| 06 November 2009
I was recently reading Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews which is the official review journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. It was an article about the effects of exercise on the incidence of respiratory tract infections that caught my attention. It wasn’t that they concluded that mild to moderate exercise seemed to improve immunity against infections that surprised me. It was a particular study (1) that should have us all question how governments, businesses and individuals are responding to the flu. This is particularly relevant considering the recent hysteria surrounding the swine flu....
In this study over 5 months, any of the test subjects who reported flu-like symptoms were tested for most of the major bacteria and viruses responsible for upper respiratory tract infections. However, these bacteria and viruses were only found in 30% of people suffering these flu-like symptoms.
Yet we are led to believe that it is bugs and viruses that cause us to get the flu when they are only the cause in a minority of cases. So tell me, why do we then rush off to the doctor to get prescribed antibiotics and anti-viral drugs without getting tested to see if we actually have been infected by a bacteria or virus? And now Governments are rushing to vaccinate everyone against different types of flu?
Well you may be asking what causes the symptoms of the flu if it is not as the result of a bug or virus.
I no longer think about colds and the flu as “being sick”. For a long time I have been recommending that people look at a cold or flu as your body’s natural process to clean itself. Consider it akin to spring cleaning your house. It is not exactly a present process to remove all the rubbish. Your energy is generally a bit lower than normal because it requires extra energy to clean up. But after the cleaning is complete things function so much better.
So what do I do when I feel that my body is starting to have a clean out?
I don’t fight it. I help it. I help my body detoxify.
The more I help my body detoxify the quicker I will get rid of the symptoms. You all know that you should eat better, get some rest and keep your fluids up so I’m not going to go there.
Here are two additional detoxifying steps that you can do that most people don’t think about:
Self-detoxify tip #1
Wash your skin using a loofah
Many women use a loofah more as a beauty aid for nicer skin but your skin is the biggest elimination organ in your body. Rubbing away the dead skin cells unclogs your pores and makes it easier for your skin to eliminate waste.
Self-detoxify tip #2
Jump up and down
Yes, that’s right. Jump up and down gently on the balls of your feet. If you have a mini-trampoline, it is even better. This jiggling movement helps increase the drainage of your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is a bit like an additional drain to get rid of rubbish.
I recommend that you bounce for a few minutes before you go to bed and when you wake up.
The fact that the vast minority of colds and flus are not caused by bacteria and viruses, begs us to question why we should get a flu shot to prevent the flu. And before a prescription is shoved in front of us for an antibiotic or an anti-viral drug, shouldn’t we get tested to see if we even are infected by a virus or bacteria. In fact, you should insist on it.
Reference: Spence, L. et al Incidence, aetiology, and symptomatology of upper respiratory illness in elite athletes. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2007; 39(4):577-86.
