2007
"Share the Love, not the Flu"shot
The campaigning and propagandizing for people to get flu immunizations seems to me bigger than ever. This is a problem for me because, like most everything pharmacueticals do, it's not about your health or that of your family, but about making money. The fact is that the average, healthy adult should NOT be getting a flu shot.
WHO SHOULD GET A FLU SHOT?
The CDC recommends children (6 months to 5 years), pregnant women, those with chronic medical conditions, adults over 50, and those living in longterm care/nursing home facilities get vaccinated. In addition, people who live with those who are at risk/cannot get vaccinated (eg if you have an infant under 6 months or care for someone with a chronic illness).
It is dangerous to get a vaccine if you are allergic to chicken eggs, had a severe reaction to the vaccine in the past, if you developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome after receiving the vaccine in the past, if you are under 6 months of age (and I'm SO impressed you're reading this if you are!), or if you have a fever.
However, the following factors (not to mention that GBS issue!) lead me to question if even the recommended population should get the vaccine.
WHY NOT GET A FLU SHOT?
1. The vaccine contains chemicals such as mercury, aluminum, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), phenol, and formaldehyde. Aluminum and mercury have been linked to Alzheimer's. Pretty sure everyone knows antifreeze and formaldehyde are poison. You may be thinking that these things must only be in very small concentrations, but these toxins do build up in your system year after year.
2. There is no guarantee! There are lots of strains of the flu virus out there, and they are all adapting and changing. The vaccine that is given each year is a "one-size fits all" solution--scientists monitoring and evaluating these changes choose which strains they think will be most common that year--given to everyone everywhere. The vaccine does not protect you against all strains. It takes time to produce the vaccine, and sometimes the predictions made so far in advance as to which strains will be common are wrong. Also, after several months the strain your body produced antibodies for could very well have already mutated, rendering that vaccine less effective.
3. If you have a chronic medical illness your immune response may be depressed enough that even in the presence of the inactivated virus particles it does not produce sufficient antibodies to protect you if you are infected.
4. Increased use of vaccines (in a case like this where evolution occurs so quickly), and antibiotics, can only increase the virulence of a pathogen. Meaning that we are acting to create a pathogen that will be far more deadly than it currently is, so we are not doing ourselves any favors.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
Promote a healthy immune system! It's there to protect us from harmful invaders, so why not fully equip it?
Diet is essential:
-Avoid sugar! It suppresses the immune system and most of us are totally oblivious to the amount of sugar we are actually eating/drinking each day. I challenge you to try to go just one day without consuming any sugar--read labels!--just to make you aware of where it's coming from in your diet and better equip you to limit your intake.
-Avoid processed foods. They have been stripped of nutrients and contain harmful ingredients.
-Avoid junk food, fast food, trans-fats, etc. (obvious)
-Do consume essential fats and complex carbs
-If you eat meat, buy naturally raised (free-range, hormone-free, antibiotic-free) meat.
Sleep is essential. Do it!
Move your body. The more the better.
Do things that make you happy. (ok, I can't say I've read any studies linking happiness and healthy immune systems--which doesn't mean they're not out there--but as long as I'm talking about a healthy lifestyle, I figure this is pretty important. And it's easy to forget.)
Ultimately everyone has to judge their own situation and decide for themselves what they are, and are not, willing to do. Just don't be guilted into anything by a commercial!
WHO SHOULD GET A FLU SHOT?
The CDC recommends children (6 months to 5 years), pregnant women, those with chronic medical conditions, adults over 50, and those living in longterm care/nursing home facilities get vaccinated. In addition, people who live with those who are at risk/cannot get vaccinated (eg if you have an infant under 6 months or care for someone with a chronic illness).
It is dangerous to get a vaccine if you are allergic to chicken eggs, had a severe reaction to the vaccine in the past, if you developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome after receiving the vaccine in the past, if you are under 6 months of age (and I'm SO impressed you're reading this if you are!), or if you have a fever.
However, the following factors (not to mention that GBS issue!) lead me to question if even the recommended population should get the vaccine.
WHY NOT GET A FLU SHOT?
1. The vaccine contains chemicals such as mercury, aluminum, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), phenol, and formaldehyde. Aluminum and mercury have been linked to Alzheimer's. Pretty sure everyone knows antifreeze and formaldehyde are poison. You may be thinking that these things must only be in very small concentrations, but these toxins do build up in your system year after year.
2. There is no guarantee! There are lots of strains of the flu virus out there, and they are all adapting and changing. The vaccine that is given each year is a "one-size fits all" solution--scientists monitoring and evaluating these changes choose which strains they think will be most common that year--given to everyone everywhere. The vaccine does not protect you against all strains. It takes time to produce the vaccine, and sometimes the predictions made so far in advance as to which strains will be common are wrong. Also, after several months the strain your body produced antibodies for could very well have already mutated, rendering that vaccine less effective.
3. If you have a chronic medical illness your immune response may be depressed enough that even in the presence of the inactivated virus particles it does not produce sufficient antibodies to protect you if you are infected.
4. Increased use of vaccines (in a case like this where evolution occurs so quickly), and antibiotics, can only increase the virulence of a pathogen. Meaning that we are acting to create a pathogen that will be far more deadly than it currently is, so we are not doing ourselves any favors.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
Promote a healthy immune system! It's there to protect us from harmful invaders, so why not fully equip it?
Diet is essential:
-Avoid sugar! It suppresses the immune system and most of us are totally oblivious to the amount of sugar we are actually eating/drinking each day. I challenge you to try to go just one day without consuming any sugar--read labels!--just to make you aware of where it's coming from in your diet and better equip you to limit your intake.
-Avoid processed foods. They have been stripped of nutrients and contain harmful ingredients.
-Avoid junk food, fast food, trans-fats, etc. (obvious)
-Do consume essential fats and complex carbs
-If you eat meat, buy naturally raised (free-range, hormone-free, antibiotic-free) meat.
Sleep is essential. Do it!
Move your body. The more the better.
Do things that make you happy. (ok, I can't say I've read any studies linking happiness and healthy immune systems--which doesn't mean they're not out there--but as long as I'm talking about a healthy lifestyle, I figure this is pretty important. And it's easy to forget.)
Ultimately everyone has to judge their own situation and decide for themselves what they are, and are not, willing to do. Just don't be guilted into anything by a commercial!
04 October 2007
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