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Hi
,
Vol. 01/2007
Welcome to our Shaklee Product
Newsletter for the month of January. I hope you are
doing well and above all, enjoying great health and
staying warm.
I use to think
that only people like us who live in the north had to
deal with cold temperatures like we have been having.
However this year it seems like we all have some cold
days ahead of us. So I thought the topic we could
talk about for this month would be our Immune
System. I included some information at the end of
this letter about this subject, which is a short
explanation about how it works and also about
vaccinations; are they helpful or
harmful?
You know, I found out why
they say a doctor has a practice.
It is because that is what he is always
doing, practicing. They can only know what has been
taught to them based on what is known at the present
time. Where the problem comes
in is that many times the future
research causes the present information to
change.
Keep in mind that the medical
field is always learning about how the human body works
and as it does, new discoveries are always being made.
Our Creator is very good at putting us together and so
we may never know everything there is to know about how
we work. This is also the case when it comes to
getting vaccinations. What is really going on in
the human body when we get these
vaccinations?
You can read about this in the
article below but the bottom line
is that it becomes
very important for each of us to take personal
responsibility for our health. And the foundation
we need for doing so is our Immune System.
This is something that we do know
for sure and it will never
change. It is our first line of defense and so it
needs to be in great shape at all times to take care of
us if we wish to stay healthy.
We also know for sure that eating
right, drinking plenty of "Pure" water, breathing "Pure"
air, exercising, avoiding stress, and getting proper
rest are all important things to keep ourselves in
a healthy state. But when it comes to our food, water,
and the air we breathe, many times we either make bad
decisions, fall short of the nutrients our bodies
need for a strong immune system, or simply are unaware
of what is happening to us from day-to-day from the
water we drink and the air we breathe.
This is why Shaklee products
are so important. They provide a way for us to get the
protection we need. We
can supplement our
diets to make sure we get the nutrients we need. We
can clean up the
water we drink and the air we breath. In fact,
with Shaklee's Get Clean product line, we can even clean
up our environment in which we all must live! The
best part about all of this is that we can know we are
getting the very best quality available
because of Shaklee and its commitment for the past
50 years!
Start with taking a closer look
at the Shaklee Wellness Pack. It has
everything you will want to make sure you have a
fighting chance against the outside invaders we all have
to deal with this winter season, or for that
matter, all year long.
While you are taking the
good nutrients into your body with our Wellness Pack,
you can also cut down on the outside contaminants
trying to get into your body in the first place. You do
this by blocking them out with a Shaklee
Best Water unit and our AirSource system.
People who drink pure water,
breath pure air and supplement their diets with the
proper nutrition from Shaklee products, notice a
difference in their health in as little as 30 days! Many
say that they feel better than ever and sometimes even
better than they did when they were much
younger!
Remember, a strong Immune System
is your front line of defense, so don't go to battle
empty handed. You would not go out in these cold
winter days in a swimsuit. So do yourself a favor and
wrap yourself in the protection that only Shaklee
products can guarantee to provide for you. It is
the best you can do to stay healthy during these cold
winter months and long into your later years. And don't
forget, we can even help you to pay for
them!
Below is an article that was sent
to me about this subject written by a doctor. I hope you
find some time to read it over so that you get a better
understanding about your immune system.
Remember, if we don't take
care of our health, no one else
will!
Till next
time,
Bob
PS:
I want to thank everyone for all
the kind words you sent our way about Debby's mom, Lydia
Gadd, passing away this month. She lived a very
long and happy full life and we will miss her very much.
I want you to know that it was
comforting to know just how many people cared and
the comfort that comes from knowing you were there. I
know Lydia is happy now and she is smiling down on
all of you. So thank you so much again, for I want
you to know that it really did help us through this time
of our lives.
Bob, Debby and Family
*********************************************************************
The following article has to do with vaccination,
but it contains an excellent concise explanation of how
the immune system works (and how allergy and auto-immune
problems develop).
[As a side note: notice in
the second paragraph the importance of the
tonsils and adenoids in the immune
function that eliminates infectious agents from the
body.
These are not throw-away organs that are simply
"vestiges of our past evolution" that are no longer
necessary, as parents have been told for years by
secularized medicine. These very important organs
were placed in the body by design by the Creator for a
purpose -- though we are just beginning to understand
that purpose.
They should NOT be removed routinely or just
because they become infected or uncomfortable. Is
it any wonder that the generations who have had their
tonsils and adenoids removed now suffer as adults from
an epidemic of auto-immune disease, allergies, asthma,
and various infectious infestations (such as
chronic fatigue/mononucleosis, candida,
etc.).]
Also note the imbalance caused by routine
vaccination that may show up later in life as chronic
immune system malfunction, allergies, auto-immune
disease, etc. I have been preaching for many years
that vaccination may be beneficial from a public health
standpoint in underdeveloped areas that do not have
access to consistently abundant nutrition, pure water,
and sanitation. But for those, as we do, who have
access to abundant nutrition through supplementation,
pure water, and good sanitation, routine vaccination
makes no sense since it is so damaging and since there
is a far better way. This article confirms
that.
Stan Pulliam
---------------------------------------------------
How Vaccines and the Immune System
Interact
PHILIP F. INCAO, M.D.
May 5, 1999
In order to use vaccinations wisely, we need to
understand exactly how they work. Until recently,
the "mechanism of action" of vaccinations was always
understood to be simply that they cause an increase in
antibody levels (titers) against a specific disease
antigen (bacterium or virus), thus preventing
"infection" with that bacterial or viral antigen.
In recent years science has learned that the
human immune system is much more complicated than we
thought. It is composed of two functional branches
or compartments that may work together in a mutually
cooperative way or in a mutually antagonistic way
depending on the health of the individual.
One branch is the humoral immune system (or Th2
function), which primarily produces antibodies in the
blood circulation as a sensing or recognizing function
of the immune system to the presence of foreign antigens
in the body.
The other branch is the cellular or cell-mediated
immune system (or Th1 function), which primarily
destroys, digests and expels foreign antigens out of the
body through the activity of its cells found in the
thymus, tonsils, adenoids, spleen, lymph nodes and lymph
system throughout the body. This process of
destroying, digesting and discharging foreign antigens
from the body is known as "the acute inflammatory
response" and is often accompanied by the classic signs
of inflammation: fever, pain, malaise and discharge of
mucus, pus, skin rash or diarrhea.
These two functional branches of the immune
system may be compared to the two functions in eating:
tasting and recognizing the food on the one hand, and
digesting the food and eliminating the food waste on the
other hand. In the same way, the humoral or Th2
branch of the immune system "tastes" and recognizes and
even remembers foreign antigens and the cellular or Th1
branch of the immune system digests and eliminates the
foreign antigens from the body.
But just as too much repeated tasting of food
will ruin the appetite, so also too much repeated
stimulation of the "tasting" humoral immune system by an
antigen will inhibit and suppress the digesting and
eliminating function of the cellular immune
system. In other words, over stimulating antibody
production can suppress the acute inflammatory response
of the cellular immune system! (1)
This explains the polar opposite relationship
between acute discharging inflammations on the one hand
and allergies and autoimmune inflammations on the other
hand. The more a person has of one, the less he or
she will have of the other! A growing number of
scientists believe that the increase in America, Europe,
Australia and Japan in allergic and autoimmune diseases
(which stimulate the humoral or Th2 branch of the immune
system) is caused by the lack of stimulation of the
cellular or the Th1 branch of the immune system from the
lack of acute inflammatory responses and discharges in
childhood. (2, 3, 4, 5)
We need to identify the factors which cause this
shift in the function of the immune system or which
cause allergies and autoimmune diseases in childhood to
increase!
If we now return to the original question of the
mechanism of action of vaccinations, we find what I
believe is the key to the puzzle. A vaccination
consists of introducing a disease agent or disease
antigen into an individual's body without causing the
disease. If the disease agent provoked the whole
immune system into action it would cause all the
symptoms of the disease! The symptoms of a disease
are primarily the symptoms (fever, pain, malaise, loss
of function) of the acute inflammatory response to the
disease.
So the trick of a vaccination is to stimulate the
immune system just enough so that it makes antibodies
and "remembers" the disease antigen but not so much that
it provokes an acute inflammatory response by the
cellular immune system and makes us sick with the
disease we're trying to prevent!
Thus a vaccination works by stimulating very much
the antibody production (Th2) and by stimulating very
little or not at all the digesting and discharging
function of the cellular immune system (Th1).
Vaccine antigens are designed to be unprovocative or
"indigestible" for the cellular immune system (Th1) and
highly stimulating for the antibody-mediated humoral
immune system (Th2).
Perhaps it is not difficult to see then why the
repeated use of vaccinations would tend to shift the
functional balance of the immune system toward the
antibody-producing side (Th2) and away from the acute
inflammatory discharging side (the cell-mediated side or
Th1).
This has been confirmed by observation especially
in the case of Gulf War Illness: MOST VACCINATIONS CAUSE
a SHIFT in IMMUNE FUNCTION from the Th1 side (acute
inflammatory discharging response) TO the Th2 side
(CHRONIC AUTO-IMMUNE or ALLERGIC RESPONSE).
(6)
The outcome of this line of thought is that,
contrary to previous belief; vaccinations do not
strengthen or "boost" the whole immune system.
Instead vaccinations over stimulate the "tasting and
remembering" function of the antibody-mediated branch of
the immune system (Th2), which simultaneously suppresses
the cellular immune system (Th1) thus "preventing" the
disease in question.
WHAT in reality IS PREVENTED IS NOT the DISEASE
BUT the ABILITY of our CELLULAR IMMUNE SYSTEM to
MANIFEST, to RESPOND to and to OVERCOME the
DISEASE!
There is no system of the human being, from mind
to muscles to immune system, which gets stronger through
avoiding challenges, but only through overcoming
challenges.
The WISE USE of VACCINATIONS would be to USE THEM
SELECTIVELY, and NOT ON a MASS SCALE. In order for
vaccinations to be helpful and not harmful, we must know
beforehand in each individual to be vaccinated whether
the Th1 function or the Th2 function of the immune
system predominates.
In individuals in whom the Th1 function
predominates, causing many acute inflammations because
the cellular immune system is over reactive, a
vaccination could have a balancing effect on the immune
system and be helpful for that individual.
In individuals in whom the Th2 function
predominates, causing few acute inflammations but rather
the tendency to chronic allergic or autoimmune
inflammations, a vaccination would cause the Th2
function to predominate even more, aggravating the
imbalance of the immune system and harming the health of
that individual. This is what happened in Gulf War
Illness.
The current use of vaccinations in medicine today
is essentially a "shotgun" approach that ignores
differences among individuals. In such an approach
some individuals may be helped and others may be
harmed.
If medicine is to evolve in a healthy direction,
we must learn to understand the particular
characteristics of each individual, and we must learn
how to individualize our treatments to be able to heal
each unique human being in our care.
VACCINATIONS are usually effective in preventing
an individual from manifesting a particular illness, but
they DO NOT IMPROVE the overall STRENGTH or HEALTH of
the individual nor of the immune system.
Instead, VACCINATIONS MODIFY the REACTIVITY of
the IMMUNE SYSTEM, decreasing acute discharging
inflammatory reactions and INCREASING the TENDENCY to
CHRONIC ALLERGIC and AUTO-IMMUNE REACTIONS.
Epidemiologic studies (7, 8, 9) have shown that
as families improve their living conditions, hygiene,
nutrition, literacy and education, the risk of
life-threatening acute infectious, inflammatory diseases
very much decreases.
Families with poor living conditions, hygiene,
nutrition and literacy would generally be most likely to
benefit from vaccinations. Families with good
living conditions, hygiene, nutrition and education
probably would benefit from vaccinations very little or
not at all. Individuals with a tendency to
allergic or autoimmune diseases are LIKELY to BE HARMED
BY VACCINATIONS.
SIDE EFFECTS of VACCINATION are usually ALLERGIC
or AUTOIMMUNE inflammatory reactions caused by the shift
of the immune system's reactivity from the Th1 side to
the Th2 side. Modern medicine is just beginning to
recognize this. (10)
Modern MEDICINE HAS NOT SCIENTIFICALLY MEASURED
the RISK/BENEFIT RATIO of ANY VACCINE. (11)
Research into the risks of vaccines is very inadequate,
according to two comprehensive reports on vaccines by
the U.S. Institute of Medicine in 1991 and
1994.
My preceding explanation of how vaccinations
affect the immune system is true also in animals.
Vaccinations cannot make animals healthier, but only
good handling, environment and nutrition can make
animals healthy and resistant to disease.
Vaccinating pigs may prevent them from having illness
from one particular strain of virus but will not improve
their overall resistance to other illnesses nor even to
other strains of the same virus.
It is important to remember that an infection
with a particular virus or bacterium does not
necessarily cause illness unless the resistance of the
individual is low. In the case of Japanese
Encephalitis Virus (JEV), most infections cause no
symptoms and less than 0.1% of infected individuals
develop severe encephalitis. (12)
Individuals living in poor conditions, with poor
hygiene, nutrition and education are at higher risk of
serious illnesses from JEV or any other infection.
In such individuals a vaccination would most likely be
helpful.
VERY OFTEN the MEDIA EXAGGERATE the EXTENT of
such outbreaks. Each individual should freely
decide, based on knowledge and not on fear and hearsay,
whether he or she or a child would benefit from a
vaccination.
References
1
Parish, C.R. "The Relationship Between Humoral and
Cell-Mediated Immunity." Transplant. Rev. 13
(1972):3.
2
Ronne, T. "Measles Virus Infection without Rash in
Childhood is Related to Disease in Adult Life." The
Lancet Ltd. (1985):1-5.
3 Odent, M.R., Culpin, E.E., Kimmel, T.
"Pertussis Vaccination and Asthma: Is There a Link The
Journal of the American Medical Association 272
(1994):588.
4 Cookson, W.O.C.M., and Moffatt, M.F.
"Asthma: An Epidemic in the Absence of Infection?"
Science 275(1997):41-42.
5 Martinez, F.D. Role of viral infections
in the inception of asthma and allergies during
childhood: could they be protective? Thorax
1994;49:
1189-91.
6 Rook, G.A.W., Zumla, A. "Gulf War
Syndrome: Is It Due to a Systemic Shift in Cytokine
Balance Towards a Th2 Profile?" The Lancet 349 (1997):
1831-1833.
7 McKeown, T. The Modern Rise of
Population. New York: Academic Press,
1976.
8 McKeown, T. The Role Of Medicine: Dream,
Mirage, or Nemesis? New Jersey: Princeton
University Press 1979.
9 Sagan, L.A. The Health of Nations.
New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1987.
10 Rook, G.A.W., Zumla, A. "Gulf War
Syndrome: Is It Due to a Systemic Shift in Cytokine
Balance Towards a Th2 Profile?" The Lancet 349 (1997):
1831-1833.
11 Robin, Eugene, M.D. "Some Hidden
Dimensions of the Risk/Benefit Value of Vaccine" from
the First International Public Conference on
Vaccination. Alexandria, Virginia September
1997.
12 Solomon, T., Kneen, R., Dung, N.G., Khanh,
V.C., Thuy, T.T.N., Ha, D.Q., Day, N.P.J., Nisalak, A.,
Vaughn, D.W., White, N.J. "Poliomyelitis-like
illness due to Japanese encephalitis virus" Lancet 1998;
351: 1094-97Bob
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