With all the media coverage the swine flu has been getting, and all the recommendations out there to get flu vaccination, I am still not convinced that flu shots are the best way not to get sick this fall. Chinese medicine proposes that the best defense is strengthening your own immune system.
Flu shots do not strengthen the immunity, they expose you to the pathogen. This means that your immune system is challenged by a dose of flu virus, not through normal channels but directly into the blood stream! A strong immune system can fight off this virus and develop immunity... however a strong immune system would have fought off a flu caught the normal way also.
There are many ways to strengthen the immune system that may seem rather obvious: eat well, sleep deeply for enough hours every day, keep warm, exercise and learn to let go of tension. It may seem surprising to some, but acupuncture is also very helpful, both to support your own immune system and to actually treat colds and flu.
If you get acupuncture as soon as you feel symptoms setting in, the needles have been known to kick out the cold/flu entirely right then and there. However, most people wait or can't get in right away, and then the acupuncture won't be as quick, but will definitely immediately alleviate the symptoms, improve the tiredness, and shorten the recovery time.
Why wait? Get your cold or flu treated right away and save yourself most of the misery of going through it!
An interesting link from Dr Mercola:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/21/Special-Swine-Flu-Update.aspx
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