Pandemic Ends And The Sky Has Not Fallen

A firecracker goes off with a bang, loud noise and bright light. When it fades such there is no more noise and the last bit of light disappears almost imperceptibly. Then there is nothing again but sky.

The swine flu has run a similar path. It arrived with a bang and lots of noise. This week it faded with the “official” announcement by the WHO that the pandemic has ended. The disappearance was like the firework going out, hardly noticeable. And we are left with sky, which despite the hysterical claims by health officials did not fall.

The whole issue of swine flu has been badly mismanaged from day one. The closing of schools for a week because a child had a sore throat runny nose and a cough was the first obvious sign that a massive over reaction was happening. Other than appearing in Mexico and getting a fancy name, this was always flu like any other flu. Every year some people get the flu and some die with it.

Yet we have witnessed a full scale health scare, which has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. Governments on the advice of “experts” ordered millions of vaccines and stockpiled anti viral drugs. The vast majority of these were not used, despite advertising campaigns urging people to be vaccinated. Pharmaceutical manufacturers made significant profits.

As it turned out last year was no different to any other year with regards flu In fact not only was swine flu no more serious than any other strain, in most instances the illness was milder. There were fewer cases and less deaths than usual in the southern winter of 2009 and northern winter of 2010.

Some will defend the authorities on the basis of caution in the face of the unknown. This argument falls down, as flu is known. This was just another strain.

The reason most of the vaccines were not used is that most people very sensibly did not want a rushed out and inadequately tested vaccine against a mild illness. It turned out that those who had previous flu shots were more likely to get reactions to the new one. Worse still there has been a high rate of febrile convulsions in children under five having the flu shot this year leading the Australian government to (belatedly) suspend the use of it in this age group. This was after one child died and dozens more were hospitalized after having the vaccine.

Two weeks later this became public and the main concern of health authorities was not that children had been harmed or exposed needlessly to potential harm but that “an important vaccine program” was being disrupted. A report into how this was handled has called for sweeping changes.

There is another sleeper in all this. Serious questions have been raised in Europe and the USA about conflicts of interest with those advising governments also having ties to vaccine manufacturers. The European Commission has called hearings to investigate this. A New York Times article reported over 60% of advisers to the CDC had potential conflicts of interest including being paid by vaccine makers. In Australia questions have been raised about how close the government is to certain vaccine makers.

The fact that swine flu has been a non-event was largely foreseeable. The waste of taxpayers’ dollars and whipping up of fear in the community is not acceptable. I do not see that anyone is being held accountable. At no time did any “official” provide useful information to the public about what they can do to support their own immune system. The only answers to the “problem” were a vaccine, which was not needed, or an anti viral drug, which does not even work.

I wrote about this on May 28 2009 (and subsequently) and have consistently said that this issue has been mismanaged and that there was never any need for fear, panic or waste of billions of dollars. The public response in ignoring calls for needless vaccination and panic has been far superior to the so called ‘experts” who have been running around with the self importance and attention seeking behavior of Chicken Little.

The reality is that the sky was never going to fall. The firework of swine flu has now faded and the sky remains where it always was.

No,Prime Minister,People Need Sleep To Function Effectively

It is fair to say that many government decisions are not particularly good. There may be an obvious reason for this emerging. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is “unapologetic” about his staff working long hours and there being a high turnover rate of staff.

Apparently staff can start at 4.30 am and still be on the go at 10pm.Seven day weeks are not unusual. Mr Rudd claimed a year in politics is like a dog year, seven years crammed into one. He claimed that people expected their government and politicians to work hard.

It seems the PM is unable to differentiate between quality and quantity when it comes to work. Furthermore he also seems to be unaware of the health effects of long hours and its impact on decision-making and the impact of high turnover.

Any human resources manager will tell you that staff turnover places a huge burden on business. There is loss of corporate knowledge, and the time taken to get a new staff member up to speed can be some months. All the while productivity suffers. This is quite aside the monetary costs of paying people out and the costs of recruitment. In business these costs affect profit whereas in government it is just borne by the taxpayer.

It gets worse. Sleep deprivation affects both health and productivity. NASA studies have shown that after 20 hours continually awake your brain is affected the same as with a blood alcohol reading of 0.05%. This is the cut off level governments set in most countries for drink driving. At this level you are not fit to drive. So how can you run the country?

In addition to this lack of sleep contributes to an increased rate of high blood pressure and heart disease. People who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be obese. When they do finally drive home, obviously there is a greater chance of a road collision and injury to them or someone else. Lack of sleep contributes to stress and in turn this can increase the likelihood of getting cancer five fold over a ten-year period.

For governments who claim to be concerned about health and wanting the population to be healthier this is a strange way to act. However even if we totally ignore this (and one wonders what the Health Minister would say if a public company forced employees to work these hours) there is another aspect.

Experiments have also been done on productivity and sleep. Sleep deprived people are less likely to work co operatively with others, are more irrational and more prone to emotional outbursts. Has anyone ever seen the behaviour of a tired child? Well it is the same in adults.

People want government to be effective. This is measured by outcome not hours spent. Indeed what we are seeing is that the modus operandi of government leads to poorer results by making its employees less healthy and getting them to work when their brains are far past their best for the day.

I would not want to be operated on by a surgeon with a blood alcohol level of 0.05% or equivalent in sleep deprivation. I do not want decisions made about the governing of the country by people with a blood alcohol of 0.05% or the equivalent in sleep deprivation.

The final irony is that the hard work keeping everyone up was on … health reform.

Chocolate Is Actually Good For Your Health

Easter Sunday is the day when everyone can indulge his or her love of chocolate without feeling guilty-and rightly so. Chocolate is universal. It is said that nine out of ten people say they like chocolate and the tenth is lying.

So why is there guilt about chocolate, and do we need to feel guilty? Simple answer -NO Chocolate is not intrinsically bad for us. At levels of cocoa of 70% it is actually good for us. What applies to you will depend on how much you eat and the quality of the chocolate.

So lets look at the “health benefits” of chocolate. The good feeling you get is not imagined. Chocolate contains a phyto-nutrient, which is an endorphin. The “high” from eating chocolate can be similar to the high runners get. It comes from the endorphins (the bodies natural happy hormone). Chocolate is virtually an antidepressant. Is it any wonder people turn to chocolate when they feel down? A Swiss study showed that eating 40g a day of dark chocolate lowered stress hormones in the bloodstream making people more resilient to stress.

Research has looked at the health benefits of dark chocolate and the results are impressive. A Swedish study showed that after a heart attack, those who ate chocolate at least twice a week had a three fold increase in survival over an eight-year period. Meanwhile a Canadian study showed a decreased risk of stroke in those who ate chocolate once a week compared to those who do not.

The benefits come from the flavinoids in cocoa, which are a potent anti oxidant. These flavinoids have also been shown to protect our genes (DNA) from oxidative damage. This potentially makes chocolate an anti-aging compound.

Chocolate is viewed with suspicion because it tastes so good. As a “pleasure” it has been seen as sinful. There are also linkages between chocolate and that other great “sin” of humanity-sex. Hence, the association of guilt.

Dark chocolate has lots of minerals including potassium, zinc, copper, chromium and magnesium. Many women turn to chocolate if they have pre menstrual symptoms. This is related to low magnesium. Again the body knows what it needs.

Cocoa is rich in antioxidants (10g dark chocolate has the same amount as a cup of green tea). The glycaemic index (GI) of chocolate is 40. Polyphenols in cocoa can reduce LDL, which is the “ bad cholesterol. There are also good fats in chocolate.

Now this is all well and good, you may say, but you can get the most of the same minerals and antioxidants from other sources. This is where the extra dimension of chocolate comes in. Fun is one of the pillars of DIY Health. Apart from providing goodness for us, our food needs to give us joy. Chocolate scores ten out of ten on this one.

So as I said above, there is no need to feel guilty about eating chocolate on Easter or on any other day. This does not mean a bar a day and yes you can get all the above nutrients from other sources, perhaps without the same amount of enjoyment. The best is 70% cocoa and organic is great if you can get it.

As part of a balanced DIY health program chocolate hits the spot.

Happy Easter Enjoy!