Dr. Ben Kim Cont.

I'm not suggesting that poor dietary and lifestyle choices, prescription and recreational drugs, chemotherapy, radiation, and invasive surgeries are definitive causes of death. Not at all. I'm trying to point out that "cause of death" is a blurry entity.

When a bullet rips through a person's heart or a major blood vessel and that person bleeds to death within a minute or two, then the cause of death is without question, massive bleeding due to a gun shot wound.

But when I hear people make statements like "thousands of deaths due to the flu each year," or "one thousand deaths due to H1N1 in the U.S. so far," my mind says hold up now, let's think about that.

And as I think about it, the question that comes up is this: How does a virus that meets a large group of people cause a relatively quick death in a minute percentage of that population, a temporary respiratory infection in a portion of that population, and no symptoms to speak of in the rest of that population?

I keep wondering: Does anyone really know for sure what those "thousands of people who died from the flu" really died from? Did health officials carefully consider health status before demise, medical history, and underlying immune system strength for each of these people? And quite importantly, did any of these people who "died from the flu" receive a flu vaccine before they died?

I don't have answers to these questions and I'm pretty sure that no one else does either.

So for me, common sense dictates that regardless of how strong or virulent this year's H1N1 strains are, my best course of action is the same as it's always been: It's to eat and live in a way that keeps my immune system as strong as possible.

And eating and living in a way that keeps my immune system as strong as possible includes saying no thanks to injections of chemicals that can injure human cells.

My understanding is that the H1N1 vaccines that are being rolled out all over the world differ from country to country, as each country chooses which pharmaceutical giant they would like to have produce their H1N1 vaccine. And as far as I can tell, all of the H1N1 vaccines that have been produced thus far contain thimerosal, a preservative that's about 49% mercury by weight.

Because I just don't believe that healthy people who have access to clean food, clean water, and good sanitation systems can easily die from the H1N1 strains that are reportedly making rounds throughout the world, I don't think it's worth the risk to inject myself or my children with any amount of thimerosal, even if the amount is "less than the amount of mercury in a can of tuna."

What about the elderly, newborns, and people who are undernourished and possibly immune deficient? Contrary to popular belief, I strongly believe that these are the groups of people that can least afford to experience the toxic burden that comes with getting injected by thimerosal and other synthetic chemicals. It's true that these groups of people are at greater risk of experiencing colds and flus, but I fail to see how increasing their toxic burden improves their chances of experiencing good health. Rather than get flu shots, I feel that these groups of people need to work extra hard at improving immune system strength via the suggestions found toward the bottom of the following post:

Do You Know What's in a Flu Shot?

The decision to receive or decline a flu shot can be agonizingly difficult amid the panic and pressure that's being generated by every level of government in first world nations.

If you're still undecided, please take some time to research the ingredients in the H1N1 vaccine that's being offered in your area. Get the list of ingredients and google each one. Be sure that you understand the purpose and effects of each ingredient.

Most healthy people can likely withstand and recover from the negative effects of the chemicals found in flu vaccines. But doesn't it make sense to expose your cells to questionable ingredients only if you know for sure that getting the vaccine can improve or protect your health? I, for one, am confident that flu vaccines can only deteriorate my health - maybe not to a significant degree since I'm currently healthy. But there's no upside and a tremendous potential downside. And that's why I say no to flu shots, including the H1N1 shot that's being offered for free in Canada.

Related Post:

What Most Doctors Won't Tell You About Colds and Flus