Barbara Loe Fisher on the Importance of Balanced Cellular and Humoral Immune System Responses
Humans and infectious microbes have coexisted for as long as humans have walked the earth, and the human immune system has developed an efficient way of dealing with viral and bacterial infections. When infected with a microorganism, the body’s first line of defense is for the cellular or ‘innate’ part of the immune system to mount an inflammatory response. This response then signals the humoral or ‘learned’ part of the immune system to produce anti-inflammatory chemicals and…
Sugar Linked to Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
It is hard to comprehend the degree of damage perpetrated by sugar, one of the most wildly popular and ubiquitous ingredients in the typical Western diet. Consumption of sugar has already been identified as a leading risk factor in obesity, tooth decay, fatty liver disease, insulin resistance leading to diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, cancer, and heart disease. It has been likened to any other…
Piper Lowery Died From the Flu?
Tragically, sixth grader Piper Lowery from Port Orchard, Washington died on Sat. Jan. 1, 2016 after a week of illness. Reportedly, she died from H1N1 influenza. She had not gotten a seasonal flu shot. A week earlier, Piper began feeling sick with a high fever and a sore throat. Her mother, Peggy Lowery, also had symptoms of influenza during that time. It was not reported whether Mrs. Lowery had…
Mysterious Polio-Like Illness Plaguing Children Stumps CDC
As of September 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 89 cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), also often referred to as Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP), a neurological disease whose symptoms resemble those of poliovirus and non-polio enteroviruses, but for which no cause or treatment is known. The CDC recorded its first case of AFM in August of 2014.
Moving Out of the House That Fear Built: Zika
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt On a recent trip to Costa Rica I discovered that fear has found its way to my “happy place”—or rather it infected it with Zika virus hysteria. This had been coming, I suppose—with the influx of ex-pats come modern conveniences and the comforts […]
Vaccine Awareness Week Nov. 13-20, 2016 Highlights Video Vaccine Reaction Reporting
During the Seventh Annual Vaccine Awareness Week Nov. 13-20, 2016 co-sponsored by the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) and Mercola.com, NVIC is adding a new video vaccine reaction reporting feature to the online International Memorial for Vaccine Victims called Protect Life: Witness a vaccine reaction on NVIC.org. “I encourage everyone who has had…
