Zero.  Is being well the same as not being sick?

Imagine a bold horizontal line running across this page.  Let's call this line “zero”.  Below this line is every imaginable health problem you could ever face, from colds to cancer.  As you sink deeper below the line, the health problems worsen, becoming more life threatening.

Above the line is increasing health.  As you go higher, your health improves.  You have more energy, greater vitality, a greater sense of well-being and more and more feelings of being connected to yourself and others.  Everything just seems to flow in your life.

Now, where do you want to be on that scale?  As high as possible above the line, right?  Yet, if you're like most people that I meet in my office on an average day, you will tend to view your health simply as the absence of symptoms…in other words, living at “zero.

Most people, I have observed, are satisfied if they have nothing particular bothering them at the moment.  They become aware of their health only when it becomes a problem, when it dips below zero.  The further down it dips, the more they long for the “good old days” of zero, when they were hovering just above poor health…believing they were well!

Many people will take drugs in an effort to stay above the line.  Everything from pain killers to Prozac is an attempt to hover at zero.  Drug companies have made billions of dollars perpetuating the myth that their products can somehow lead to true health.

But in most cases the best they can get you to is … zero.

Drugs can be enormously helpful in getting past a crisis situation and I thank God that we have them for that purpose.  But getting past a crisis has little to do with optimal health; with extraordinary vitality; with a sense of peace and connection.  To achieve that, we'll need a different plan.

We, as a culture, are in need of a paradigm shift when it comes to health.  The view of health as “not being sick” is deeply ingrained in our collective psyche and perpetuated daily by the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Remember the ad a couple of years ago of the guy that dances out of his house, smiling and humming a happy tune?  Takes a few steps, jumps over his mailbox and sashays down the street?

Wow!  That sounds just like the description of extraordinary health and well being I gave earlier.  What's his secret?  The answer flashes on the TV screen:  Viagra.

Wouldn't it be great if that were true?  That all we need to do is take a pill and everything would be perfect?  I'm no idiot…sign me up!

I have even better news.  The source of extraordinary health and well being is even closer than your neighborhood drugstore:  it's already inside you.  All you need to do is tap into it.  There are many, many ways to do that, but that's for another article.  For now, consider that there may be more to health than you have been taught.  There may be more to life than living at zero. 

Alternative to the Sting of a Failed Flu Vaccine

This year's flu season has been hyped by the medical profession and its governmental minions more than the "Lord of the Rings" and the Iowa caucuses put together. They mean to cause frenzied demand for the flu vaccine, now and in the future ?? especially the future.

Is demand for the flu vaccine, to the point of panic, being artificially created? Within one month last year, at least three stories forced the issue: In Science magazine, we saw "Are we ready for pandemic influenza?" (Nov. 28). Then, USA Today ran "Next flu pandemic could wreak global havoc, scientists warn" (Dec. 4). And AOL News lead with "Western flu outbreak is the worst in 30 years" (Dec. 17).

Let's go back a few years. Besides disco, the '70s can be remembered for the swine flu catastrophe. This was the first big push by the medical profession, through the media, for the flu vaccine. We were warned of dire consequences if mass vaccination was not achieved from this "killer strain." If you are older than 40, you might remember the television coverage of President Gerald Ford rolling up his sleeve for his flu shot.

At the same time, a survey of practicing physicians showed that, without exception, every doctor surveyed stated that they would not administer the swine flu shot to their own children. The result? Claims totaling in excess of $1.3 billion were filed with the U.S. Department of Justice because of injury or death due to these shots. The suits claimed that the shots caused 517 Americans to become afflicted with Guillain-BarrÈ syndrome (an auto-immune disease that can cause severe weakness and pain and paralysis of the limbs and face), of whom at least 23 died.

Because of the method of manufacture, every year, by its very nature, the flu vaccine is out of date before it is even released. It can only offer partial protection for flu strains that happen to be closely related to last year's favorites that have been selected. When public health officials warn of a "killer flu" or a "possible pandemic," they expect a significant genetic shift in flu strain, and this is when they insist most strongly on people rolling up their sleeves for the vaccine. The trouble is, in these cases of "transgenic shift," the vaccine of the far-removed flu strain becomes near useless. According to Barbara Loe Fisher, of the National Vaccine Information Center, "Public officials knew last spring that it was highly unlikely that the A/Panama strain in the current vaccine was not going to protect against the mutated, more dangerous A/Fujian strain (of this year)."

Evidence of the vaccine's ineffectiveness abounds. A 1999 Dutch study, for instance, reported on a home for seniors, where 49 percent suffered from a severe flu, though two-thirds were vaccinated. Meanwhile, 48 percent of the non vaccinated population got the disease, whereas 50 percent of those who were vaccinated got it.

A former chief vaccine control officer of the FDA, J. Anthony Morris, has said: "There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza. The producers of these vaccines know that they are worthless, but they go on selling them anyway."

Is the flu vaccine safe? The strains of influenza within the vaccine are inactivated with formaldehyde and preserved with Thimerosal, a mercury compound. Aside from possible danger from the active biological agents, isn't it biological common sense not to put poisons such as formaldehyde and mercury into your veins? The world's leading immunogeneticist, Hugh Fudenberg, stated that if an individual has five consecutive flu shots, instead of two, one or no shots, his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's disease are 10 times higher. He said that the causative agents in the flu shots were aluminum and mercury, with a gradual buildup resulting in cognitive dysfunction. In the "Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs," adverse effects for the flu vaccine include anaphylactic shock, Guillain-BarrÈ syndrome, pericarditis (inflammation of the covering of the heart) and kidney damage.

The immune system protects us from the flu, as well as any other infectious disease, and strives to get us well again when we do fall ill. That immune system, like every other system in the body, is coordinated and controlled by the nervous system.

Chiropractic allows a better-running, healthier nervous system. Ample literature supports the successes of chiropractic with infectious disease. For instance, a study published in 2000, from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, showed chiropractic adjustments leading to increased serum IgM levels, an indicator of immune function.

The Great Flu Pandemic of 1918 was the greatest plague of modern times. It is estimated to have killed between 25 million and 40 million people worldwide, about half a million in this country. History shows us that those under chiropractic care during the flu pandemic had a far better chance of survival. One example: medical doctors in Davenport, Iowa, treated 93,590 patients, with 6,116 deaths ?? in other words, 1 out of 15 under medical care succumbed to the flu. At the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, 1,635 flu cases were adjusted, with only one fatality. Outside of Davenport, chiropractors adjusted 4,735 flu cases, with only six deaths ?? 1 out of 866. In 1919, Palmer published "The Flu and You." The ratio of flu cases cared for versus deaths were as follows: Medical care: 1 out of 17 died. Osteopathic care: 1 out of 36 died. Chiropractic care: 1 out of 886.

Christopher Kent, president of the Council on Chiropractic Practice, sums up the issue nicely: "Flu shots seem to be more a product of cultural superstition than science. Think twice before rolling up your sleeve." Good advice? You, too, can be smarter than President Ford!

We're a health-conscious society today and good posture is a part of that. Good posture means your spinal bones are properly aligned and your joints, muscles and ligaments can work as nature intended. Good posture helps contribute to the normal functioning of the nervous system. Without good posture your overall health can be compromised. The long-term effects of poor posture can affect bodily systems such as digestion, elimination and breathing as well as muscles and ligaments. A person who has poor posture often may be tired or unable to work efficiently or move properly.

One of the more common postural distortions seen in doctor's offices these days is Forward Head Posture or FHP. FHP is becoming a common modern day affliction. The repetitive use of computers, TV, video games, trauma and even backpacks have forced the body to adapt to a forward head posture.

Think of your child's head as a bowling ball that weighs between 8-10 pounds. Ideally your head should be positioned directly over your cervical (neck) spine and shoulders. If your head is even 1 inch forward to this normal position the weight of your head effectively doubles the load your neck has to support. The spinal tissues can, over time, deform and undergo remodeling changes that could become permanent. When this happens it takes much more time to correct. Postural distortions are very subtle at first and become progressively worse over time if steps are not taken to change their course. Some evidence exists that postural positions can affect the nerve tissue by altering blood flow to the spinal cord.

Monitoring good posture should be a lifetime commitment. With a little effort and awareness, you can be assured a future of doing things you love, rather than suffering from the damage and degeneration FHP and poor posture can bring.

Chiropractic care can help to restore proper posture naturally, thereby helping to avoid future health problems.