How toxic is the flu vaccine?

By Dr. Brandon Vinzant

For the past several years, physicians in America have been insisting that every child age 6 months to 18 years must get an annual flu shot. Making matters worse, health officials have now ramped up those recommendations, telling EVERY person over the age of 6 months get a flu shot, healthy or not, low risk or high. Everyone! Three hundred million of you, every year from the year you are born until the year you die.

But hold on a minute. There’s something fishy about this. Because human antibodies normally last a lifetime, remember? That’s why you don’t get the chicken pox over and over again; because the first time you got the chicken pox as a kid, your body created chicken pox antibodies and those antibodies last a lifetime. Your immune system provides you with lifetime immunity from chicken pox.

CDC officials believe that a year after someone gets the flu shot, antibody levels — an indicator of immunity — can fall by two-thirds or more. Some key studies indicate the resulting levels are not strong enough to be protective, said Nancy Cox, head of the CDC’s chief of the CDC’s flu division.¹ Vaccines must not help the body produce antibodies then, because if that was true, whoever had the influenza vaccine would have lifetime immunity to those specific strains. However, many times a person will get the actual condition after being vaccinated. This is one way we can see that they are ineffective overall and actually hurt the immune system.

According to the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center), vaccines are immune suppressive, which means they suppress your immune system, which may not return to normal for weeks to months. They are also shown to have an effect on brain function, DNA/RNA, t-cell function, and the cardiovascular system being linked to chronic conditions such as autoimmune disorders, allergies, and cancer.²

One 2007 study published in the Annals of Medicine concluded that:

“Abnormalities in arterial function and LDL oxidation may persist for at least 2 weeks after a slight inflammatory reaction induced by influenza vaccination. These could explain in part the earlier reported increase in cardiovascular risk during the first weeks after an acute inflammatory disorder.”³

These vaccines are causing worse conditions that the flu typically ever is and are proving to be potentially deadly. Not that it is any fun, but the best way to protect yourself against the flu is to actually be exposed naturally to the flu virus, allowing your body to produce lifetime antibodies. By taking Vitamin D, burst training, eating according to the Maximized Living nutrition plans, avoiding toxins (which are heavily present in flu vaccines), and making sure your nervous system is functioning at it’s highest level, you are taking the proper steps to eliminate the chance of getting the flu and fighting it off the correct way – without exposing you or your family to dangerous toxins.

The flu shots are toxic to your body! What else are you exposing yourself to at home that can increase this toxicity? Do you know the hidden sources of toxicity in your house?

Cholesterol Basics

By Dr. Jake Marshall from Maximized Living

Most people in this country are told or believe that cholesterol is a bad thing. But when we break down what cholesterol is used for in the body it’s one of the most important biological substances to human physiology. Cholesterol is one of the basic molecules that help form our hormones in our body. Cholesterol is released by the liver and also makes up part of every single cell in the human body.

What the public usually is concerned with is the buildup of cholesterol in our arteries. The scary part about it is that we cannot feel the plaque building in our arteries the same way we do not feel heart disease or cancer developing until it is too late. There are two types of cholesterol that we are familiar with, HDL (“good”) and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. The HDL is thought of as good because it moves faster through the blood vessels to clean up plaque or damages to the vessel wall. LDL is the opposite in that it moves slowly trying to clean up whatever the HDL missed.

The problem with cholesterol in America is that everyone thinks high cholesterol causes heart attacks and that LDL is the “bad” cholesterol. A nationwide study from 2009 found that “almost seventy-five percent of heart attack patients fell within recommended targets for LDL cholesterol, demonstrating that the current guidelines may not be low enough to cut heart attack risk in most who could benefit,” said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, Eliot Corday Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s principal investigator.

Basically the study found that people with normal LDL levels were having heart attacks as opposed to the group who had elevated levels. This is only one study but if we take a look at heart disease and cholesterol drug ratios it’s clear as day. I’m saying that if cholesterol was the cause of heart disease than we would not have the rates that we do. For example, we have more cholesterol drugs being prescribed and taken than we ever have and we have more heart disease than we have ever had in history! We cannot seem to turn on the television for five minutes, these days, without seeing a commercial for Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor or any other statin drug. There is a reason your body raises your cholesterol, usually to heal a part of your body that you have damaged. The reason that your cholesterol raises is not because you do not have enough Lipitor in your blood. If that was the cause, God would have put a Lipitor pump in your body.

The answer to this is to find what is causing the elevation. Eating an organic diet full of vegetables, proper ratio fish oils and exercising have shown to be much more effective in lowering cholesterol. This method is much safer and comes with no warning labels. Most importantly, a properly functioning liver along with associated digestive organs are designed to balance cholesterol levels in the body. The spine and nervous system control the function of these organs; therefore, a spinal correction to create neurological integrity is a foundational factor in normalizing any nutrient in the body including cholesterol.

The #1 Financial Crisis in America

By Dr. Ben Lerner
Four (4) Invaluable lessons I learned from great people with great things to say:

1. “You’re only young once – take care of it.”  (I’ll bet you thought he was going to say “Enjoy it.”  So did I.) -FROM A HEALTHY, WEALTHY, ULTRA-ACTIVE 80 YEAR OLD MAN
2. “People spend half their life spending all of their health to acquire wealth and the second half of their life spending MORE THEN their wealth trying to get their health back.” -FROM A WORLD-LEADING DOCTOR
3. “The #1 cause of bankruptcy and financial stress are costs related to health problems. So it’s simple – make your health your 1st investment.” -FROM A WORLD-LEADING, WEALTHY FINANCIAL ADVISOR
4. “What do you mean organic food is too expensive? Your health is not a place to save money! You’ll spend 10 times as much later at the hospital!! (On drugs and surgery)” -FROM A SUPERMOM (Single mom, successful business woman, with 4 great kids)

The Boston Herald reported a study from Fidelity Bank that showed a typical couple needs $225,000 in CASH (in addition to insurance and medicare) to cover medical expenses after retirement¹ and this number — which was $215,000 last year — is increasing at a rate of 4.7% a year! At that rate (4.7%/year in 12 years) you will need approximately $400,000 in cash at retirement to pay medical costs NOT covered by insurance or medicare. If medicare fades out, as many are predicting, you will need far more than that. In search of a quick fix, many people first will state that we just need better health care coverage; however, this plan is unattainable as our country cannot give every American an additional $200,000 – $1,000,000 in medical benefits.

THE real problem is neglecting the last place you put time and effort — your health — which is why it fails and gets so expensive later.
PROOF:

• Cheap food, cheap groceries, and cheap supplements are the #1 sellers.
• A gym industry article stated recently that only 13% of the U.S. exercises regularly
• 7% go to the Chiropractor (Even though to my knowledge 100% have a spine)
• You get the cheapest insurance you can find and then that their recommendations and the doctors on the list are going to make – the cheapest is the lowest quality.  These guidelines are designed to save the insurer money… not to get you healthy.
• Passion for the quick fix despite the huge risk.  Pharmaceutical companies make trillions even though the side-effects on every drug commercial and bottle read: “CAUTION: Your nose will fall off, you will become homicidal, get cancer, die early, commit suicide, and see aliens.”

Rising medical costs are not the issue, destructive lifestyles along with doctors that are trained in disease care and not health care are. Information to take away from this article: if you want to be wealthy, take care of yourself today to avoid poor health and, consequently, expensive medical conditions tomorrow. Not only will you save $100′s of thousands, you will save your life!

Make the right investment now, remember what my mentors said:
“….take care of your youth (health and vitality)”
“….spend time on your health”
“….spend money on your health – make health your first investment (a few thousand today will equal $400,000+ tomorrow… and you won’t be dead)”
“…don’t save (go to the cheap doctor on the insurance or buy the cheap food and vitamins) when it comes to health.”  You might save $12.50 on your grocery bill and $20 at the doctor … but you’ll be dead.

Americans – The Most Unhappy People on Earth

The facts are in and one thing is for certain – Americans aren’t happy.  In truth, we’re extremely depressed.

At first glance, you’d assume it was the struggling real estate market, the shrinking dollar, the war in Iraq, and the war on Wall Street.  Yet, other countries, with far more to worry about then we do, do not report anywhere near U.S. levels of mental and emotional disorders.  For example, the percentage of people with clinical levels of anxiety, depression, etc. in America is 7 times that of those in the Nigeria!

As the numbers of reported adults and children with mental disorders  skyrocketed, pharmaceutical companies and then doctors responded with bringing anti-depressant drugs (SSRIs) to market quickly.  According to a recent report, these drugs make up 6 out of the top 10 prescription drugs sold today.

In recent times, antidepressants have come under harsh scrutiny for causing suicide and they’ve been implicated as being behind many of the recent school shootings and big media deaths like Anna Nicole Smith, her son Daniel Smith, Heath Ledger, the pro-wrestler Chris Benoit, and Andrea Yate’s children.  This has resulted in SSRIs getting a “Black box” warning on them and has left thousands of people looking for alternatives to very real emotional pain.  Americans want to know, “How can we get happy again.”

Even more light was shed on the issue of depression in the London Times, Feb. 26th, 2008 on the front page in an article titled, “DEPRESSION DRUGS DON’T WORK….”

They stated, “Millions of people taking commonly prescribed antidepressants might as well be taking a placebo, according to the first study to include unpublished evidence.”

“The new generation of antidepressant drugs work no better than a placebo for the majority of patients with mild or even severe depression, comprehensive research of clinical trials has found.”

“American and British experts led by Professor Kirsch examined the clinical trials from  four commonly used SSRIs, including fluoxetine (better known as Prozac), venlafaxine (Efexor) and paroxetine (Seroxat).”

“Given these results there seems little reason to prescribe antide-pressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed,” Professor Kirsch said. “The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking antidepressants is not very great. This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments.”

Rarely, is someone simply born and destined for depression.  There are a number of known causes that leave someone that way.  Now, science is addressing that by getting to the cause of the problems people can get well without chemicals.  More importantly, people can stay well and stop this scourge of emotional disorders that have become so pervasive in the U.S. and around the world.

Like so many other conditions common to western living – cancer, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, depression is very much a degenerative illness grown more popular by modern lifestyle.   We’re not here to prescribe drugs or take people off of them.  In fact, it’s dangerous to stop taking antidepressants cold-turky.  You should work with your doctor to reduce and slowly eliminate these drugs while doing what’s necessary to get well with both lifestyle change, natural care, and food and supplements designed to improve brain chemistry.

Multiple areas of modern lifestyle effect brain chemistry and hormones.  Toxins, processed food, nutrient deficient diets, spinal conditions, sedentary lifestyle, and emotional trauma alone and more commonly, combined, all radically affect your body’s physiology and all around mental health.  Not surprisingly, care that directly impacts the nervous system like Chiropractic has also been found to effect emotional health and depression.  You may not know this, but many studies have been done on Chiropractic and it’s impact on depression.

Studies on Chiropractic and Depression

1. Study of 2,818 patients found chiropractic care significantly improved patients’ well being: Seventy-six percent of the  patients studied reported improved combined wellness changes in all categories assessed, emotional well being improved 26 percent, negative feelings toward self improved 23 percent, depression improved 20 percent, difficulty sleeping improved 11 percent and family relations improved 21 percent.
2. A published 15 person study concluded “that a positive relationship exists between a correction of th occipitoatlantoaxial subluxation complex and a reduction in depressive symptoms in some people”.
3. Another 98 subject study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that when an addiction treatment program was supplemented with frequent chiropractic adjustments over a 30-day period, the patients displayed an unprecedented
4. 100 percent program completion rate. In addition, initially rampant depression and anxiety dropped significantly.
5. From the 1920s to 1960s, several chiropractic mental asylums existed in the Midwest of the U.S. Surviving documentation shows a North Dakota judge reporting a 65% recovery or improvement rate at one asylum, compared to 27% at a standard asylum.
6. Chiropractic Improves Brain Wave Patterns, Brain Function: 2004 study finds that Chiropractic adjustments have a positive effect on the Central Nervous System (CNS), specifically on the four primary  frequencies of brain function.  After receiving a chiropractic adjustment, post EEG scans revealed improvement in all areas of the volunteer’s brain function. Particularly, the researchers noticed an increase in the meditative Alpha brainwave patterns that are associated with a greater degree of relaxation, health and healing.
7. A related study in Journal of Neuroscience conducted at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, found that physical changes in the brain caused by chronic pain are likely to lead to depression as well as other pain- related symptoms.

While Chiropractic is not a treatment for depression, it’s an important part of overall mental and physical function.

From Maximized Living Blog

Forward Head Syndrome Worse Than Junk Food

Present information on normal placement of the upright spine reveals the importance of head position in relationship to your body. It is of extreme importance that the position of the cervical spine allow for your head to sit back atop of your shoulders.Sadly, the effects of gravity, poor posture, the weight of the head, or past trauma will cause neck and skull misplacement leading to something called “Forward Head” syndrome, meaning the forward displacement of the head where your chin is out in front of your shoulders and chest that causes pathological tension on the spinal cord and brain stem.

Rene Cailliet, M.D., director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California, wrote about the effects of forward head syndrome in his book “Rejuvenation Strategy.”

1. Incorrect head positioning leads to improper spinal function.
2. The head in forward posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine.
3. Forward head posture results in loss of vital lung capacity. In fact, lung capacity is depleted by as much as 30 percent. Loss of lung capacity leads to heart and blood vascular problems.
4. The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel peristaltic function and evacuation is a common condition that comes with forward head posture and loss of spinal lordotic curves.
5. Forward head posture causes an increase in discomfort and pain. Freedom of motion in the first four cervical vertebrae is a major source of stimuli that causes production of endorphins in production many otherwise non-painful sensations are experienced as pain.
6. Forward head posture causes loss of healthy spine-body motion. The entire body becomes rigid as the range of motion lessens. Soon, one becomes hunched.

As the above comments by Dr. Cailliet show, it’s incredibly important to restore the skull and cervical spine back to their normal position, which can be done by focusing on four areas:

• Correcting the position of the skull
• Adjusting pertinent cervical vertebrae
• Rehabilitating the musculature in the back of the neck and upper shoulders
• Correcting any imbalances in posture i.e.: high shoulder, torso rotation, lateral head flexion or rotation

Such treatments can only be offered by highly trained chiropractors. Remember, standard manipulation and physical therapy will not resolve forward head posture, and neither will taking medications or having surgery for the resulting effects of this condition.
Seek out chiropractors who are able to measure the degree of forward head posture and provide a care plan designed to correct it. The problem and the correction of the problem can be measured through postural evaluation as well as a re-x-ray.

Dr. Jason Gerard is trained with a technique that aggressively and quickly removes forward head posture and thus plays a major role in restoring your health

By Dr. Ben Lerner