Unleash the Power Within Part 4-PhylosophyOfHealth

NOTES

UNLEASH THE POWER WITHIN

"When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itselj, art cannot manifest, strength cannotfyht, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied."

HEROPHILUS


How TO PRODUCE WHAT You REALLY WANT

F

or results to last long-term and for us to have the ability to adapt to new information, environments, and circumstances, taking action is not enough. We must understand the core philosophies or "organizing principles" behind these actions that are shaping and controlling the results produced. If you have a false organizing principle, it will cause you to take actions that consistently produce a result other than what you desire. At the same time, if you have effective organizing principles, you will not only take the right actions, but you will accelerate the pace at which you can achieve the results.

Based on this understanding, what would be the ideal source to study if you wanted to become healthy?

*~


NOTES


C5J

"Thefuture depends on what we do in the present." MAHATMA GAN DHI


_—

THE 12 CORE QUESTIONS OF A VITAL LIFE: THE PHILOSOPHY OF HEALTH When is the last time you spent the time to think through your philosophy toward health? How did you develop your beliefs about what causes disease much less what creates optimal vitality? What is the basis of your strategy for creating health? T I Ihe most important decision you can make is your philosophy toward health. Few I of us, however, have taken the time to examine where our current philosophy _1_ and beliefs really comes from, much less if it even makes sense based on current information and practical results. Thus, before we delve into the principles that create optimal health and vitality, let's first examine our current beliefs and their origins.

QUESTION i What are the primary beliefs that our society has conditioned most of us to believe about what it takes to avoid disease and experience health?

EXAMPLE • We must eat three square meals a day balanced from each of the four food groups. • An apple a day keeps the doctor away. • Starve a cold; feed a fever.


IF WE WANT TO MAXIMIZE OUR ENERGY, VITALITY, AND HEALTH, WE MUST START BY EXAMINING OUR CURRENT BELIEFS.

T

he challenge with most of our current beliefs is that they are often developed unconsciously, or without direct, critical thinking on our part. It's really easy for people to be influenced by well-intentioned family members, advertisers, medical professionals, or government, without really thinking through the origin or motives of the information we receive. For example, is the information aimed at preventing djse_ase or truly optimizing health? Is it a marketing attempt to give people the 'quick fix' for losing weight vs. an ongoing lifestyle change that might be more effective, but less chic? Is there a possible financial motive by drug companies or government agencies that are presenting the information to us? Information is an incredibly valuable resource, but it must be balanced with common sense and proven results to truly serve our ultimate outcome. We must be the source of the solution and take charge of our decisions about what truly supports our health and vitality.

ASK YOURSELF "What beliefs and/or convictions do I hold in the area of health? Do these convictions truly serve me? What benefits and transformations might I be able to experience if I'm willing to let go of these convictions and expand the options and information available to me to make new choices?"

"There are two ways to slide easily through life.- to believe everything or to doubt everything; botb ways save us from thinking." ALFRED KORZBSKI

UNLEASH THF POWERWITHIN

THE POWER OF BELIEFS QUESTION 2 What are two of the most limiting beliefs you've had about your health in the past? OarWfL -e C&Q /fa&i

What are two of the most empowering beliefs you have about your health that have helped you? ^- Sg^ ^ jfa _ju<5 /ay

UNLEASH THE POWERWITHIN

-•

"All truth goes through three steps: first it is ridiculed. Second it i violently opposed- Finally, it is accented as self-evident." '

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUR

v


WHAT is HEALTH? QUESTION 3 If we want to study health to become healthy, let's start by asking ourselves what is health in the first place? How would you define it? -
t _

DEFINITIONS ACCORDING TO: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Health is a state of mental, ors well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. NUTRITION AND DIET THERAPY Optimal human fulfillment and productivity — quality of life. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL MEDICINE

Health is the result of... individual responsibility — choosing healthy over non-healthy.

QUESTION 4 Where does energy come from?

Ttu fi/a **

Energy is not only the basis of existence, it is the fuel that makes everything in our lines real and possible.

UNLFASH THE POWER WITHIN

HEALTHY CELLS: THE KEY TO A HEALTHY BODY QUESTION 5 What do cells need to survive... and thrive?

B

ecause cells are living organisms vital to human life, they have basic needs for their survival. Essentially, there are three things cells need to not only survive,

THREE THINGS CELLS NEED TO SURVIVE _ is the source of all energy in the body. This energy, in turn, drives the metabolic processes in the body, such as assimilation (absorption), elimination of wastes, respiration, circulation, and digestion. __ is the most abundant substance in the body. Inside cells " specifically, water is used for the breakdown of substances, as a medium for chemical reactions, and for the diffusion and osmosis of substances. | The ability to eliminate its own _^

"Your range of available choices—nV/fct now—f's limitless." CARL FREDERICK


THE IMPACT OF DECREASED OXYGEN ON CELLS

How LONG WILL A CELL LIVE? QUESTION 6 How do we know that a cell needs oxygen, water, nutrients, and the ability to eliminate its waste?

THREE CLASSIC EXPERIMENTS DEMONSTRATE WHAT CELLS NEED: Q Cell respiration — Dr. Otto Warburg Winner of the 1931 Nobel Prize for his studies in cell respiration, Dr. Warburg believed that there is a direct correlation between a person's health and the level of oxygen in his or her bloodstream. To test his theory, he put rat cells in bell jars with both normal and 60% below normal oxygen levels. In the jars with lower oxygen levels, some cells weakened or died, while others mutated.

Q Lack of oxygen destroys cells — Dr. Harry Goldblatt His studies at the Rockefeller Institute supported the hypothesis that a lack of oxygen destroys cells. He duplicated Dr. Warburg's experiment, then reinserted the cells back into the rats. The rats who got oxygenated cells survived; those who received under-oxygenated cells developed cancer.

jcl Cells can live forever — Dr. Alexis Carrel A two-time Nobel Prize winner for his work at the Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Carrel achieved startling results with chicken cells that he kept alive indefinitely in petri dishes, proving his theory that "cells will live forever" if they're given their basic needs and are not poisoned by their own environment.

U N I E A S l i THE POWER WITHIN

THREE WAYS HEALTHY CELLS CAN DIE QUESTION 7 If cells live forever, what causes them to die? H The most common killer is a lack of Any disturbance to the f.'t Any physical

^f

of cells can kill them. m ceiis can

a]so yn them.

THE Six BASIC CAUSES OF CELLULAR ATROPHY Cells shrinking is due to a loss of celi substance. Atrophy is an adaptive response. According to Dr. Stanley Robbins* of Harvard Medical School. There are six causes of atrophy: 1. Decreased ! 2. &A£f\)a 3. Diminished WCC^ 4. Inadequate TuiVvfvM 5. Loss of ewJiaaii^L

Stimulation1

6. *Vy

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM* 'The hormones produced by this system affect growth, development, rate of metabolism, functioning of the reproductive or^-in^ *.'XLUI] i-lwactcristics, personality development, higher nervous functions, the ability of the body to meet conditions of stress, and resistance to disease. The glands included in the endocrine system are the pituitary, pineal, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, gonadal, and hypothalamus. Endocrine homes are released into the blood or the lymph and circulated throughout the body. Endocrine disorders include: acromegaly, abnormal sex development, absorption of bone, diabetes, dwarfism, gigantism, goiter, tumors.

o :sj3Msuy)


Two VITAL SYSTEMS QUESTION 8 What is the primary medium that delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body? o'°Qg( is the river of life. Blood transports oxygen and nutrients to the body's tissues and eliminates waste.

QUESTION 9 ^

What is the primary medium for eliminating wastes?

—•

The JtW^ system works closely with the circulatory system as it cleans and returns tissue fluid to the blood and destroys toxins that enter the body. Your body has 3 more times lymph than blood.

THE POWER OF LYMPH

T

he lymphatic system is one of the most important circulatory systems in the body. It is critical to managing the elimination of toxins from the body and is the body's primary immune defense and waste eliminator system. It contains over 600 lymph nodes and has a network of collecting vessels that is more extensive than the venous system. The lymph system is responsible for carrying disease fighting materials to cells, transporting dead germs away, and supplying protein-rich plasma fluid back to the heart. When this system is blocked, we become defenseless against attacks by virus, fungus, and bacteria—specifically, infection fighting material is prevented from destroying germs and cell nourishing elements are prevented from reaching our blood. We must keep our lymph system clean and flowing by eliminating the excess waste by providing our body with the right vital nutrients, water, and most importantly deep, diaphragmic breath.


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THE TRUE SOURCE OF DISEASE QUESTION 10 What is the true source of disease? Q: If our bodies are so strong, then what causes us to become ill? A: The accumulation of "P^H-S in your bloodstream is the primary cause of illness.

QUESTION 11 But aren't our bodies designed to eliminate toxins from the bloodstream? Yes! This is why Dr. Isaac Jennings has said that the cause of an individual disease may be isolated to a given circumstance (i.e., bacteria) but the source of the problem begins in those activities that drain our body of life force.

Thus, dJ

is th? hndy's

tf>

cure itself. T)iseaseis_ttie_cure_. "Disease is due to a rffAtxWy, nf JfftiL 111 -ôl <-^,"

— DR. ISAAC JENNINGS, FOUNDER OF PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL HYGIENE


-:

THE BODY'S RESPONSE TO TOXINS One of the first responses the body makes to lowered nerve energy and decreased functional efficiency is the elimination of toxins from the system,

THERE ARE FOUR AVENUES FOR ELIMINATING TOXINS: Q Q Q 3

Skin Lungs/respiratory tract Bowels Urinary Tract

THERE ARE THREE CAUSES FOR THESE TOXINS TO BUILD UP IN THE BLOODSTREAM: J Taking in more than you can *•*•*£. This can occur as a result of being in a state of diminished nerve energy from making constant demands on the body without allowing it to fully recover. _ and/or waste and animal products — substances your body cannot use. that allow the micro-organisms |cl An overly acidic (yeasts, molds, funguses, etc.) within your bloodstream to proliferate—all of which produce their own waste (Mycotoxins) adding to the toxicity of your system.

(J31p 'S3

-^


A VITAL UNDERSTANDING Remember, Cause and Source are Not the Same.

THE

OF MY PAIN

IS RARELY THE

eg "Natural forces within us are the true haters of disease." HIPPOCRATES


THE BODY'S RESPONSE TO POISONS How does your body respond when you put poison into your bloodstream? * joint pain

•t* cough

•t* low energy

* headaches

<• can't sleep <• heart rate increase/decrease

* skin eruptions

•> kidney/urinary problems

•I* irregular breathing

•J* vomit

pass out/faint

* perspire

burping

* diarrhea

cramps

•»• phlegm

rash

* fever

•I* constipation

REMINDER How did you poison your bloodstream in the first place?

Y

ou ate food that was inundated with harmful micro-organisms (i.e., e-coli—an extreme example), you ate food that was already in the process of decay (animal flesh), you didn't combine your foods properly so they putrefied and fermented within your system, you did not practice full, diaphramic breathing, you created an anaerobic condition in your system, etc. All of these factors caused you to create an acidic environment—one in which you literally rot from the inside out.


A VIEW OF MAJOR DISEASES AND THEIR SYMPTOMS Additional symptoms •'•I, r -Vi!" Infection .... i Joint pain Sudden onset Inflamed lymph nodes Weight loss/gain Paresis/paralysis PhotophoOia Eye irritations Urinary difficulties Mjscie pain Nausea Diarrhea/constipation Impaired breathing Nasal discharge

Cougl Vomiting

Throat irritation Fatigue/malaise Fever/chills/sweats

Any Similarities? UNLEASH THE POWER WITHIN

FIVE SOURCES OF DISEASE

T

he true source of disease is the poisoning of the system, which comes from many different places. Disease occurs when more tearing down than building up is occurring in your system. This happens when the body is put into a weakened state — when there is a deficiency of force. This is a result of internal poisoning which occurs from several different sources:

FIVE SOURCES OF DISEASE: Five forces that are destructive to cells, and thus destructive to your health and your life

There are three ways to autointoxicate: (1) Consciously take in poisons that destroy your body. (2) Maintain a diet that slowly builds up more poison in your system than you are able to eliminate. (3) Create a bloodstream that is overly acidic. _ poisoning. _impingement. Physical

ruffur&

Destructive 'of. stress -= £/,


^

thoughts.

NOTES


5


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THE GERM THEORY

ARE GERMS THE TRUE SOURCE OF DISEASE? QUESTION 12 What does the medical profession teach today? Here is an excerpt from Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease, a current textbook in use at Harvard Medical School:

K

nowledge or discovery of the primary cause of germs remains the backbone on which a diagnosis can be made, a disease understood, or a treatment developed. The concept, however, of one etiologic agent to one disease—developed from the study of infections or single-gene disorders—is no longer sufficient. Genetic factors are clearly involved in some of the common environmentally induced maladies, such as atherosclerosis and cancer, and the environment may also have profound influences on certain genetic diseases. Stanley L. Robbins, M.D. Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School Reprinted from Robbins Pathological Basis of Disease, 6th Edition, W.B.Saundere, Title of Copyright 1998, with permission from Elsevier.


NOTES



THE FLU FALLACY A January 12, 1990, article in USA Today reported on the "ominous flu epidemic."

Serious flu strain hits early, hard ATLANTA—A particularly nasty flu virus j making fast tracks across the USA—but it's too soon to predict if this will be a more deadly flu season than most, officials say. "There's been a dramatic increase in the past week," says Walter Gunn, an epidemiologist with the Federal Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. As of Thursday, flu outbreaks were widespread in 10 states, regional in 14 states, and sporadic in 20 states. "It's earlier—definitely ahead of last year," Gunn says. "And it's different. It's a more dangerous

which has been associated with severe flu seasons in the past. In a typical year, about 20,000 people die of flu complications such as pneumonia. As of January 3, the CDC had received reports of widespread outbreaks only from Montana. Since then, it's hit hard from Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. The Hoffman-T.aRorhe Flu Track Center. Nutley. New Jersey, reports widespread flu-

; (sometimes caused by other kinds of viruses) in 68 of 71 cities. Tests bave confirmed flu viruses in Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix, Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Fargo, Houston, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Kansas City, Louisville, Miami, and New York. "Only 30% of those most at risk for complications, such as the elderly, have been immunized," Gunn says. "If you're not sick yet, it's not too late to get a shot." (Emphasis added.)

t 1990. USA Tuiluv. Reprinted with perm .—_


On January 5, 1994, another article in USA Today reported these concerns about the "yearly flu outbreak."

Flu Misery: It's bugging almost half of the USA By Anita Manning U.S.—Blame the Beijing virus for the aches and pains that deck the holidays. Welcome to 1994. Now, get right back to bed. If you're like thousands of others, you got more than you asked for during the season of giving. While you and your family gathered around the punch bowl, you shared more than good cheer. And now you have aches and pains. Chills. A sore throat. Maybe a queasy tummy. You have the flu. It's rampant on the land, felling healthy men and women like oaks Jo the ax and leaving offices bereft of workers. Flu has been reported in 42 states, is widespread in Florida, Maine, and Oregon and parts of a dozen other states, says the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It's a pretty good assumption that we're starting to peak now," says Steve Jegler, brand manager for Sucrets, whose parent company gmiihKline Beech arn sponsors a weekly Flu Alert

personnel in 70 regional markets, researchers project that 107,630,000 people—43% of_ the _US. population—have ilu__s^mptojns_jighLn-QW.. Most common complaints: cough and congestion. Tell that to Lisa Vallella. Aftera family ski week in Taos, N.M., the 21 -year-old Penn State senior flew back home to Mount Lebannon, Pa. She looked forward to a wild and crazy New Year's Eve with friends. It was not to be. "That last day, on trie airplane, I was feeling really bad," she says. Then, "it was New Year's Eve ... I got to the party and I was just miserable. My mom had to come pick me up and I ended up sitting in bed with my parents, watching David Letterman." It was a family flu. "My mom wasn't feeling well and neither was my dad. I think we all got sick. We all just looked at each other and said, 'Happy New Year.' " Susan Heinberg, 26, a New York City marketing executive, feels much better now, thank you, but her holidays weren't what she'd expected, either. She knew

she was in trouble as soon as she set out for her parents' home in McLean, Va. "I got on the plane on the 23rd and realized I was getting sick." On Christinas Day, as friends began to arrive, she says, "I felt I should help entertain, but by the time Mom served dinner, 1 knew I would not be able to sit at the table-" She went upstairs and crashed—joined the next day by her father, who also got sick. She spent the next week in bed, being mothered by her mother, who "put a bell on my bedside table and brought me tea." Heinberg headed back to New York thinking she had a unique tale to tell. Ha. "Almost everyone I worked with had the same thing happen to them over the holidays," she says. These sad tales are no surprise to CDC epidemiologist Nancy Arden. "It's not uncommon after the holidays to see (flu) activity increase sharply," she says. TypeÂ (Beijing), accounts for "g9-plug _pgrcgnt^ of this year's illness, she, says^ _Last _yeajyj{ was Type B,_ which Joo_k5_and


Flu Misery (continued) feels just about the same. The .iil'K-vnee: "When Influenza B i-. predominant, we tend to have more schools involved." Arden savs. "It hits children and voung adults. Whereas this season. it's all age groups, including For the elderly, /lu can be dangerous; says CDC epidemiologist Lawrence Schonberger. "With the type of virus we've seen this winter, it's common to see (the number of deaths) go up higher than average." Those who got_ flu_ shots earlier in the season should be protected, he says, "We got the right antigens into the vaccine of a euessirii? game. "For this Scientists monitor flu internationally and use worldwide patterns to help make their predictions. "We're now trying to make decisions on what goes into the vaccine for next year," doses, so it has to be done eark* "Bv the end of Februarv. we will

art u/a

—


have made all the derisions " he savs. "It's not always easv and predictable. Obviouslv, the closer we are to being accurate. the more protection vou have " Fighting back with rest, fluids, patience. Flu strikes 24-18 hours after exposure to the virus, say doctors. And when it hits, it can knock you flat. "It can start all of a sudden," says Dr. Palma Formica, a general practitioner in Old Bridge, N.J., and board member of the American Medical Association. "Usually, you're feeling well, then suddenly your head aches, you have muscle aches, you feel miserable. Some people have coughing and upper respiratory symptoms. You think you're going to die andôu're_sorry you JiHivt? " Here's what the doctor orders: 1. Go to bed. You need rest, "as much sleep as possible." Don't try to be macho. Getting up and going out too soon can lead to relapse," Formica sayg. 2. Treat symptoms. Keep as warm as possible if you have chills, and when fever develops, take a non-aspirin fever-reducer

such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Don't give aspirin to children because it can cause Reve's svndrome. A cough medicine with an expectorant can help break up the congestion. Antibiotics don't help, but if complications such as bronchitis or pneumonia develop, see a doctor. 3. Drink plenty of fluids. Herb teas, warm broth and chicken soup all help keep the body hydrated and soothe the soul. '4. Ride it out. "Realize it's going to be pretty miserable for awhile," Formica says, but "in 48 to 72 hours, the major symptoms start subsiding." 5. Take it easy. When the virus leaves the system, you start to feel better but are still fatigued. If you start running a fever again and are coughing up "a lot of cruddy-looking phlegm that is generally not clear—yellowish or greenish — then see the doctor. Or at least call the doctor." (Emphasis added.)

A January 7, 2000, article in USA Today tells of an "intense explosion" of the flu.

Flu's Blues By Anita Manning They struggle into emergency rooms looking like wet cats: bedraggled, shivering, hacking. Flu season 2000 is hitting the USA with a ferocity that has filled doctor's offices, overwhelmed hospital emergency rooms and

head of the Washington (D.C.j Hospital Center's emergency department, where patient after patient was being wheeled in Thursday, many of them very ill. "People are sicker this year than last year. We've seen more patients, and the patients are sicker than in previous years. My impression is this is a more On Sunday, his emergency room had its busiest day ever with 205 patients. The scope of the epidemic nationwide is difficult to gauge. The disease counters at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta have numbers only through Dec. 18 and are expected to release new numbers today. But anc-cdotally. the scene is much the same across the country. For the last three weeks we've been overwhelmed," says Wally Ghurabi, director of the emergency room at Santa MonicaUCLA Medical Center. "Whole

families have been coming in together." Doctors have seen fevers of 105, Ghurabi says. He has put in hours of overtime. Hospital admissions, most of them caused by complications of the flu, and traffic in the emergency room are up 20% to 30%, he says, primarily because of the flu. Most affected are older people who "can't handle the fever as well." For the elderly or those with chronic illnesses, the flu can be dangerous. It can wear down the immune system and lead to bacterial illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchitis. But even younger people say this year's flu is especially bad. "The pains were awful, like somebody took your body and started to twist it," says Nancy Acampora of Queens, N.Y., who became ill on Christmas Day. "I felt like somebody was beating me up." Physician Aida Bennett, an internist at a clinic on Staten Island, N.Y., woke up at 2 a.m. a few weeks ago feeling so awful that "I thought I was dying. I felt so bad all of a sudden." Bennett says she had chills and was "shaking like a leaf. I had the most horrible headache, my chest was hurting me, my joints were hurting me." Bennett and Acampora each

took one of the new medications, Tamiflu and Relenza, which are available for the first time this year. Both say their symptoms improved within a couple of days, they aren't the only ones seeking the new drugs. "We've gotten slammed." says who works at Happy Harry^ Discount Drug Store outsjde Wilmington. Del. "it started New Year's Eve, and ever since then it's been relentless." Last week was the "busiest week ever," he says. Customers fill the store, lining up for prescriptions and advice on over-the-counter medications to ease the symptoms. Relenza and Tamiflu. which shorten the duration and ease the symptoms of flu, "are flying off the shelves^ he says. Sales of the two drugs have been stellar, spokesmen of the manufacturers say. In the week before Christmas, 51,000 prescriptions for Relenza and 45,000 for Tamiflu were sold. Supplies are running low in some "We're aware of some shortages starting to occur and we're working with pharmacies to move product to areas in need," says Lisa Behrens of GlaxoWelcome, maker of Relenza. "We're not seeing shortages as

Copyright 2000, USA Today. Reprinted with pern


Flu's Blues (continued) much as high consumer demand. We have ample supplies nationwide, it's just a matter of restocking," says Charles Alfaro of Roche Pharmaceuticals, which makes Tamiflu. A Christmas Gift of Misery The CDCs last count, for the week that ended Dec. 18, showed that the flu had hit 19 states. Hut during the holidays, when people carried their germs along with holiday gifts to visit faraway friends and relatives, the flu "It hit me on Christmas Eve," says Denise Malloy of Boothwyn, PA. "And it hits you fast. It started around 6, and by 10 we had to leave my parents' home. And that was it." For six days, Malloy was down for the count. "First, I thought it was just a cold. I was sneezing, sniffling. Then, when you can't get out of bed and everything on your body hurts you." Malloy, a programmer analyst for a steel company, dragged herself into work. "It was the year end, and Y2K, but I try to stay away from people and wash my hands a lot." Twoco-workers also came do wn with the flu on the same day, she says. They blame another coworker. Now Malloy's husband has it. "He lost a whole week's work." Hospital emergency rooms in Houston, Philadelphia, and other cities have been so clogged with patients with a variety of upper respiratory illnesses that they've had to divert patients to other hospitals. Some are postponing elective surgery and admitting only trauma patients, or treating


only those who don't require a hospital bed, because no beds are available. 'I just feel bad. I can't do anything' At Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, on Chicago's near West Side, doctors are in the midst of the first wave. About 20% of the hospital's emergency room patients have it, a higher-than-usual proportion, doctors say. This past Sunday, 164 people visited the emergency room; usually about 100 a day come in says Jerrold Leikin, associate director of emergency services. Most of the flu cases involve respiratory ailments among younger adults, Leikin says. He says he expects the numbers of flu-stricken people to climb but says it's not too late to get a flu shot, especially if a second wave comes around in March, as it did a year ago. Vernita Bostic, 57, of Chicago was among those being treated Thursday at Rush-PresbyterianSt. Luke's. "1 just want to get it over with," Bostic says. "I just feel bad. 1 can't do anything." She says she spent the holidays "coughing ... and sweating." Holiday flu-sharing may be only a prelude of what's to come, says Flor Munoz of the Influenza Research Center at Baylor University College of Medicine in Houston. "We were expecting this week would be worse, because everybody is back to work, back to school; the virus gets a chance to spread around." One reason colds and flu are rampant in the winter, she says is that people congregate in airtight

offices, schools, and homes, sharing germ-filled space. But that's not all. "We think it's an intrinsic property of the viruses" to circulate in the winter, she says. "The flu is very predictable; it has a a seasonality. Flu epidemics don't last more than 10 weeks. Once you start seeing a few cases in a commu _it peaks and s quickly as it came. Many microbes can cause upper respiratory illness, and they circulate all year round, she says. "Other viruses (besides influenza) cause similar illnesses, and you can catch one after another." Lab tests throughout the country indicate that the strain circulating this year. Jype^ A/ H3N2. is one that is covered by the influenza vaccine. But, health officials say, that is a a particularly nasty strain. When this strain is dominant, as it has been for four consecutive years, death rates are higher than when other strains are dominant, Carolyn Buxton Bridges of the CDC says. "So this will be a bad season." At least there are new drugs to treat it, and at Washington Hospital Center, Smith says new tools allow quick diagnosis. But the best offense against flu, he says, is a good defense. "If you haven't had the flu, get a flu shot." Contributing: Matt Baron, Robert Davis, Marlyn Elias in Chicago (Emphasis added.)

A January 31, 2005 article in Forbes magazine had this earth-shattering news to report about the "next global catastrophe."

The Next Big Killer It could kill tens of millions around the globe. Are we prepared? By Robert Langreth and Tomas Kellner The tsunami that killed 140,000 people across southern Asia in December ranks as one of the most devastating disasters in recent decades. But the next global catastrophe could be much worse. It is likely to kill many millions of people, sicken a quarter of the world's population and send the global economy into a taJlspin. There is little we can do to stop this disaster from happening, and it could already be imminent. The threat, obscured bv the all-too-with-us aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, is a global

occurred in 1957 and 1968. Thanks to modern jet travel and densely packed Asian countries where millions live in close proximity to farm animals, the threat of a new pandemic is greater than ever.

spread of a deadly new strain of

coming. It is hard to say that the probability of it occurring is anything other than 100%," says Martin Meltzer, health economist at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The only real questions, he says, are how soon and how bad. Even a relatively mild strain would kill up to 207,000 Americans (versus 36,000 flu deaths in a typical

one in the world is immune. Such a virulent strain unpredictably leaps from farm animals to humans every few decades, with devastating consequences. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the worst on record, felled 50 million people; it was particularly effective at targeting adults in the prime of life. Milder pandemics

million and rack up $70 billion to $166 billion in direct medical and lost productivity costs, Meltzer calculates. A potential pandemic mav alreadv be brewing. The socalled bird flu. identified bv virologists as H5N1 fa reference to the viral surface proteins hemagglutinin and neuramini-

dase; there are 15 types of 'H and 9 subtypes of 'N' proteins first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997 and has spread among Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia So far it has infected 47 people who had come in contact with sicl animals, and killed 34 of them— t chilling 72% mortality rate. (B comparison, the SARS viru killed 10% of the 8,000 people hit.) Unlike ordinary flu strains which mostly vanquish elderl or other vulnerable population through secondary bacteria infections or by exacerbating preexisting conditions, the birc flu appears to have a more direc killing effect on cells in the lung and other organs; many of tht fatalities were among previousl} healthy young people. So far the avian flu canno spread from human to human But the influenza is prone tc mutation, and it may just be matter of time before a new strair combines the high lethality o

UNLEASH THE TOWER WITHIN

~

Global Influenza Program. "At best we can slow down the spread to give us a little more time to produce more vaccines." The U.S. vaccine supply is particularly vulnerable, now down to a single main flu shot manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis, after factory snafus this fall contaminated the entire supply at Chiron Corp., the other big producer. After giving lip service to the influenza threat for years, the government is finally getting serious. Federal spending on flu research, surveillance and vaccine procurement zoomed to $283 million this year from $39 million in 2001. But 20 state health departments still don't have pandemic response plans, and half don't have an online reporting system compatible with the CDC's national database, late; A special vaccine would says Trust for America's Health, an advocacy group. Assuming process that involves incubating that a pandemic hits once every 30 years, economist Meltzer chicken eggs. "It will go around calculates that $700 million to the globe, and nothing will stop it," says Klaus Stohr, head of the for vaccine development and World Health Organization's response is easily justified.

avian flu with garden-variety influenza's ability to spread through coughing and sneezing. Meltzer says it is virtually certain there will eventually be another lethal pandemic. What is the probability that H5N1 is going to be it? That's hard to judge. Still, says University of Minnesota infectious-disease epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, "this looks like the first chapter in the new flu pandemic. Even with moderate transmission and fatality rates, this could do in less than a year what HIV took 30 years to do." Since no one would be :)' immune, all 6.4 billion people on the planet would need a shot. But only 300 million flu shot doses are produced each year, a capacity that could stretch to 500 million or so doses in the case of a single-strain pandemic. In


TheJed&Jiave contracted with both^Sanpfi-Aventis_ and Chiron_ fn_pmH_iirp a prnfQtypp_ayjan-flu

vaccine for large-scale trials that are expected to get under way very soon with healthy adults. It is not known how much protection the vaccine might provide. The government also plans to award contracts this year to accelerate the development of a new cellculture technique that would allow vaccine to be grown in vats instead of in chicken eggs; such methods are now used for polio and other viruses and might more easily be scaled up in an emergency. It may take years before vaccine production is sufficiently primed. Meanwhile, in Asia, the flu virus continues to mutate. Says epidemiologist Osterholm; "We have yawned at influenza year after year. We are going to have a rude awakening. [Emphasis added]

NOTES


eg "Choice: it is always your next move." NAPOLEON HIL1


Unleash the Power Within Part 4-PhylosophyOfHealth

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