Swine Flu--Shot or Not

If you are questioning whether you should get the Swine Flu Shot(s), yes doctors recommend two shots, here is reliable advice from a friend of mine, Dr. Stephen Chaney. Take a moment to read this valuable information and then decide.

The concern of the British and US governments is based solely on the fact that a similar swine flu vaccine killed more people than it helped in the US in 1976.
Shortly after swine flu vaccinations started in 1976 people started coming down with Guillian-Barre Syndrome. By the time vaccinations were halted 10 weeks latter, 500 people had developed the disease and 25 people had died - more than were killed by the virus itself.
It was estimated that one in 80,000 people who were given that swine flu shot developed Guillian-Barre Syndrome, compared to the one in a million who develop the disease when given most seasonal flu shots.
However, I want to emphasize that there is no direct evidence that the current swine flu shot increases the risk of Guillian-Barre Syndrome more than the regular seasonal flu shots. The British and US governments simply view their warning letters to neurologists as a reasonable precaution under the circumstances.
In short, the risk of developing Guillian-Barre Syndrome or some other serious complication (miscarriages and sudden death are the other complications of most flu vaccines) from the swine flu shot is probably very, very small. It may be no greater than the one in a million chance of developing the disease that is associated with most flu vaccines - but it is not zero.
Now let's turn to the issue of effectiveness. There are several things that you should know about the effectiveness of the swine flu shot.
In the first place, there has been an active debate in the scientific community as to whether one shot or two shots will be required to give adequate protection against the swine flu.
Some scientists still think that two shots would be the better option. However, stocks of swine flu vaccine are limited so the recommendation is probably going to be for one shot so that as many people can be immunized as possible.
Secondly, you should know that the swine flu vaccine offers no protection against the seasonal flu and vice versa. Since both strains of flu will be around this fall & winter you need to be vaccinated against both if you really want to avoid the flu.
Finally, there is an interesting age distribution in regard to the susceptibility to the swine flu. It turns out that it is the young people who are most susceptible to the swine flu.
Those of us who are over 50 were apparently exposed to something similar to the current swine flu virus in the past, so we have some residual immunity.
That's important because it turns out that the swine flu virus is no more deadly than the usual seasonal flu virus. What that means is that the age group that is most susceptible to the swine flu is also the age group for which the swine flu is most likely to be merely a 3 to 5 day inconvenience.
The bottom line is that most immunizations make great sense from a public health perspective and for high risk individuals, which is why they are so strongly supported by the medical community.
However, for healthy individuals with strong immune systems and no pre-existing diseases the risk-benefit ratios are a not so clear cut. Sometimes the risks can outweigh the benefits.
That brings me to the last question - should you get a swine flu shot?
If you are a healthy individual that is a very personal decision, and I won't presume to make it for you. I've just given you some facts that you may not have known about to ponder as you make that decision.
For people who are at risk for developing severe complications from the swine flu itself (young children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and people with pre- existing diseases like diabetes) this is a decision that you should make in consultation with your physician.
To your health!
Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD

Guard Dog

Do you have a Guard Dog? Actually I am not referring to the four legged kind. We each have our own Guard Dog, it is our Immune System.

Here are some facts about the immune system:

• Having a balanced immune sytem guards against cancer, lupus, MS and the common illnesses" such as colds, flus and viruses
• Exercise boosts the immune system
• The immune system is the "heart" of our healt

Here are things that negatively impact the immune sytem:

• Stress
• Sugar
• White Flour
• White Sugar
• Caffeine
• Alcohol

What can you do to have a balanced immune system?

1. Exercise
2. Healthy diet. Eat healthy 80% of the time, 20% of the time eat what you want and enjoy it. Healthy consists of: fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, and water
3. Supplementation. You know vitamins, minerals, herbs.

A product exclusive (a world wide patent) to Mama Bear Productions is Nutriferon. Nutriferon is a potent up-regulator of Natural Killer Cells, which are specific white blood cells that target tumor cells and cells infected by pathogen like viruses.

This summer two people in my life passed away. They both had cancer. People are waiting for a cure, but if you could do everything you could to prevent it, wouldn't you? Follow my 1,2, 3s and you are on the road to doing just that.

For your Personal Phone Nutrition Consultation, call Mary Beth at 810-813-3308. The fist consultation is complimentary.

Creating a healthy family is like a game of Follow the Leader. Take care of yourself first!

Belly Fat is DANGEROUS

In an inteview with Dr. Oz, he discusses how belly fat (aka Omentum Fat or Visceral Fat) really harms our health and how it affects the major organs in the body.

1. Poisons the liver. The fat gets from the stomach to the liver. Basically the liver is the body's filter. So the poisons from belly fat are now distributed to the rest of the body.


2. Omentum fat (belly fat) is actually under the muscle. It blocks the Pancrease from functioning, which means it can't produce insulin, causing diabetes.


3. The omentum fat squeezes the kidneys. This causes blood pressure to go up.
   

So belly fat causes: High blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Those three things are called Metabolic Syndrome. Now Metabolic Syndrome is the cause of:

• Number one cause of heart attacks


• Number one cause of strokes


• Causes imputence, wrinkles, etc.

How can you determine if you have excess belly fat (omentum fat)? Get a tape measure and measure your waist at the navel (belly button). Your waist size should be no more than 1/2 the inches of your height. For example, if you are six feet tall (72 inches), your waist should not be more than 36 inches.

On the average less than 37 inches of belly fat for men and 32 1/2 inches for women. BUT the best way to know if you have belly fat is the above formula.

Belly fat can take 15 years off your life!

To listen to this interview, click here.

Belly fat's worst enemy, Cinch.

Mary Beth Potrykus

http://www.mamabearproductions.net/

Summer Schedule

How is your summer going?

Summer for me is always great, no matter what the weather is. I am blessed with my health and my family's health, we have a lovely home, and business is good. However, my schedule...well let's say I really don't have one.

With my children being out of school I am spending more time with them and taking them to places. The one constant is how I start my day. I start it with my delicious soy protein smoothie and take my supplements. This has been my regiment for almost 12 years now. It was a habit I got into. I thought in the beginning "WILL I BE DOING THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?" YOU BET! Why?

I had my children late in life. I was 36 when I had my son and 39 when my daughter was born. They are now 15 and 12 (do the math and you'll know how old I am). My goal is to see my great granchildren and be active with them. It is always nice to see the shocking look on people's faces when they find out how old I am!

Now I don't always get as many fruits and vegetables in my diet that I would like. That is where supplementation comes in. Vitamins supplement my diet what I don't get in my food and what foods I can't always eat daily. It is my health insurance plan.

So many people are getting cancer, MS, Lupus, fibromyalgia and I am doing everything I can NOT TO! What is in you, on you and around you becomes a part of you.

My good friend introduced me to this lifestyle and I am so grateful. I've learned a great deal over the past 12 years from doctors, nurses, nutritionists and people who have chosen a healthy lifestyle for decades. They are my mentors.

If you are a savvy mom or savvy dad, and life is busy for you and you have the same goal as I do, click here and look at the healthy prescription.

Mama Bear Productions offers a wide variety of services. The one that is in most demand is Personalized Nutrition Consultations. The consultation can be done in person or by telephone, with the convenience of the internet. The consultations are confidential and the first one is at no charge.

Call Mary Beth at 810-813-3308 to find out more about the consultations.

Happy summer and many blessings!

Wellness in Harsh Times

The economic grind has contributed to this particular blanket being thrown off, and food supplements are revealing themselves to be more than capable of surviving the economic chill.
In the US, market analyst, IRI, notes food supplement sales were up eight per cent in the period ended December, 2008, over the same time a year previous. Similar trends are being reported elsewhere from China to Europe, South Korea, South Africa and Australia.
US vitamin retailer, Vitamine Shoppe, notes 20 per cent of customers in the past six months are first-time food supplements buyers of the likes of omega-3s, multivitamins, herbal extracts, probiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin.
US natural foods merchandiser, Whole Foods, reported its first-ever negative quarter recently, but noted food supplements were the star performer in its nationwide chain of stores.

Self-medication

With fewer shekels in the coffers of household budgets around the world, food supplements are increasing in appeal as fear-ridden consumers look for ways and means to dodge the potential budget-busting hell of the mainstream medical system.
Doctors in white coats; hastily scribbled prescription notes; drug store visits for high-powered and high-cost drugs; hospital stays; clinic visits…no thanks.

As Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of economics at Princeton university in the US, told The New York Times last week: “When you go to the formal health system, you very quickly lose control over what this costs you.”

This information was provided by Food Quality News.

Mama Bear Productions provides Personalized Nutrition Consultations. The consultations are confidential, help us to determine which supplements are right for you, the consultations are available in person or over the telephone, and with a high level of customer service to ensure you are getting results.

Contact Mary Beth Potrykus at 810-813-3308 for your initial complimentary consultation.

Tip of the Week July 7, 2009

Savvy moms helping their child's immune system.

The immune system is just develop9ng in young children. That's why they are so susceptible to colds and allergies.

Did you know that those colds are good things, to a certain extent. They create the "immune memory" that they will need to fight off colds and infections in the future.

It is also means that children are particularly susceptible when something really nasty comes along. It is no coincidence that many of the recent victims of the Swine Flu were small children.

When we talk about immunity we need to also talk about intestinal health. It turns out that 80% of the immune system originates in cells lining the intestine. And when bad bacteria populate the intestine, those intestinal immune cells are so busy fending off the bad bacteria that the rest of the immune system can't function optimally. That's why it is important to make sure that our intestines are populated by friendly bacteria.

If children have frequent colds or infections they are often given lots of antiobiotics. Unfortunately, antibiotics wipe out the good guys in their intestines and leave the door wide open for bad guys like yeast.

Now that we understand why your child's immune system is so important and the role that friendly intestinal bacteria play in keeping their immune system operating optimally, it's time to turn our attention to oligofructose-enriched inulin.

We'll start with inulin, which is a complex carbohydrate that comes from foods like the Jerusalem artichoke and chickory root. It is poorly digested - so foods that are rich in inulin tend to be low in calories and high in fiber. Oligofructose-enriched inulin is simply obtained by a partial enzymatic digestion of the inulin.

This is all very medical stuff, right? How easy is it to purchase Jersualem artichoke or chickory root and will your children/family eat them? These are available in supplements made by Shaklee. Click here and find out how you can get the good guys into your child's intestines easy.

The above information was provided by Dr. Stephen Chaney.

Tip of the Week--June 29, 2009

Menopause, Part 2

Weight

We think as we age that it is more difficult to loose and/or keep the weight off. Our metabolisms do slow down, which may be due to feelings of tiredness and a lack of energy. An increase in calories take place. Now fewer calories are burned. To increase the metabolism naturally, have more energy and take in good calories can be a Cinch. Cinch is a weight management program that helps to loose the fat and inches while retaining muscle mass. One pound of fat the body burns 2 calories. One pound of muscle the body burns 50 calories! Big difference.

Mood Swings

Menopause is a process rather than an illness.

As estrogen levels drop, hormones are out of whack and can cause mood swings in even the most placid women. Another overlooked cause of mood swings is fatigue. Night weats and hot flashes can affect sleep patterns, causing tiredness and moodiness. To help combat the symptoms of menopause and make these years more bearable, there is Menopause Balance Complex.

Soy Isoflavones and flax seed lignans, which are currently being studied for their bone, breast and heart health properties, are included in Menopause Balance Complex to help keep your body in good health.

Mama Bear Productions provides Personal Nutrition Consultations. These consultations are available over the phone or in person. To schedule your consultation, call Mary Beth at 810-813-3308 or email marybeth1957@sbcglobal.net