The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By Pam Smith, Nutritionist and best selling author Flus, colds and viruses have been attempting terrorist-like "body invasions" for years -- long before the recent concerns around H1N1; it appears that there are always going to be threats of flu pandemics, real or sensationalized. The H1N1 alarm sounded in April. Just 6 months later, the never-before-seen swine flu has become the world's dominant strain of influenza. With flu's favorite chilly weather fast approaching, public health experts have great concerns that we are going to be a sick nation this fall. The big unknown is how sick. One in five people infected or a worst case -- half the population? Millions of vaccine doses are now arriving into the U.S., but the hopeful news: Even with no vaccine, winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere without as much havoc as doctors had feared, a heavy season that started early but not an overwhelming one. The strain that doctors call the 2009 H1N1 flu isn't any deadl...

By Walt Larimore, MD Monday, 5 October 2009 What’s the single most efficient way to catch H1N1 swine flu? OK, that’s a no-brainer. Having a sick person cough directly into your face cannot be a good thing. That gives you more than a 50% chance of getting sick. But if this doesn’t happen, what’s the next most risky thing you could do to dramatically increase your risk of catching the Swine flu? The risks were calculated by environmental health experts Mark Nicas, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley, and Rachael M. Jones, PhD, of the University of Illinois, Chicago, and reported by WebMD. Touching something contaminated with flu virus and then touching your nose, mouth, or eyes with your unwashed hand gives you a 31% chance at getting sick, Nicas and Jones calculate. Breathing in tiny particles left hanging in the air from a flu-infected person’s cough or sneeze gives you a 17% chance of infection. Breathing in larger particles – which hang in the air for a shorter time – giv...