Ep. 287: Should I Get a Flu Shot?

In this episode, Stacy and Sarah answer a question from a healthcare professional about mandatory flu shots.
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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 287: Should I Get a Flu Shot?
Intro (0:00)
News and Views (0:40)
Backstreet's Back, and so are Sarah and Stacy!
Reminiscing about the 90s, and Stacy breaking out into song- a rare treat!
Stacy is working on The Body Love series.
Her free ebook will be launching with this series - sign up to get it here.
It encourages never dieting again, a sustainable lifestyle perspective.
It's about finding what works for you.

Stacy hears feedback of people noting reduced illness and increased immune function with a health diet.
This is an interesting metric of health.
Stacy avoided the flu in multiple instances this year.
Sarah woke up feeling the yuk one morning, took good care of herself and never got sick.
As an adult its hard to take it easy and take care of yourself when you're sick.
Sarah has several friends who had complications from this year's flu.
Sarah is sick far less often that she was pre-Paleo.

Stacy attributes "souping" to her staying health when exposed to illness.
Stacy's post on Souping here.
Sarah's post on Souping here.
The nutrients in soup are quite different than other liquid-type diets like juicing.
It's a balanced meal with a lot of nutrient density.
Soup is more efficiently digested and filling than things like smoothies or juice.

Sometimes things like souping and vitamin C aren't enough and medicine is needed.



Listener Question - Science with Sarah (13:01)
Kelly asks, "I work in skilled nursing as an occupational therapist. My company requires taking the flu vaccine or wearing a mask from November to February. I understand the company's position looking at lost work time and revenue due to sick days. My direct supervisor says her reason for wanting all employees to take the vaccine is that if we don’t we are at an increased risk of passing the flu to our residents even if we don’t have the flu ourselves (she quotes a 30% increase). I have looked and cannot find studies to support this. I actually found from the Cochrane review and PubMed that no relation is found. I have opted not to vaccinate this year, I’m the only employee in my department to not vaccinate this season. I am wearing a mask daily and actually feel like it will decrease my risk of catching a cold. I was just wondering if there was any evidence that not taking the vaccine increases the risk for my residents. Last year I did take the vaccine in October and in January in a 2 week period was diagnosed with strep throat, sinus infection, bilateral eye, and bilateral ear infections. Was not tested for flu due to having had the vaccine."
Disclaimer: we realize that vaccination is a highly debated and hot topic, and all the information we are presenting is based in science. Please take this information and decide what is right for you, we are not medical professionals.
References for this show can be found below.

The flu vaccine is different than most other vaccines.
With all vaccines there is a very small risk of allergic reactions or adverse reactions.
Aside from those reactions, vaccines are completely safe.
Diseases like Polio, Measles, and Tetnis, which had a very high morbidity rate and were killing tens of thousands of people every year, is a different equation compared to the flu vaccine.
The flu virus mutates rapidly, which means the vaccine isn't as effective as other types of vaccines.

The flu is very virulent- with around 3 million cases every year.
The number of flu-related deaths every year differs quite a bit.
It is not usually associated with intestinal symptoms, bur rather fever, aches and pains, runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fatigue.
Flu increases risk of secondary infections, which is what usually causes deat