The effectiveness of the flu vaccine is gamble. Months before the flu season, officials at the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services take a guess as to what flu virus strain will hit in the coming winter. Even if they quess right, the effectiveness of the vaccine has been questioned in studies.

This year the guess was wrong. The CDC has reported that this year’s influenza vaccine does not match the circulating strains and is very ineffective. The CDC is actually advising common sense preventative and management strategies of the flu.

A flu strategy many heath professionals argue is what the agency should stress every year, rather than questionable and vaccines with potentially harmful side effects.

For one thing, getting the flu on occasion actually produces real immunity to that strain of the flu which is much more effective than any vaccine.

To help prevent the flu
1. Eat right, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep
2. If possible, avoid getting to close to those who are sick
3. Wash your hands often
4. Lower stressing and stressing your immune system.
5. Get regular exercise
6. Boost your immune system with adequate supplementation and immune boosters like Echinacea and zinc.
7. At the first signs of a cold, try acupuncture, homeopathy, vitamins and herbal remedies that have been shown to help fight cold and flu, and relieve symptoms.
8. Getting adequate vitamin C, D and A is very important.
9. Avoid over-the-counter cold and flu medications. They don’t work and are usually full of synthetic ingredients that may stress our system.