Panic Over “swine Flu” Is The Real Pandemic Health Expert Warns

May 4, 2009 - PRLog -- MALIBU, CA -– Echoing the famous quotation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” national health expert Mark D. Sisson cautioned today that the public should avoid a rush to mass hysteria over a potential pandemic situation arising from the Flu H1N1 (“swine flu”) outbreak and realize that if they have a healthy immune  system it is highly unlikely that they will be adversely affected.

    Sisson, a Malibu, CA-based authority on health, fitness and nutrition whose “blog” - Mark’s Daily Apple” - www.marksdailyapple.com - is ranked in the top 10 of those devoted to health and fitness on the internet, stressed that the nation has survived a wide variety of recent flu types in the past without serious consequence and there is no reason to believe it will be different in the case of the current swine flu.”   Noting that every year in the United States there are 50 million cases of flu and about 35,000 deaths, he remarked:

    “I don’t believe that the swine flu will prove to be any different from so many others we have seen recently.  Yes, people may get sick, but the vast majority of these people will, at worst, lose a few day’s pay and experience a few days discomfort.  What we don’t need is a rush to judgment that the world is caving in and hope is lost.”

    According to Sisson, the key to avoiding the Swine or any other type of flu, or lessening its impact greatly, depends on the health of the individual’s immune system and strength of their organ reserve, which is the functional capacity of one’s organs to support life.  He notes the biggest cause of death from the flu is either or both of a weakened immune system and organ failure – kidneys, heart, liver failing –  directly caused by the flu or by a secondary bacterial infection.
   
Among the steps that people should take to ensure they have a strong immune system Sisson stressed are:

•   Avoid sugar – It is an immune suppressor and can also exacerbate heart disease and cancer.

•   Avoid stress – It can make the immune system vulnerable to a bacteria or virus.

•   Avoid overly stressful workouts – It suppresses the immune system and weakens resistance.

•   Avoid eating grains – May have immune altering or immune-suppressing effect for some.
•   Avoid exposure to those that have flu – Don’t “push the envelope” when there is a risk.

•   Get some sunshine – Sunlight generates Vitamin D which helps make immune system strong.

•   Exercise properly – Right type of exercise has an immune-boosting effect and increase organ reserve.

•   Avoid bad fats and eat good fats – Some fats help the immune system, others will compromise it.

    Sisson believes the swine flu will prove to be nothing extraordinary, just another strain of flu.  Whether an individual gets sick or not, he pointed out, is significantly within one’s control, adding:

“People need to take responsibility for their own health on a long term basis; practice preventive maintenance, and if they do - with proper caution - they can move on with their lives without paranoia every time there is a flu outbreak.”

     Sisson addressed the subject the swine flu and preventative measures in greater depth in a recent edition of his blog (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-not-to-get-swine-flu).

# # #

F&A is a full service public relations and marketing/communications firm based in Los Angeles area. Founded in 1978, it has served over 400 clients, representing a wide variety of businesses, industries, professions, on local, national and international.