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Vaccine nation

“Vaccine will cure diabetes.”

You have to admit it is a catchy headline. But like most headlines it was a shiny attention-grabbing balloon for the masses rather than a statement of fact.

This week most of the newspapers ran the same story which was actually about the launch of a research product to test a vaccine to prevent and/or cure the autoimmune disease type-1 diabetes. It might be available in 10 years’ time. If it works.

These sorts of miracle vaccine stories appear several times of year – and they are never about anything real. They are never about commercially available drugs and in fact, increasingly, they are about selling people a kind of pharmaceutical rabbit’s foot that removes any responsibility they may have for looking after their own health.

A quick sweep of the recent news archives will reveal vaccine promises for Alzheimer’s, tooth decay, heart disease, smoking and other addictions, genital herpes/cervical (and other types of) cancer and allergies.

Magic bullet thinking is pervasive in modern medicine. It’s actually a concept that reaches back to the 1800s when we discovered microorganisms like staphylococci and streptococci could cause disease. Ever since we found out that there was an entire living world, smaller than ours, but nevertheless influential on the course of our health, we have been trying to destroy, control and manipulate it.

In medicine a magic bullet is a chemical that targets a specific organism or process in the body without interfering with any other organisms or processes. It takes its name from the superstitions of warfare and the notion that bullets can be charmed to make sure that they would hit a particular person.

Apart from its superstitious roots, there is another problem with the magic bullet: it completely ignores the deep connectivity between body systems or indeed between body and mind and the role this has in health and disease.

In a week when the MHRA ran a blitz on Amazon UK, pulling St John’s wort supplements off the site for making alleged (and in some cases disputed) claims for the medical efficacy of those products, I can’t help but wonder, who is policing the massive PR machine for vaccine cures?

The HPV vaccine (Gardasil) for example, which doctors are pressing on teenage girls (and soon teenage boys) to prevent cervical cancer, comes with a laundry list of adverse effects – from breathing difficulties to chronic fatigue to death – so much so that in Japan they have stopped giving it to girls pending further investigation. Lawsuits against the drug manufacturer have popped up in France and Canada and in the US the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has recently paid out nearly $6 million in compensation to victims. Think of all the effective sex education classes that could have funded.

More than ever, with a media that uncritically reports every new breakthrough as if it was a reality (rather than some vague concept in search of more research and development money) we need people who have the strength of mind to call this nonsense out.

We all want to be healthy and while it may require effort – and the will to find the right path that suits you individual health needs – it’s not exactly rocket science either.

Granted the picture is complicated by an increasingly toxic world. Indeed environmental toxins can have a role to play in damaging our immune systems and the healthy functioning of our bodies.

But most of the chronic diseases that plague modern society are lifestyle related. They require a change of mindset and habit, not medication.

That is why we continue to advocate being informed, taking an preventive approach, and first line therapies that involve gentle natural treatments and a recognition of the way that body and mind  are constantly interacting to produce health or illness.

Some people think that New Years is the time to make resolutions. With the first hints of spring appearing here in the UK I would like to suggest that now is a better time to resolve to form new habits and new attitudes that don’t involve the hollow promises of magic bullet medicine.

Our website is a treasure trove of hints and tips on good health plus the latest news on natural health.  Whether you want to know about detox, or getting a better night’s sleep, or you want more information on dealing with high blood pressure, digestive problems or even diabetes we aim to give you reliable information to live a better, more natural life.

Pat Thomas, Editor