Thursday, December 17, 2009
tis the season...
for colds and flu, but i have managed to avoid both! its truly a Christmas miracle and i give all the credit to airborne. if you have never heard of the stuff check out their website . they will give you the 411 on this AMAZING product, but the jist is that a 2nd grade teacher developed this all natural combination of 17 vitamins, minerals, and herbs to ward off colds and the flu. it totally works. they have a couple of different flavors-none are disgusting, but i like the new very berry flavor. everyone i know has gotten sick so far this year. not me! i usually get the flu by thanksgiving, but NOT THIS YEAR! can you tell i am happy about this? of course i do all the basics like wash my hands a lot and run in the opposite direction of anyone coughing or sneezing. you know, common sense stuff.
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Ok, you hit a nerve and I need to say something. Sorry if this comes across as a rant, but it is something I feel very strongly about.
ReplyDeleteI was a fan of Airborne until I found out they are funding pseudoscience "research" perpetuating the lie that vaccines cause Autism. Then as I looked into Airbone more, it seems to contain a little too much snake oil for my liking.
Read here for more:
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/12/airborne_supporting_generation_rescue.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogs%2Finsolence+%28Respectful+Insolence%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Again, my opinion, but few things get under my skin quicker than incompetence (or flat out lies) being touted as truth. People are quicker to believe people like Jenny McCarthey than they are to believe people who actually have a medical education or have done actual, legitimate research. After she gets a medical degree or a PhD, then I will give her opinion more credence.
Rant over.
rant away. thanks for giving that information for consideration-i really had no idea. i have been using it for years and find that the product works wonderfully for me.
ReplyDeletei hesitate to discredit either side of the autism/vaccine argument. i dont have kids myself, so i am not faced with the dilemma. i am certainly not willing to turn my back on western medicine and all the advancements it has provided, but i have found that many answers to my own medical questions have had easy and natural answers. like airborne.
never hesitate to pipe in. in general, i will post all comments, even i completely disagree.
Thanks for allowing my rant to go through!
ReplyDeleteI apologize, but I need to speak up again after you said "i hesitate to discredit either side of the autism/vaccine argument."
With all due respect, the sides of the argument are the equvalent of the Galileo v the Catholic Church.
Most people who buy into the vaccines-cause-autism myth are basing their belief in a study that was published in 1998. This study was done on only 12 children (very small scope and not indicative of the worldwide population). Then in 2004, 10 of the 13 authors retracted their position after discovering the other 3 authors were being paid by a drug company to publish their "findings." There have been a number of studies since then showing that vaccines DO NOT cause autism, and no studies showing any link between vaccines and autism. But unfortunately people blindly believe people like Jenny McCarthey and some on-the-fringe doctors who are perpetuating the myth. I think so many people buy into it because they want to have a reason behind their child's autism. Autism is a terrible disease, I have a nephew who is autistic and I can see how it profoundly affects his family in every aspect of their lives. As of now, there is no known "cause" of autism-but there is plenty of research being done to discover the disease mechanism. The thing is, people in general have a hard time accepting the fact that sometimes bad things just happen. (Like whenever there is a mass shooting, the first news reports are people analyzing "why this happened"-they cant accept the fact that sometimes people just choose (agency) to go and shoot a bunch of people. But I digress...). I don't mean to sound heartless or anything, but that is just part of this imperfect (lone and dreary), agency-riddled world we live in.
People also claim that mercury in vaccines are a cause of autism, but you get more mercury in a couple of tuna fish sandwiches than one injection. Not saying Mercury is harmless, because it is a toxin, but just trying to de-bunk more myths.
Some links:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4026.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_autism_factsheet.htm
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2065.pdf
This is something I (obviously) feel strongly about. For background, I am a medical student, and yes, I am biased toward western medicine. Not just because of my profession, but because that is the medicine that has been supported with scientific research. I am not against natural remedies, but I like to see reproducible proof that they work. I am alarmed by the number of people who are shunning scientific advances for whatever reasons. Vaccines are a blessing to the world (just ask one of your grandparents who lost a sibling to polio) that have eradicated disease and improved the quality of life for everyone. And it drives me nuts when people buy into government mind control or big pharmacy conspiracies (hey, Steve is just getting paid to say all this to promote vaccines), or "naturalist" viewpoints that say anything synthetic is bad. It gets to me even more when they are risking their children's lives (not their own, because they are already vaccinated) in the process.
Science is a blessing. It is also a fluid and changing truth. Unlike revelation from God directly where there is Truth in its fullness revealed all at once, science is more of a process of finding pieces of truth one part at a time. If one day there is REAL scientific proof that vaccines cause autism, I will gladly change my stance. Until then, I will go with the best we have at the time. And in this case, the best we have is multiple studies that say vaccines do not cause autism.
-Steve
i am sure it comes as no surprise that i am not a medical student, but i do know through my own experience and others close to me that western medicine does not have all the answers. there are times they discredit other methods and modalities to the detriment of their patients. i have not read jenny mccarthys book, but i have seen her in interviews. she is passionate about what she believes happened to her son and what caused it. a mother has instincts about her children. she see things others do not. not all things can be addressed with medical theory or established protocol. she took control and did what she thought was right, putting her son on a strict diet and embracing alternative therapies. i understand that he has made great strides and is much improved. it worked for her and she has a right to tell people what she believes, just like you and i have the right to agree or disagree with her. i dont know the facts and figures, but i dont think immunizations have decreased all that much. as much as she would like to, ms mccarthy has not created a revolt against immunizations. everyone i know who has kids has them immunized. none of them have autism, but i do think its possible for some kids it could create a reaction that brings it on. i base this loosely on my own experiences with other conditions and the medical community. i certainly do not have your knowledge. just opinions. thanks for sharing here on my blog. i appreciate the links so everyone can read and decide for themselves.
ReplyDelete