Hospital stay may be hazardous to your health

It is getting medically messy out there. Take the deadly bacteria lurking in your local hospital.

This is exactly the situation affecting medical facilities all over the country. Deadly Clostridium difficile infections – or C. diff., for short – are on the rise. 

C. diff. is a tremendously uncomfortable and potentially deadly infection that's a scourge in many hospitals. In fact, C. diff. bacteria are found on surfaces in nearly every hospital and nursing home. It's one of the top reasons to stay out of emergency rooms unless you're facing a life-threatening injury or condition (like a stroke or heart attack).

But nowadays, staying away from hospitals may not be enough to protect you. In recent years, more people are contracting C. diff. in a variety of places outside of hospitals and care facilities.

For example, between 2004 and 2009, C. diff. cases among children went up more than a thousand percent. Three quarters of those cases were contracted outside of a hospital and in recent years, C. diff related deaths have also climbed, increasing by 230 percent. This is due in part to mutations in the bacteria's potency.

In the past decade, C. diff. has gone from a mild bacterial infection to one that often requires hospitalization. The reason is the amount of toxins produced by new mutant strains. The newest strain of C. diff., which has quickly become the dominant strain, releases 20 times more toxins into your body than non-mutated strains.  

Typically elderly people and people taking antibiotics are at the highest risk of developing a C. diff. infection. Antibiotics kill off bacteria – both good and bad – living in your gut. When antibiotics kill the good bacteria, it devastates your body's defenses against harmful bacteria like C. diff.

During a C. diff. infection, you'll experience persistent diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and other complications. To make matters worse, in recent years, hospitals are seeing more and more C. diff. infections that are resistant to antibiotics.

The best thing you can do is avoid C. diff. infections altogether! 

C. diff. is everywhere. Three percent of the population carries it without realizing. And the bacteria can live for months on dry surfaces. Normally, the good bacteria in your gut protect you from C. diff., but if the balance of bacteria in your digestive system is disturbed, you could be in for trouble.

The most important step to take toward preventing C. diff. infections is to avoid taking antibiotics unless you need them.
That means avoiding antibiotics when you're sick with a cold or the flu. If you do have an illness or infection that requires antibiotics, talk to your doctor about using targeted antibiotics rather than broad-spectrum options.

Next, take steps to feed the good bacteria in your gut. 
The best way to accomplish this is with a good probiotic supplement. Also you can find a wealth of information on probiotics and their useage here.

Supporting the good bacteria in your gut is always important, but it is especially critical when you're taking an antibiotic. Whenever your doctor prescribes an antibiotic, make sure you also take a probiotic to replace the good bacteria that will die off as a result of the treatment.

Finally, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water; dish soap like Dawn is considered especially effective. Those alcohol-based hand sanitizers may sound nice, but they don't get rid of C. diff and in many cases may be harmful to your health. All  they do is give you a false sense of security. The preferred method is to simply use a mixture of distilled water and Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver for disinfecting your hands

You should also avoid places where you're most likely to become infected with
C. diff. The hospital emergency room is the number one place to avoid. Community swimming pools can also be a source of exposure. If you want to go for a swim, make sure you choose a pool that has a good track record – one with no C. diff. outbreaks. That means they're careful to treat the water properly, which helps prevent the spread of infections like C. diff.

C. diff. is a serious infection. It can take months to fully recover from it. It can require hospitalization and may even cause death. Take precautions to protect yourself and your family from this miserable and dangerous disease    

Is the flu season really all that bad?

For Big Pharma, we're in the greatest season of them all -- flu season.

I'm sure you've seen all the news reports lately. Flu is spreading like wildfire in a gasoline forest. The season started early. It's worse than anyone thought.

It's the most frightening flu season since, well, last flu season.

And the only solution to this menace comes in a convenient syringe that can be jabbed into your arm for the low, low price of $25 at your local pharmacy or supermarket.

I mean, isn't this all starting to sound a little familiar? Each year we are hit over the head with the same three stories about flu season:

Story 1: It's going to be worse than anyone thought.
Story 2: We need to rush out and get our vaccines before Big Pharma runs out of inventory. (They might as well have a carnival barker screaming, "This offer won't last long!")
Story 3: Phew! It looks like we're going to be OK after all.

We're somewhere between #1 and #2 right now, and I promise you we'll end up at #3 within weeks. And, truly, I don't mean to diminish the seriousness of the flu -- if you've ever been stricken with it, you know it's a miserable experience that can be particularly dangerous for children and seniors.

But please understand that much of the mania right now is being driven by a desire to sell vaccinations, and by false confidence in what these vaccines can do.

If estimates are correct, the five best-selling flu vaccines will generate nearly $2.5 BILLION in sales worldwide this year. For Big Pharma, the flu is like a reliable slot machine that pays out every year.

And I wouldn't begrudge Big Pharma a dime if the flu vaccine was more effective. Each year, millions of people line up for the vaccine under the mistaken belief that they will not contract flu. That false -- and totally unjustified -- feeling of invincibility may lead these same people to skip commonsense preventive measures, like regular hand washing, avoiding people who are sick, and supplementing with vitamins to build their immune systems (more on that in a moment).

Here are the facts -- the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that this year's flu vaccine is 62 percent effective, which experts have the audacity to call a "good year." Even worse, the vaccine is less effective for seniors -- arguably the group that needs protection most.

If you're a senior who got the flu shot and are wondering if you'll catch the flu, you might as well flip a coin.

The only way to stay truly safe from flu is to never catch it in the first place. Here are a couple vitamins that you can use for making your immune system fortress strong -- and to keep flu from storming the castle.

Vitamin D: Get plenty of sun and take 5,000 IU daily (2,000 to 3,000 IU for kids).

Vitamin C: Adults should take a minimum of 3 grams per day (kids should take less). You should take as much as your body will tolerate without diarrhea.

These immunity-boosting vitamins are safe, inexpensive, and they'll keep you healthy long after "Flu Mania" has come and gone.

How to quickly knock out a cold

Sometimes life just gets in the way and no matter how much you take care of yourself,  you feel the beginnings of a cold coming on.

This happened to me last week and with my arsenal of natural remedies, I jumped into action to clobber this cold before it took hold.

At the first sign of symptoms, I took a mega dose of vitamin D3 (20,000 IU).

The first thing in the morning, one hour before you eat anything, I took 6 capsules of Enriching Gifts Sterol Max. These powerful plant sterols ramp up the immune system to battle the cold.

At breakfast, I took another mega dose of vitamin D3 along with my other supplements.

Speaking of breakfast, you don't want to suppress your immune system with sugar and other processed foods but that's another story.

Next I did a sinus flush, also called a sinus irrigation, with a mixture of distilled water and Enriching Gifts Colloidal Silver. If you haven't done anything like this before, it is basically sticking your nose in the solution and carefully inhaling until you can feel the solution running down your throat. One of those nose bulbs can also be used.

I made sure that I was drinking fluids to help prevent dehydration and loosen mucus which there always to be more than enough of during a cold. I avoid caffeine products late in the day because I need to get plenty of rest. Rest provides the energy your body needs to fight illness. 

I also avoid blowing my nose to hard. You basically are applying back pressure when you blow to hard and end up forcing any infection further into your sinuses.

Before bed, I performed another sinus flush. If I am having trouble sleeping I use natural products like Essential Source Sweet Dreams Strips or Oregon's Wild Harvest Passionflower. Another favorite is valerian root.

Repeat this process the next day.

But wait, there's more!

Too often at the first sign of feeling better, we quit supplementing. Don't do it!
 
Colds are sneaky and will come back with a vengeance if it sees an opportunity.

The following things have been clinically shown to shorten the duration or alleviate the symptoms of a respiratory infection.

    Garlic
    Probiotics
    Vitamin C
    Zinc gluconate

I take these regularly, but increase them when I feel a cold coming. 

And the cold? It never did develop into what is normally called a cold.

What's the best resolution?

It's a brand new year and you have a brand new opportunity to make a massive impact in your community, in your business and on your personal development.

Here are some stats on New Year resolutions and some interesting facts.

First off, only 45% of people make resolutions.

Within the first week, 25% have already broken their resolution.

By six months nearly 60% have fallen off the wagon - the rest are unaccounted for.

Those aren't reassuring facts.

Here is a list of the Top Ten Resolutions made for 2013.

1. Lose Weight
2. Getting Organized
3. Spend Less, Save More
4. Enjoy Life to the Fullest
5. Staying Fit and Healthy
6. Learn Something Exciting
7. Quit Smoking
8. Help Others in Their Dreams
9. Fall in Love
10. Spend More Time with Family

These should NOT be resolutions, they should be a way of life. That list of top ten resolutions should really be called...

Ten Common Sense Commandments to Living a Better Life.

Everyone should just be doing this stuff, don't you think?

People make these resolutions only to break them at an alarming rate - losing further hope.

But instead we continue to make resolutions, more like spontaneous proclamations of how we want the future to look, only to fall short because resolutions give you a false sense of preparedness.

Resolutions are a complete and total waste of time. Resolutions don't work. So if you have them, just forget about them now. Just stop.

Set goals instead.