Swine Flu: Protect Yourself and Loved Ones

The swine flu is very unfortunately upon us, and if you're like many, you're asking yourself what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones. Some very standard things apply:

1) Stay home as much as possible.
2) Avoid public places unnecessarily.
3) Wash your hands frequently, and keep your hands from your face.
4) Get some surgical face masks and wear one when you need to be in public places, even if you feel a little foolish and until others have caught on.

The above is all pretty basic stuff, I'm going to offer more as well. But before I do, you should know that I'm a huge proponent of body cleansing, or removing the accumulated waste that most people have stored in their bodies. I've been a fan for years and have seen cleansing work miracles in myself and others, but in circumstances like this, I believe deep cleansing could actually save your life. Let me explain why and to help you understand, I'm going to provide an analogy.

Your trash is overflowing and you have flies. You can approach this problem in a couple of ways. You can get some bug spray and attempt to kill the flies, but there's a good chance you'll find that they just keep coming back and you'll also have polluted the air around your home.

OR, you can change the environment that attracted the flies in the first place. You can empty the trash and wash out the trash can. Then, you'll likely find that the flies leave on their own and subsequently are no longer attracted to the area, which solves your problem. In a simplified nutshell, this is how and why cleansing works.

Cleansing involves changing your internal environment and specifically, removing a bunch of the stored waste that most people have trapped in their bodies. Most estimates are that the average person has ten or more pounds of stored waste just in their colon, and I'd argue far more throughout their body. In any case, many people have found that disease disappears when this waste is gone, and that when the body is clean it's much more difficult for new problems, like viruses, to take hold in the first place. And it's my understanding that many people who took regular enemas instead of vaccines during the 1918 pandemic made it out on the other side as well.

Now, there are many different ways to cleanse and many different programs, and some are far more effective than others. The Master Cleanse is a popular cleansing program, but I'm not a fan for a couple of reasons. Primarily because it's a relatively mild cleanse and most people need much deeper cleansing to see major improvements in health. And secondarily because the maple syrup in it feeds a fungal problem that most people already have a problem with, called candida overgrowth. That said, my opinion is that the most effective cleanses involve enemas or colonics to get in there and physically clean out the filth. Of course, if you go this route, it's very important that you replace your healthy bacteria afterward with ample probiotics. Not doing so can set you up for more problems than you likely want to deal with.

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Kim Evans is the author of Cleaning Up! which outlines a powerful body cleanse to help remove the years of built up waste that the average person has stored in their body. Learn more about about how having a clean body impacts health at www.cleaningupcleanse.com

Comments

[Copernic]

I use chicken entrails to drive out toxins from my feet. That should ward off the swine flu. Swine flu really isn't a virus as the sciencenistas would tell you. It's actually an imbalance in your Chi/humour ratio. And vaccination will only give you "teh spectrum"...... Ugh, I can't do this any more. My rational brain and moral concience are screaming at me to stop.

Just because you throw in some good flu avoidance advice you lifted from a Yahoo news piece, doesn't mean your "colon blow" technique has any validity. How does Huff Po look itself in the mirror after having you as a contributor? Nice try advertising for your book, though. Good thing your screed doesn't have the same reach as the woo-twins Carey and McCarthy or you may get a website dedicated to you like this one - jennymccar­thybodycou­nt.com

[fergie34711]

Well looky here on colon cleansing:

"Certain enema preparations have been associated with HEART ATTACKS and electrolyte imbalances**. Frequent colon cleansing may interfere with the proper functioning of the colon and can lead to dependence on laxatives or enemas to defecate. Some herbs used may also interact with or reduce the effectiveness of prescription drugs.[5]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_cleansing and http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.194/news_detail.asp

"Some colon cleansing programs disrupt fluid and electrolyte balance which may lead to dehydration and salt depletion, whilst prolonged or excessive cleansing programs can lead to anemia and malnutrition.[14] Excessive use of enemas have also been associated with cardiac problems such as heart failure,[14] and heart attacks related to electrolyte imbalances when combined with coffee as an ingredient.[19] " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_cleansing and http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-cleansing/AN00065

By the way all you scared toxin believers should remember what makes something bad for us is generally in the dose. Even water is not harmless: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication Yes, you can actually die form ingesting too much water. Too much water causes electrolyte imbalances and when that happens you've got a problem. And electrolyte imbalance is a risk of colon cleansing. Just thought you should know before you do it.

[WorkingScientist]

Thanks for this. Working to find real cures that work is often exhausting and we're all a little stressed right now. This article is making the rounds among scientists and providing much needed comic relief. We thank you.

[Peter Alward]

Woo.

[StThomas]

“Have I seen migraines disappear with cleansing?”
Migraines respond to very different things. How do you know that they responded to “cleansing” What mechanism do you propose? How do you define cleansing exactly?
“Have I seen chronic constipation disappear?” This one worries me. Chronic change in bowel habit can mean cancer. Was this excluded before several litres of warm water was scooshed up the patient's bottom?
“Have I seen a man with 16 stints in his heart and having a heart attack once a month, stop having heart attacks and have his doctor add 10-15 years to his life with cleansing?” It's “stent”; “stint” is something else. 16 seems implausibly high. I am intrigued by the addition of 10 to 15 years to life expectancy. How was this measured? The ability to say how long someone will live, with such certainty, is a Nobel prize winning accomplishment! I think we should be told!
“Have I seen more symptoms of problems disappear with cleansing?” This one is very vague even for a Huffpo health article. Anecdotes have no weight. Show me case reports at the very least.

You cannot expect respect for views which cannot be substantiated. It is unrealistic of you to present far-from-mainstream views without expecting them to be challenged. What bothers me most here: either you truly believe what you say or you are offering something you don't believe in to those who do. I hope it's not the second one

[Evil-Skeptic]

Kim Evans has, as far as I can tell from looking at her bio, no background in science, healthcare, medicine and related fields of study. All of her assertions of efficacy for medical practices that she promotes are anecdotal, which just happens to be the gold standard for evidence in the New Age. Good science be damned!

Quackery sells. Whatever Kim Evens intentions are, she is part of the multi billion-dollar industry that alternative medicine has become. Lets not forget, it’s called “alternative” because the efficacy of what they promote has not been established. But you would never know that if you take her articles at face value.

What I find discouraging is that the Huffington Post allows this kind of pandering to a credulous segment of their readers, completely forsaking even a sideways glance at critical thinking, which is hallmark of good journalism.

[katbur2]

This is absurd! If you want to help yourselves and your community stop paying attention to this kind of balderdash and pay attention to things that can make an actual difference. Like what? Like ---

*** Making sure your local health department has not had to lay people off because of budget cuts
*** Contacting your republican senators and make them approve a Secretary of Health and Human Services
*** Advocate for health insurance so that when people are sick they don't wait until they're deathly ill to see a doctor
*** Making sure that medical policy decisions are made based on science and not anecdotal evidence. Oh and when I say science I mean evidence based, peer reviewed, independently sponsored research and nothing less.
Kate @ http://aftercancernowwhat.blogspot.com

[joseph449008]

Check out Orac's reaction:

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/04/kim_evans_strikes_again_at_huffpo.php

[Spunk-Monkey]

Thanks for posting Orac's reaction, joseph449008!

[tinrobot]

Colonics and enemas are not very natural ways to clean the colon. Outside of a few humans, I don't know of any creature on the planet that cleans it's colon by flushing it with a hose.

Any doctor who's done a colonoscopy will tell you that the top-down procedure they use beforehand (i.e. 24 hours of fasting followed by a laxative) gets the colon very clean and is also very safe.

[euthman]

Actually, there is no need to "cleanse the colon" except temporarily prior to endoscopy or colorectial surgery. Further, most of what is in Kim Evans' columns is unsubstantiated assertion and can be safely ignored.--Ed Uthman, MD

[HappyHumanist]

Beautiful, Doc. Thanks!!

[truthmachine]

Much of it is in fact substantiated to be erroneous.

[ska1138]

Couldn't agree more! --A fellow pathologist

[ICanHasDemocracy]

yep. I know this from experience- a little phosphate solution goes a long way!

[drvittoriarepetto]

PS


Feel sick...stay home & call your M.D.

[drvittoriarepetto]

My suggestions:
Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
Wash your hands ..alot!
Eat 6-8 serving of veggies & fruit a day
Eat adequate protein - more plant based then animal based.
Take you multi vitamin/supplement
Take additional Vitamin C w. bioflavanoids
Get 6-8 hours of sleep.
Eat foods known to stimulate your immune system...chinese mushrooms, ginger, turmeric, garlic, onions.
Tone up your body w/ some bodywork..­.chiroprac­tic, massage, yoga, etc
Feel sick...stay home
Feel not quite yourself but no fever...stay home.
Stop worrying ....it's not a pandemic yet

[AldenG]

Isn't this particular flu, unlike most, actually harder on individuals with a robust immune system? Isn't that the explanation for why it seems to be more deadly for people in the 15-30 age range than for the very young or the middle-aged? (Something about cytokine storms...) And if so, wouldn't it be counterproductive to try to stimulate your immune system?

[drvittoriarepetto]

And where did you read that this flu is harder on individuals w/ robust immune system?
Can you cite the research journal, please.

I've been all over the CDC website and www. medscape.com - a site w/ reports from research journals open to MD and other licensed health professionals and nothing saying that a strong immune system puts you at risk.

And I would not be so sure that 15-30 yrs have a better immune system concerning that that may be the age group for the highest consumption of junk food, soda and who play the least attention to hygiene.

By the way: from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm
6. Practice other good health habits.
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

Sounds like "stuff" to help keep your immune system strong

[Brendan Diederichs]

Kim, could you please share with us the molecular mechanism by which expelling feces from your colon blocks the influenza virus from replicating in human respiratory epithelial cells? We would all benefit if your idea could be substantiated and built upon if it works somehow (the how is critical).

For example, Modern anti-virals (some of which we know are effective against this particular strain) block various steps in the virus' life cycle, could you please share which step your colon cleanse blocks?

To be fair, you claimed that your cleans would prevent death, so another option is that removing feces from he colon prevents ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) or a rapid onset viral pneumonia. Could you share with us how your treatment prevents inflammation of lung parenchyma, accumulation of fluid, and impairment of gas exchange?

[Peridolius]

Hmmmmm. Crickets. Nothin' but crickets. You shouldn't have used all those science-y words Brendan.

[Kim Evans - Huffpost Blogger]

If there is any question about all of the unnatural chemicals (toxins) that people today regularly carry in their bodies, please read this post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-evans/health-care-scientific-or_b_190680.html

There isn't really much question about it.

As for tests, I look at people:
Have I seen migraines disappear with cleansing? Yes.
Have I seen chronic constipation disappear? Yes.
Have I seen a man with 16 stints in his heart and having a heart attack once a month, stop having heart attacks and have his doctor add 10-15 years to his life with cleansing? Yes.
Have I seen cramps disappear? Yes.
Have I seen athlete's foot disappear? Yes.
Have I seen chronic insomnia disappear? Yes.
Have I seen general chronic pain disappear with cleansing? Yes.
Have I seen more symptoms of problems disappear with cleansing? Yes.

And if you're content doing what you're already doing, by all means, please continue to do so.

[joseph449008]

That's not evidence.

[HappyHumanist]

Well, Kim, I'm glad you replied (sort of).

This anecdotal information you provide above is interesting, but the plural of data is not anecdote. We need facts. These shouldn't be hard to provide. I assume that as a health care professional, you screen the blood, urine, and bowels of your patients. And then compare the pre-cleanse results with the post-cleanse results. What does this show?

Those are the sorts of data we need before we go sticking a hose up our butts.

FYI: I'm in good health. I eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet, take care of myself, and I've had a colonoscopy, so I don't have 10 pounds of stool in my colon.

I await the scientific proof.

[Nathan Teegarden]

Where's your evidence that colon cleansing removes those toxins?

[fergie34711]

16 stints? I think you meant to say 'stents'. A heart attack once a month? A myocardial infraction once a month? That seems a bit much for him to still be alive. Shall I assume that there could have been other heart issues like Ventricular tachycardia (which is not the same thing as myocardial infraction) and can lead to Ventricular fibrillation? That happened to my dad. He didn't have a heart attack but they did need to 'shock' his heart to lower his rate after the drugs had failed. My point is a heart attack a month seems a bit much and if it was that serious it would require immediate medical intervention other than just stents or 'cleansing'. The alternative, I believe in this case, would be bypass surgery. Or more stents I suppose. I am not a doctor so I do not know what a real doctor would have done to treat such an ill man but then, I know nothing about that patient's case. All I know is cleansing is not going to do crap against heart disease. Unless you define cleansing as good diet and workout, which any doctor would advise not because of anecdotal evidence but because study after study says these things help. Note: they help; not cure and fix everything. As for cramps and the like: ever hear of the placebo effect? It's more powerful than you think.

[RobNYNY1957]

As for Evan's anecdote about the heart attacks: It sounds like the stents worked.

[SueW0]

Have I seen any evidence that you know what you are talking about? No.
Have I seen you post any scientific data? No.

[HappyHumanist]

What a waste!!

Please tell me what the toxins are, specifically. I have never found a "de-tox" advocate who could tell me this. And, after an alleged "de-toxification", how do you know it was successful? What measurement do you use? A blood test? Fecal test?

Dr. Barrett, at Quackwatch.com offers this:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox_overview.html:

"Some detoxification proponents claim that intestinal sluggishness causes intestinal contents to putrefy, toxins are absorbed, and chronic poisoning of the body results. This "autointoxication" theory was popular around the turn of the century but was abandoned by the scientific community during the 1930s. No such "toxins" have ever been found, and careful observations have shown that individuals in good health can vary greatly in bowel habits.

Marketers also suggest that fecal material collects on the lining of the intestine and causes trouble unless removed by fasting, laxatives, colonic irrigation, special diets, and/or various herbs or food supplements that "cleanse" the body. The falsity of this notion is obvious to doctors who perform intestinal surgery or look inside the large intestine with a diagnostic instrument. Fecal material does not stick to the intestinal lining. "

Really, Kim, if you are reading this: Answer my questions. That would be great. In the meantime, I'll stick to a sensible diet and exercise. And washing my hands!!

[stevesrant]

Anyone who has had a colonoscopy and looked at the pictures wonders where the "ten POUNDS of fecal matter" is hiding among all that pink tissue. As to swine flu, with 1 case per ten million people in the US (and a third of them in a single location), I'd just as soon worry about winning the lottery.

[AldenG]

Psst!

About this line: "And it's my understanding that many people who took regular enemas instead of vaccines during the 1918 pandemic made it out on the other side as well."

First, a majority of the entire population made it "out the other side".

Second, enemas were just about the only form of home "care" practiced in 1918. Nonetheless, the epidemic ran rampant.

Third, there was no such thing as a flu vaccine until some time in the 1940's.

So yes, it's quite likely that many who too regular enemas instead of flu vaccinations in 1918 made it out the other side. As did the majority of the general population. Evidentiary value of the statement: zero. Or less.