Learn tips and techniques to living a healthy holistic life

How to Prevent Swine Flu and What To Do If You Get Swine Flu

These Natural Cure Tips are not just for people wanting to stay healthy during this flu season but who want to enjoy optimum health and longevity. They are easy to follow and their effects can be remarkably beneficial. Aside from helping you stay healthy, they can help you enjoy higher levels of satisfaction and fulfillment in your life. You can follow whichever ones appeal to you most and get started whenever you want. People with health challenges are advised to start all of them, right away.

Natural Cure Tip #1: Hydration

Many of us have come to think that feeling sluggish and tired is normal. It's not. You'll be amazed how much better you can feel when you drink enough good water. The benefits are immense. Tea, coffee, sodas and other drinks - including all forms of alcohol - actually take water out of the body. Pure water is the essential requirement. Without enough of it we become run-down and vulnerable to illness. Tap water is not recommended, due to the high level of toxins it contains. Distilled water is best. Eight glasses a day is generally a good amount. You can get the most out of the water you drink if you charge it with electrolytic minerals.

Natural Cure Tip #2: Oxygenation

We run on oxygen. If you hold your breath for a few seconds, you'll notice how urgently your body demands it. But there is less oxygen in the air than there used to be, so we are not getting as much oxygen when we breathe as our ancestors did. This is troublesome because many of the viruses and bacteria that infect us cannot survive in an oxygen-rich environment. Neither can cancer cells. Yet our air contains less and less oxygen. Fortunately, there are simple ways to supplement the oxygen we consume.

Natural Cure Tip #3: Sugar

You don't have to give up your sweet tooth to be healthy. That's the good news. The bad news is that refined sugar ruins our health. The trick is to switch from refined sugars to natural sweeteners. It's not hard - there are so many options available nowadays that it's as easy as switching brands - but you'll notice, once you get started, just how prevalent refined sugar is in the Standard American Diet.

Natural Cure Tip #4: Organic Food

The basic principle here is to eat as close to Nature as possible. When it comes to food, you can decode words like "processed" and "refined" into what they really mean, from a natural cures point of view - which is "degraded". The best food you can buy is to be found at your local farmers' market or health food store. Some supermarkets now have organic produce sections. Most of the rest of supermarket food is not suitable for health and longevity - and that definitely includes the dairy section - which is worth a page all of its own.

Natural Cure Tip #5: Toxins

Natural doctors believe that most health problems start in the colon due to toxic over-load. They believe that we can add years to our lives by taking regular enemas. It's one of the first things I teach all of my patients.

Natural Cure Tip #6: Energy

We respond to stress by tightening our muscles to keep from being too affected by it. If the stress continues, we become rigid and the free flow of our energy becomes blocked. It happens to us all and we suffer as a consequence from depleted energy. Acupuncture and chiropractics are two excellent ways to re-establish free-flowing energy. Given that stress is not going to go away any time soon, a regular visit to a good acupuncturist or chiropractor is highly recommended.

Natural Cure Tip #7: Emotions

Aside from making us unhappy, negative emotions dampen the immune system and set us up for illness. It can seem as though they have a life of their own and shifting them can appear to be very difficult. However, it is vital to our health and well being that we release any toxic emotions we may be holding from the past. Fortunately, there is a remarkably quick and effective new technique for getting this done. It's called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT. It is easy to learn, and you don't need a therapist to do it.

Natural Cure Tip #8: Joy

I measure how successful people are by how much joy they have in their lives. It hardly ever has anything to do with how much money they have. Joy is an inside job. I invite you to ask yourself, routinely and for as long as you want to add to the joy in your life, these four life-changing questions. They can be applied to absolutely any situation you find yourself in. In fact, the more unlikely the situation, the stronger their effect will be. The questions are:

2. What can I learn from this?

3. What is amusing about this?

4. How can I make the most of this?

These questions are antidotes to chronic seriousness. The sillier they may appear, the more likely they will help you.

Implementing these tips can shift you into higher levels of vitality and well being. They do not cost much and they are easy to deal with - especially when compared with dealing with illness.

A Strong Immune System

The best way to guard against any illness is for the body to be working properly. It needs a healthy diet, plenty of fresh water, and a good amount of sleep to be at peak performance. Your first line of defense against any flu is a strong immune system.

It is especially important during flu season to cut back on refined sugars, preservatives, and toxins in the diet. You want your body to have the optimum ability to fight bacteria, viruses, and other microbes. Refined and non-organic foods introduce toxins into the system that your body has to deal with. If the flu virus is introduced at the same time it makes it that much harder to fight.

Get 8 hours of good quality sleep
Cut back on refined, non-organic, and commercially prepared foods
Take extra vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A along with a natural multivitamin
Take a low dose of echinacea daily. Knudsen has an Echinacea Ginger juice that is really tasty.
Elderberry will also strengthen the immune system and specifically fights flu and colds
Exercise
Make healthy dietary choices

Keep Viruses and Bacteria From Spreading

Along with a strong immune system you need to keep malicious microbes out of your environment as much as you can. You don't need a ton of chemical sprays and cleaners to do it either.

Wash your hands often with a gentle soap. Don't use antibacterial products.
Add a few tablespoons of white vinegar to your rinse water when you wash dishes (or to the dishwasher's rinse cycle). It kills all kinds of germs.
Keep a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender oil in a humidifier or vaporizer. You can also boil water with these oils in it in a teakettle on the stove. They act as a disinfectant.
Clean door knobs often with a natural disinfectant or hydrogen peroxide.
Soak your toothbrush in a solution of a tablespoon of white vinegar to a pint of hot water. Rinse before using again.
Limit the amount of eating in restaurants and fast food places that you do.
Keep your hands away from your face.
Use essential oils to combat viruses

So, you have the swine flu, now what?

Let's talk about what according to Dr. J. Chappell we should do if we get the flu, either the swine flu or your run of the mill flu.

Dr. Chappell is a traditional naturopath, clinical nutritionist, a medical herbalist and a board-certified chiropractic physician. Over the last year I have had the privilege of working with Dr. Chappell who has outlined a specific protocol to support my own healing process and I highly recommend reviewing his natural cure plan as well as his protocol for the flu virus. Following are the protocols developed by Dr. Chappell to keep us healthy and protect ourselves and others from the devastating effects of the flu:

"There is no need to "catch" the flu.

I am going to show you how to prevent the flu from troubling you by using natural flu remedies. There is no product, vaccine, drug, or special magic to it. None of them work. Natural cures work when you shift your system to a healthy state, as I've described across the page.

Here is the program I teach my patients...

Natural Flu Remedies

1. Create an environment in which harmful bugs cannot thrive:

Use Dr. Chappell's Natural Cure Plan if you have health challenges, this is the plan I have used over the last 6 months along with a raw food diet and have seen tremendous improvements in my health. 2. Once you have started your plan, use these natural flu remedies:

* Argentyn 23 - the most effective colloidal, ionic silver I have ever used. It is this exact product that Dr. Chappell uses in Mexico to treat serious viral infections. You can get it from Natural Immunogenics. Follow the dosing on the label.

* Lugol's Solution - Iodine helps kill viruses, bacteria and fungal infections. It helps remove toxic chemicals and clean out the body. You can get it from J. Crow and Company. Follow the instructions on the label - and do NOT exceed the dosing recommended for infections.

* Mycel A - This is pure vitamin A in a micellized, water soluble form (micellization produces tiny droplets of vitamin A that are easily absorbed by the body). Vitamin A supports the immune system as it fights off bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is available through Ethical Nutrients. Take ONLY one or two drops daily in water.

* Vitamin D3 - This vitamin plays a key role in modulating the immune system. Many believe that the flu is more common in winter because that is when our vitamin D levels are lowest due to lack of exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D3 is especially important when dealing with upper respiratory and lung infections. I recommend you get this vitamin in 5,000 IU capsules. On the first day of suspected illness take 10 capsules all at the same time. The next day, take 2 capsules 3 times during the day. The next day drop down to 2 capsules 2 times, and then on following days drop down to the maintenance dose of 1 capsule 2 times per day.

* Sodium Ascorbate- This is buffered Vitamin C combining sodium bicarbonate and ascorbic acid. It is the form of Vitamin C Dr. Linus Pauling recommended. The Internet is full of references for Vitamin C and places where you can buy it. From cancer to the common cold Vitamin C is critically important to maintain optimum health and longevity, but more so during an epidemic of the flu or any upper respiratory infection. You do not want to be without this form of Vitamin C. With an active infection, you may take one scoop every hour or until you reach bowel intolerance or diarrhea. You can then reduce your dose until the diarrhea goes away. Regular consumption of sodium ascorbate will keep your immune system strong.

10 warning signs that it's time to call the doctor:

2. Fast, shallow breathing or rapid pulse.

3. Difficulty breathing: feeling like you can't draw in a breath or get enough air.

4. Chest pain: sharp or stabbing pains or aches when you breathe in; gets worse with coughing.

5. Repeated vomiting and diarrhea.

6. Decreased urination (or decreased tears, in an infant)-this is a sign of dehydration.

7. Dizziness when you stand up-also a sign of dehydration.

8. Blue or purple discoloration around the mouth.

9. Mental confusion or disorientation (that wasn't present before you got sick).

10. Convulsions or seizures.

If you have any of these symptoms, don't wait to call, because once pneumonia or other serious infection sets in, things can move quickly.

People at higher risk for severe illness include pregnant women, young children, and adults with chronic illnesses or weak immune systems.

Those of us caring for older adults feel particularly worried, because seniors are generally at high risk for getting very sick from seasonal influenza. The H1N1 strain is a little different in this respect; adults over 60 seem to be somewhat protected from it. Still, when older adults get sick, we need to watch them carefully to make sure it's not developing into something more serious.

If you have any doubt whether you need medical care, call your doctor's office and ask to talk to the nurse for more information. The nurse will quiz you about the symptoms you're experiencing or seeing and advise you on what to do next.