>From Teresa Binstock

This woman, Rhonda Smith, should be fired!  This is negligent, inaccurate
information.....

Rhonda Smith *
Louisiana Department of Health
325 Loyola Avenue, Room 308
PO Box 60630
New Orleans, LA 70160
Main Number (504) 568-5070
Fax: (504) 568-7722
E-mail: rsmith7@dhh.state.la.us



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http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/healthandfitness/stories/PE_Fea_Health_chiro122
3.5863d.html

 

Don't panic about flu, some advise
PREVENTION: Common sense goes a long way toward maintaining a strong immune
system.
10:29 PM PST on Monday, December 22, 2003
By JANET ZIMMERMAN / The Press-Enterprise


Nate Coffin is sick of the fear and paranoia surrounding this year's flu
vaccine.

The Redlands chiropractor said there's plenty that people can do to protect
themselves against the virus. It includes taking care of their bodies and
keeping a positive attitude.

Coffin wants people to quit worrying if they don't get the shot, which is
in short supply. Dire warnings of a severe flu season have created public
hysteria, said the chiropractor, whose patients have begun showing up at
his office wearing masks.
                          CheckWidthImage(1,1024,215); The Press Enterprise
Boost your immune system, Nate Coffin advises.


Health officials say the primary strain of flu this year is different than
the virus strains in the vaccine, though the viruses share some
characteristics and the shot may provide 50 percent protection. The flu
season arrived earlier this year, and children are being especially hard hit.

"It creates this fear and uncertainty of, 'If I don't get the flu shot, my
kids are going to die,'" Coffin said.

People should worry less about the virus and more about their immunity, he
adds.

"You're probably carrying a lot of these viruses and bacteria around
anyway. If your immune system is weak, it will hit you," Coffin said. "If
your immune system is intact and strong, it probably won't."

The chiropractor said he has never gotten the flu shot and never had the
flu. He also did not get the vaccine for his 4-year-old son and
23-month-old daughter.

To ward off the flu, Coffin urges exercise, adequate rest and a diet low in
sugar and carbohydrates. He also recommends chiropractic adjustments - for
babies and children, too - to maintain the integrity of the nervous system,
which is tied to the immune system. And don't forget the power of the
mind-body connection, he said.

"If this thing is going around, the paranoia multiplies and builds on
itself," said Coffin, who takes a daily dose of cod liver oil. "Fear is a
horrible way to motivate people."

Dr. Eric Frykman, San Bernardino County's chief of disease control and
prevention, agrees that a healthy lifestyle is good for general well-being.
But the vaccine is the best protection from the flu, he said.

"The benefit from a vaccine is that it can help your body build immunities
before that organism ever gets in your body," Frykman said. He cites the
number of deaths from diseases such as measles and diphtheria, which
dropped dramatically after immunizations were introduced.

Coffin adheres to the advice of Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician,
author of "The No-Grain Diet" and the force behind www.mercola.com, a Web
site on natural health.

Mercola said the flu vaccine is ineffective because most Americans' immune
systems are impaired by diets rich in sugars, grains and processed and fast
foods.

"Putting so much faith and credence in a single vaccine against the flu is
like fireproofing one door in your house when the rest of your home is
saturated in gasoline," Mercola writes.

"A vaccine won't save you from the flu ... because your underlying defenses
- your immunity - are seriously dysfunctional, and there are far too many
potential 'invaders' to ward off via the artificial means of vaccination."

Mercola also said the vaccine is inherently bad because it contains
aluminum, phenol and mercury. But a Food and Drug Administration
spokeswoman said the vaccine does not contain aluminum or phenol.

Most of the mercury-containing preservative, thimerosal, was eliminated
from flu vaccines after 1999, though some manufacturers use it in trace
amounts, said Rhonda Smith, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC).

"There's no evidence it causes problems in children or adults, other than
mild swelling at the injection site," she said.

Mercola is concerned that the CDC has broadened its recommendations for who
should be immunized. In addition to people older than 65 and those with
chronic diseases that weaken immunity, healthy children ages 6 months to 23
months and pregnant women who will be in their second or third trimester
during flu season should be vaccinated, according to government guidelines.

Besides vaccination, the CDC recommends avoiding close contact with sick
people, covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or
sneeze, washing your hands frequently and not touching your eyes, nose and
mouth.