Yes, the CDC reports on their website that about 36,000 people die every year from ordinary strains of influenza. I mentioned this myself in an article back in May, but if you take a closer look, the large majority of these deaths are apparently caused by secondary infections such as pneumonia. However, they seem to be using the same standard for swine flu deaths, so it’s still a valid comparison, and it still doesn’t mean that the swine flu should be regarded with a panic stricken frenzy.

Ironically, I think this inflated number is used to push regular flu shots, but it’s backfired a bit this year.

I absolutely agree that we have bigger issues to worry about. Even right here in the United States, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are much more of a problem than swine flu.

I’m glad you addressed the H1N1 issue. There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether or not people should get the vaccine. The media tends to use scare tactics to persuade ignorant Americans that they MUST rush out there and get this vaccine. I recently read that 35,000 people die a year from the regular ‘run of the mill’ strain of influenza each year and only about 1154 people have died from H1N1 this year. So I think there is no need to cause hysteria. I also thought it was interesting that there is only 1 treatment ‘Tamiflu’ which is owned by 1 company – Gilead Science Inc– to which Donald Rumsfeld was chairman. Hummmm? Each month about 50,000 people die from AIDS in Africa but we are focusing more on the ‘Swine Flu.’ It seems like this is because of power at be don’t make money from treating issues like AIDS… makes me think.

I agree, the swine flu should definitely not be taken lightly. However, it won’t do anyone any good to panic over it (which will weaken immunity) or jump to conclusions about the need for vaccination. If H1N1 does mutate into a more dangerous strain, and let’s all hope that it doesn’t, the vaccinations that are being made now probably won’t be effective against it.

If a mutation of H1N1 developed that was expected to cause the cytokine storm, and an effective vaccine existed for it, perhaps this would be one case in which vaccination would be a more reasonable option.

There are so many problems that can be caused by consuming excessive amounts of carbohydrates, which is exactly what many Americans are doing, that I think it’s one of the most important lifestyle habits to address, with or without a concern for immunity.