Surgical masks were a common sight yesterday; flying home from Manila, with a long layover in Tokyo. Seeing masks in public, while unusual in the States, has long been common in much of Asia. However, with the newest outbreak of the flu the number of wearers is definitely up! I don’t think I saw as many as I did during the height of the SARs scare a few years ago but it was easily double the number I’d expect to see on any given day.
I’ve read a number of papers this past week; some suggesting the current virus is a mutated swine flu, while others believe what we have is a combination of a bird flu combined with a swine flu variant. Today’s news talked about how the local pharmacies have had a run on both the flu vaccine and the nasal spray. Sadly these will be of little, if any, help. It was also reported that it will be at least 3 months before a specific “flu shot” can be developed. Sadly this will be of little, if any, help either.
In the first case; the existing flu anti-viral preparations were not developed for this particular strain of the flu and in order to be effective, they must be matched. This is also why, in the second case, a new vaccine won’t be very effective either. In the three months it will take to develop the vaccine the flu will have mutated – it won’t be the same virus the vaccine was developed to fight.
Studies published during the past year have shown that the getting the annual flu shot has not shown to be of any benefit for the above reasons. While this has been reported in the major medical journals, physicians have not been quick to follow the science.
Your best bet in this case, as in all disease, is; don’t get sick in the first place.
Your best defense against this new flu strain is a strong immune system. If your body, your immune system is strong, you will be able to fight the “bug” off – kill it before it kills you!
Standard Advice:
Get plenty of rest/sleep.
Wash your hands frequently.
Wash your hands after you cough or sneeze. I should mention here it that is not recommended that you cover your mouth when you sneeze – at least not with your hands. Most likely your mom taught you to cover your mouth with your hand – it was good manners. However, medically it’s not a good thing to do. The virus is not spread through the air but via touch. People cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze and then shake hands or touch someone and spread the “bug” around. Therefore it’s now recommended that you sneeze or cough into your elbow. (At least the inside crease of your elbow, not the outside pointy part.)
Avoid touching your face. When you put your dirty little fingers on or around your eyes, mouth or nose you’re exposing yourself directly to the bug.
Experts all recommend eating well, which includes eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. (9-11 servings a day.) But we know that hardly anyone is getting the recommended amount of these on a regular daily basis so it’s essential that you supplement.
Most nutritional experts suggest taking a comprehensive multi vitamin/mineral for all around coverage and UltraVitality more than fits the bill. Other supplements that you regularly see suggested include vitamin C, garlic and many if not all of the herbs found in OptiBreathe and Immunity. (Although we put them all in one product rather than taking each herb separately which is more convenient and much cheaper.)
I would like to point out that many of the ingredients found in Genesis may well be some of the most beneficial. There are literally thousands of published research articles on Resveratrol, polyphenols, SOD and glutathione in relation to the flu virus. I’ve copied a few below:
Resveratrol and the flu virus:
Inhibition of influenza A virus replication by resveratrol
AT Palamara, L Nencioni, K Aquilano, G De Chiara, … - The Journal of infectious diseases, 2005 - UChicago Press
... All Journals > The Journal of Infectious Diseases > 15 May 2005 > Resveratrol
and Influenza A Replication. The Journal of Infectious Diseases ...
Cited by 23 - Related articles - Web Search - All 6 versions
Influenza (“bird flu”), inflammation and anti-inflammatory/analgesic drugs
KD Rainsford - Inflammopharmacology, 2006 - Springer
... Key words: Influenza; Bird-flu; NSAIDs; Resveratrol; Anti- oxidants;
Nutraceuticals; Anti-inflammatory; Respiratory Introduction ...
Cited by 7 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 3 versions
[CITATION] Concentration of resveratrol in wines from Catalonia, Spain
A Gonzalo, P Vidal, S Mínguez, R Antolí - Journal of Wine Research, 1995 - Routledge
Cited by 9 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct
MI Epidemic, OA Elderly - lef.org
... 2005 Apr;11(2):159-65. Resveratrol Found to Stop Flu Virus in Cell Culture Study. ...
Inhibition of influenza A virus replication by resveratrol. J Infect Dis. ...
Cached - Web Search
[PDF] ►Naturally Sweet TM
PP Formula, N High, N Antibiotic, AVF Formula, P … - solaltech.com
... w Helps shorten the duration and intensity of colds & flu. ... The Anti-Aging Pill TM
w Contains Resveratrol, which research performed by Harvard medical school ...
Related articles - View as HTML - Web Search - All 2 versions
NS Gantenberg, RE Singer Jr - EP Patent 1,221,949, 2002 - freepatentsonline.com
... a prophylaxis and treatment of cold and influenza-like symptoms ... trihydroxystilbene
or tetrahydroxystilbene, preferably 3,4', 5-trihydroxystilbene resveratrol. ...
Web Search - All 6 versions
[CITATION] USE OF RESVERATROL FOR THE PREPARATION OF A MEDICAMENT USEFUL FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFLUENZA VIRUS …
AT PALAMARA, E GARACI
Web Search
USE OF RESVERATROL FOR THE PREPARATION OF A MEDICAMENT USEFUL FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFLUENZA VIRUS …
EP Patent 1,567,137, 2007 - freepatentsonline.com
... Summary of the invention. It has now been found that resveratrol exerts
an inhibitory action on influenza virus replication. In an ...
Web Search - All 2 versions
Use of resveratrol for the preparation of a medicament useful for the treatment of influenza virus …
E Garaci, AT Palamara - US Patent App. 10/533,942, 2003 - Google Patents
... 27,2005 Sheet 1 of 12 US 2005/0239906 Al Effect of resveratrol on influenza pr8
viral replication in MDCK cells A) Post-infection B> Pre-infection IOC 75 50 25 ...
Web Search - All 5 versions
Polyphenols and the flu virus
Inhibition of the infectivity of influenza virus by tea polyphenols.
M Nakayama, K Suzuki, M Toda, S Okubo, Y Hara, T … - Antiviral Research, 1993 - grande.nal.usda.gov
Record Detail. Return to previous page, Save: Title: Inhibition of the infectivity
of influenza virus by tea polyphenols. Author: Nakayama ...
Cited by 83 - Related articles - Cached - Web Search - All 4 versions
In vitro antioxidant activity of polyphenol extracts with antiviral properties from Geranium …
M Sokmen, M Angelova, E Krumova, S Pashova, S … - Life Sciences, 2005 - cababstractsplus.org
... acid; free radicals; influenza; medicinal plants; phenolic acids; plant extracts;
polyphenols; viral diseases; antioxidant properties; BHT; flu; drug plants ...
Cited by 16 - Related articles - Web Search - All 6 versions
Plant polyphenolic complex inhibits the reproduction of influenza and herpes simplex viruses
B Sofia - Plant Polyphenols: Synthesis, Properties, Significance, 1992 - books.google.com
... Enveloped viruses- influenza and herpes simplex viruses among them-are the most
vulnerable to the action of polyphenols since they can easily interact with the ...
Cited by 16 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 3 versions
CYSTUS052, a polyphenol-rich plant extract, exerts anti-influenza virus activity in mice
K Droebner, C Ehrhardt, A Poetter, S Ludwig, O … - Antiviral research, 2007 - Elsevier
... of action of polyphenols (reviewed in Cos et al., 2004), including several reports
describing the antiviral activity of polyphenols against influenza virus. ...
Cited by 4 - Related articles - Web Search - All 3 versions
Inhibition of influenza virus infection by tea polyphenols
T Shimamura - ACS symposium series (USA), 1994 - fao.org
... Titles, Inhibition of influenza virus infection by tea polyphenols. Personal Authors,
Shimamura, T. (Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.). ...
Cited by 6 - Related articles - Cached - Web Search - BL Direct - All 2 versions
Anti-influenza agents from plants and traditional Chinese medicine
X Wang, W Jia, A Zhao, X Wang - Phytotherapy Research, 2006 - interscience.wiley.com
... pharmacologi- cal research, some bioactive compounds have been found in medicinal
plants used to treat influenza. A variety of polyphenols, flavonoids, saponins ...
Cited by 4 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 4 versions
Gargling with Tea Catechin Extracts for the Prevention of Influenza Infection in Elderly Nursing …
H Yamada, N Takuma, T Daimon, Y Hara - Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 2006 - liebertonline.com
... 6. Nakayama M, Suzuki K, Toda M, et al. Inhibition of the in- fectivity of influenza
virus by tea polyphenols. Antiviral Res 1993;21:289–299. ...
Cited by 3 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 3 versions
Influenza virus variants with reduced susceptibility to inhibition by a polyphenol extract from …
J Serkedjieva - Die Pharmazie, 2003 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2003 Jan;58(1):53-7. Influenza virus variants with reduced susceptibility to inhibition
by a polyphenol extract from Geranium sanguineum L. Serkedjieva J. ...
Cited by 3 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 3 versions
G Gegova, N Manolova… - Acta microbiologica Bulgarica, 1993 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
... II. Anti-influenza activity of a combination of a polyphenolic complex isolated
from Geranium sanguineum L. and rimantadine in vivo. ...
Glutathione and the flu virus
Inhibition of influenza infection by glutathione
J Cai, Y Chen, S Seth, S Furukawa, RW Compans, DP … - Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2003 - Elsevier
... Original contribution. Inhibition of influenza infection by glutathione. ... Author Keywords:
Influenza; Glutathione; Antioxidant; Redox; Free radicals. ...
Cited by 38 - Related articles - Web Search - All 5 versions
[CITATION] Induction of glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase activity in Escherichia coli and …
WG Gutheil, E Kasimoglu, PC Nicholson - Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1997 - Academic Press
Cited by 20 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 2 versions
[CITATION] Tissue glutathione
ME Anderson - CRC Handbook of Methods for Oxygen Radical Research, 1985 - CRC Press
Cited by 100 - Related articles - Web Search
Influenza virus propagation is impaired by inhibition of the Raf/MEK/ERK signalling cascade
S Pleschka, T Wolff, C Ehrhardt, G Hobom, O Planz, … - Nature cell biology, 2001 - nature.com
... proteins, nucleoprotein, M1 and NEP/NS2 cDNAs derived from the influenza A virus ...
GST−NP, GST−NEP/NS2 and GST were eluted from glutathione−sepharose beads ...
Cited by 120 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 6 versions
Mechanism of 5-fluorouracil required resistance in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Bel ( …
J Jin, M Huang, HL Wei, GT Liu - World J Gastroenterol, 2002 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
... The distribution of FLU was observed by confocal laser scanning microscope. The
spectrofluorometry was used to show the intracelluar content of glutathione (GSH ...
Cited by 13 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 4 versions
Thimerosal neurotoxicity is associated with glutathione depletion: protection with glutathione …
- ►generationrescue.org [PDF]
SJ James, W Slikker, S Melnyk, E New, M Pogribna, … - Neurotoxicology, 2005 - Elsevier
... Further, pretreatment of the cells with glutathione ethyl ester or NAC prevented ...
from most children's vaccines, it is still present in flu vaccines given to ...
Cited by 60 - Related articles - Web Search - All 25 versions
A nutritional supplement formula for influenza A (H5N1) infection in humans
- ►laucke.com.au [PDF]
H Friel, H Lederman - Medical hypotheses, 2006 - Elsevier
... Experiments have found that cellular glutathione content: (a) contributes to the
host cell’s ability to down-regulate influenza virus replication [69], (b ...
Cited by 4 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 9 versions
… apoptosis in embryonic cortical neurons by shunting cysteine from protein synthesis to glutathione
- ►jneurosci.org [PDF]
RR Ratan, TH Murphy, JM Baraban - Journal of Neuroscience, 1994 - Soc Neuroscience
... To determine the specificity of the flu- orescent signal for reduced glutathione,
cultures depicted under Hoffman mi- croscopy in B were treated with diethyl ...
Cited by 169 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 4 versions
The influenza A virus NS1 protein inhibits activation of Jun N-terminal kinase and AP-1 …
- ►nih.gov
S Ludwig, X Wang, C Ehrhardt, H Zheng, N Donelan, … - Journal of virology, 2002 - Am Soc Microbiol
... role of the NS1 protein in JNK activation, we compared the influenza A/PR ... judged
by binding of the NS-IAmutI protein to corresponding glutathione S-transferase ...
Cited by 66 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 5 versions
14-3-3 protein detection in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with influenza-associated …
K Fujii, Y Tanabe, H Uchikawa, K Kobayashi, H … - Journal of Child Neurology, 2006 - jcn.sagepub.com
... A, Cengiz M, Seven M, Ulutin T: Erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase, superoxidase ...
was confirmed with an antigen detection kit (BD Directigen Flu, BD Bioscience ...
Cited by 4 - Related articles - Web Search - BL Direct - All 3 versions
If people are decorating their own, are the masks even as affective anymore?
Posted by: How to Prevent Flu | August 04, 2009 at 02:31 PM