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This time of year can be fun; attending holiday parties, eating an over-abundance of food, drinking cheer, gathering with loved ones, and traveling. As fun as these events can be they also can weaken your immune system rendering you useless to fully enjoy this time of sharing.

How is your immune system weakened by the holidays?

The weather is changing which means your body needs to adjust and expend more energy keeping warm and less on your immune system.

The late night parties with plenty of sugar-filled treats and alcohol taxes your immune system as sugar is an immune depressant.

As you stay out later you get less sleep for the next day of work which weakens your immune system further.

Are you thinking about all of the presents, obligations, parties and holiday cards you might need to spend time and money on? This can be stressful and as we have explained before, stress is hard on you body, delivering again another blow to your immune system.

Maybe your kids are spending more time at home along with their friends’ germs, demanding your immune system to continue to fight.

We cannot take away the immune suppressing stressors of the holidays nor are we going to take away your fun but we will give you some tips to boost your immune system and stave off the winter crud. Read our December newsletter to find out how hydration, immune boosting vitamins and herbs, and wearing a scarf can help.

Yours in health,

Dr. Britta Zimmer

Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder

As you are headed into your neighborhood grocery store or drug store you see the sign, “Get Your Flu Shot Here”. Then you hear that the flu can cause days of missed work and even death therefore you better get the vaccine to protect yourself. I encourage you to review the facts and then make an educated decision for yourself.

The federal immunization advisory board portrays the flu shot as being protective against flu related deaths and diseases. What people do not know is many of the members of this advisory committee have financial ties to the vaccine industry. If the randomized controlled studies are evaluated, the flu shot reduces the absolute risk of contracting the flu by 1%. Meaning 1 out of 100 people receiving the flu shot will benefit from it. They claim that over 35,000 people die from the flu caused illnesses yearly and this is the reason to get the flu vaccine but in fact less than 1000 people a year die from the flu, and 35,000 people a year die from pneumonia. After carefully reading the research, the flu vaccine does not protect people from contracting pneumonia.

In addition to not providing as much protection as claimed, the flu vaccine contains harmful ingredients. Mercury is added as a preservative in the form of thimerosal. Mercury is neurotoxic and has been implicated in various chronic diseases. In fact, many flu shots contain mercury above the upper limit for an individual weighing 200 pounds. If the flu vaccine is claimed to be thimerosal free, the fine print reads that thimerosal is still used in the manufacturing process. Aluminum is also added to the flu shot to promote an antibody response, aluminum has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The other toxic ingredients in flu shots include, formaldehyde which can cause cancer, ethylene glycol a component of antifreeze and various antibiotics.

Potential side effects from receiving the flu vaccine include joint inflammation, arthritis, anaphylactic shock, and Guillain-Barré syndrome (a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system causing weakness and paralysis.)

Prevention is key:

1. Wash your hands often
2. Avoid immune-suppressing sugar and alcohol.
3. Take a high quality multi-vitamin and mineral supplement especially one containing Vitamin D such as Good Elements’ Essentials
4. Manage stress
5. Exercise
6. Rest and sleep

If you are already in poor health and these prevention tools are not an option for you then you should consider receiving the flu vaccine.

Fear and availability make it easy for most people get the flu vaccine but I advise you to review the evidence for yourself, perhaps you will reach the conclusion that the risks of the flu vaccine outweigh the possible benefits.

Yours in health,

Dr. Britta Zimmer

Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder

Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine October 2008;162(10):943-51

Journal of the American Medical Association 1994;272:1661–5

Lancet Infectious Disease. 2007 Oct;7(10):658-66.

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20081006/flu-shots-not-so-helpful-for-kids?ecd=wnl_nrn_101508

Why do some people have allergies and others do not?

Is life just not fair or can we do something about this?
Allergies are a sign of our immune systems overreacting to otherwise harmless substances. Common allergy symptoms of sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, headache and fatigue are a response to increased inflammation in the body and the over-production of histamine by immune cells.

Over the counter or pharmaceutical allergy medications or decongestants only mask the symptoms of allergies rather than addressing the true underlying cause. Using these conventional remedies wastes your money and more importantly your body’s resources on band-aids that never fully address the true issue

Wouldn’t you prefer a deep acting remedy rather than a band-aid for your allergies?

This topic will be comprehensively covered in future blogs and in our daily health tips.
But to briefly mention a few points

Inflammation, imbalanced digestive systems and weakened immune systems can account for an increased susceptibility to allergies and suffering from associated allergic symptoms.
1. Decrease inflammation in your body by eating the right foods and taking herbs and nutrients like in Good Elements Sneeze-less and Motion.

2. Balance your digestive systems with the proper diet, stress reducing techniques and beneficial flora.

3. Fortify your immune systems by decreasing sugar and taking nutrients in formulas such as Good Elements Renewal and Resistance.

Check out Good Elements daily health tips over the coming weeks for more tactical allergy fighting strategies and make room in your medicine cabinet for health supporting remedies.
Yours in health,
Dr. Britta Zimmer
Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder