The Plain Truth's: Your Health Today ONLINE: December 2014

Severe Flu Cases on the Rise in U.S.

English: >1500 cases 1001–1500 cases 501–1001 cases 101–500 cases 51–100 cases 11–50 cases 1–10 cases 0 cases Influenza A (H1N1) numbers for confirmed and probable cases by state as reported to the CDC(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This year’s influenza season started earlier than expected and is sending more patients to the hospital, raising concerns this could be a more severe outbreak than in recent years.

Thirty-six states are now experiencing high levels of flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, as this year’s flu vaccine may not fully protect against a strain known as influenza A H3N2 that is currently circulating and tends to be more severe.

Fifteen children age 18 and under have died from the flu as of Dec. 20, compared with four such deaths around the same time last year, according to the CDC. A number of hospitals are outpacing previous years, with some restricting visitors to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Our medical director said that in his eight years at the hospital, he had never seen double digits” in the number of patients hospitalized, said Jill Chadwick, a spokeswoman at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. It had a record 25 flu cases admitted as of Monday and two deaths.

Tamiflu (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that the flu vaccine isn't a good match for this year's strain. So, even more people than ever can expect the fever, chills, aches, nausea, and other symptoms associated with influenaza. What can you do? The CDC recommends taking an antiviral such as Tamiflu or Relenza to reduce the flu's duration.

Not so fast, says holistic physician Dr. David Brownstein. "Forget it," he tells Newsmax Health. "It doesn't work, it's expensive, and it has side effects.

"Tamiflu is the most commonly prescribed antiviral medication for treating the symptoms of the flu," he says.

"You would think that Tamiflu must work well since it's widely prescribed by conventional doctors. However, a Cochrane report stated, 'Treating previously healthy patients with Tamiflu reduces the duration of influenza symptoms by approximately 21 hours.'

"Less than a day?" he asks in amazement. "And that's only when it's given within 48 hours of contracting the flu. Honestly, I can't make this stuff up."

"Tamiflu costs approximately $120 for a full course of treatment," says Dr. Brownstein. "It's a waste of your hard-earned money.

"Not only does Tamiflu fail to treat the flu, it is also associated with a host of adverse effects including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and abdominal pain.

"Wait a minute," he says. "I thought those were the symptoms of the flu! Tamiflu has also been associated with more severe side effects such as hepatitis, anaphylaxis, cardiac arrhythmias, seizures, and dangerous neuropsychiatric side effects such as hallucinations and suicide.

"Honestly, do you think all those side effects are worth it to reduce the severity of the flu by 21 hours?"

Dr. Brownstein also sees little benefit of taking....................

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Ibuprofen adds 12 years to life!

Coated 200 mg ibuprofen tablets, CareOne brand, distributed by American Sales Company of Lancaster, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Regular doses of ibuprofen could allow people to live up to 12 years longer.

In tests, the drug appears to hold back the ageing process as well as helping fight disease.

Ibuprofen, which is used every day at home by people to treat inflammation, pain and fever, may be the key to developing a long sought after anti-ageing drug.

Dr Brian Kennedy, president and chief executive of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California, said: “There is a lot to be excited about.

"The research shows that ibuprofen impacts a process not yet implicated in ageing, giving us a new way to study and understand the ageing process.

“Ibuprofen is a relatively safe drug, found in most people’s medicine cabinets.

"There is every reason to believe there are other existing treatments that can impact healthspan and we need to be studying them.”

Lead researcher Professor Michael Polymenis of Texas A&M University agreed.

He said: “It should be possible to find other drugs like ibuprofen with even better ability to extend lifespan, with the aim of adding healthy years of life in people.”

In laboratory tests, ibuprofen was found to extend the lives of worms and flies by the equivalent of about 12 years in human terms. MORE

Scientists invent 'feel full' chemical

The new chemical could make it easier for people to reduce how much they eat. Image Credit: sxc.hu

The new additive could help people lose weight by making them feel fuller more quickly at meal times.

Developed by researchers in the UK, the new chemical, which uses proprionate to make someone feel fuller, must be eaten on a regular basis in order to have the desired effect.

While little more than a foul-tasting powder on its own, scientists have been experimenting with ways to incorporate the chemical in to other foods such as bread loaves and fruit smoothies in order to make it more palatable for consumers.

The most difficult part of the research was to find a way to deliver the proprionate to the colon, a problem that they solved by binding it to a natural carbohydrate called inulin.

Experiments have shown that volunteers eating food containing the new chemical ate 14% less on average than those who dined on foods that didn't contain it.

"We know that adults gain between 0.3kg and 0.8kg a year on average, and there's a real need for new strategies that can prevent this," said study leader Prof Gary Frost.