630 responses to “Should I get the Flu Shot?”

1. I have to admit…When I saw your post I thought “are you SERIOUS Food Babe”? What are you doing!!! Then I got a hold of myself and read…Thank GOD you didn’t disappoint…I am in agreement with everything you said…I educate when I can and hope people will do their research as well…The money is in the medicine not the cure!!! We can heal ourselves!!! Keep doing what you’re doing and so will I…Michael & Silvia Martinez

   1. Michael – Everytime I have read this comment today – I start laughing. I’m glad I didn’t let you down! I had a visit with my Acupuncturist tonight and he told me even more information that I’ll have to post on my Facebook Page. Can’t wait to share.

      1. Most vaccines have these ingredients. See ingredient list here and stop spreading your stupidity: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm

   2. This blog was sent to me by my daughter…it’s my first time here.
      I’m glad I read all the comments…but I’m still confused and need help. I’m 65, eat organic when possible…have a whole-house water filtration system, blah, blah, blah.
      I have Lymphoma-the incurable, slow-growing kind. My immunes are down because of the nature of the disease and 2 rounds of chemo during the past 13 years.
      It sounds like the nasal spray has less “ingredients”…is that true?
      Also-I’m not dumb-I NEVER use “your” for “you’re”…but what does “it sheds” mean??

2. I totally agree with you. Unfortunately, since I am in the military I am forced to get this and many other things that I do not agree with. It’s kind of a bummer :S

   1. Lindsey – That’s unfortunate to hear. They did the same thing to my Mom in the school system. I was even pressured by my boss one year at work several years ago. Be sure to eat lots of living plants and you’ll have a better chance to ward off anything you might encounter! Good Luck! XoXo!

3. Totally agree with this. And my pregnant wife isn’t getting a flu shot either. But I’m glad you didn’t take this further and start ranting against vaccinations in general (like MMR and Hep-B). The benefits of those very effective vaccines far outweigh any risks. For example the smallpox vaccine totally eradicated that disease and now vaccination isn’t even necessary anymore. Your thoughts?

   1. Congratulations again on your new addition to the family! I am so happy for you. I agree with you Matt – Some vaccines are actually effective and worth considering. However, there is a bunch of toxic crap in those vaccines too. But you get them once or twice – not every year like the Flu vaccine. There is a big difference.

      In other news – I’ve been looking at statistics and 93% of Doctors don’t get the Flu shot. Yeah for them! 🙂

      1. 93% of doctors don’t get the flu shot? I would love to see the source for that statistic. I’m with you and have denied the flu vaccine for myself and two small children. My husband is a pharmacist in a hospital and my mother is a nurse at a retirement community–both are required to get the flu shot or it is considered “grounds for termination”. This makes me furious, but it is becoming policy at almost all healthcare facilities. I just started reading your blog about two weeks ago, but this is the second time I’ve come across information that seemed very “off”. According to the American Medical News, 86% of doctors got the flu shot last year. Please continue to present facts so my friends and family do not immediately dismiss this blog as an informational source when I recommend it. I appreciate your work towards encouraging a healthy lifestyle!

      2. Do you have a link for your internet research? Here’s a study by the CDC which said that 86% of doctors *did* get the flu shot in 2011-2012.

         http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6138a1.htm

   2. Sorry, your infant has no chance of contracting an STD unless the mother is a carrier or he/she comes in contact with the blood of a carrier. There is really no need to worry about Hep B at all. MMR? My cousins had all their childhood diseases and they were perfectly fine. In fact, where I grew up, everyone was unvaccinated and we fared just fine. My mother didn’t let me near my cousins when they got their illnesses because she was practically frozen with fear over them. My uncle and his wife didn’t share her feelings and wouldn’t even take their kids to the doctor for anything unless it appeared life-threatening. Those boys were always healthier than I was and I spent most of my childhood in the doctor’s office. The only real way to health is through diet and exposure to sunshine.

      1. Lexie – are you serious? I can guarantee that your cousins didn’t contract “all” of the diseases currently vaccinated against. A rubella outbreak would make national news. You and your cousins were okay thanks to herd immunity. Look it up. You also need a refresher course on the dangers of hepatitis b, as well as possible routes to contracting it. Sure hope you never plan on leaving the United States.

      2. Read what I said again. Everyone we grew up with was unvaccinated. I did not grow up in America. The ‘herd immunity’ hoax has no place in this debate.

         I’ve also gone to quite a few countries other than America. I only live here now, but don’t think I’m afraid to go anywhere else due to irrational fears of some trifle diseases.

         Hep B doesn’t scare me. Maybe YOU need a refresher. It is an STD.

         My cousins had measles. Rubella is german measles. Not a big difference. They fared just fine. I wish my mother had allowed me to contract it from them, but she was afraid of the unknown.

      3. Lexie, You have NO idea what your talking about and look like a total fool!

         Hep B is an STD but can and often is contracted in other ways. Lots of responsible people contract Hep B in ways other than sex. (GASP! this means it could happen to YOU!)

         And your mother is smarter than you. Children die of the measles.

         Always interesting when people who have no idea what they are talking about try to make an argument. Your only convincing other people who dont know what they are talking about.

         As for Food babe, this is my one and only time ill be visting your site. It may be just one blog, but proves your extreme opinions on things and willingness to publically share information on things you know little about. I dont trust your opinion.

      4. Lexie, I’m with you. My whole family was not vaccinated, we are healthy, not bc of herd immunity, but bc we were allowed to get many of the diseases which made our bodies stronger. You know what you’re talking about and keep it up!! Chemicals in our bloodstream does not do the body good, they weaken it. These super bugs wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for the interference of strong cleaners and vaccines. And to these other rude people who don’t agree, I say to you keep getting your vaccines, and lets see who wins at the end.

      5. Lexie, I fully agree with you. People obviously do not realize the vaccine injuries are real and not many shots (if any at all!) protect you for the life time. Every shot is a big hazard in my eyes, a hazard much bigger than getting most of the diseases. Today we have stunning hygiene, if you eat healthy, then your body has a lot of power to fight the disease so it is all about $$ for a certain business group… Whoever makes at least a basic research beyond their doctors’ office, must see what it is all about. I wish the “totally-pro-vaccination” people interviewed parents of hurt children. There is no step back!!! The children are hurt for the rest of their lives in the name of so called herd immunity. I wonder if their parents feel like they did a good thing to let their kids get vaccinated. I doubt. And all for $$ of big pharma. Hep B shot right after birth is, in my eyes, the biggest crime ever. Fully legal… But of course, most people take it as protection of the health until the hurt kid is theirs… My daughter has a pretty rare condition, it came from nowhere, nobody in my and my husband’s family has nothing even similar so what a shock when she was diagnosed… It was supposed to be what other people fight against, not we! And that was an eye opener for me because everything can affect me/us, also vaccine injuries. It is not only other people’s situation, it can be mine as well….

      6. I spent half a year working in refugee camp where herd immunity did not exist. We had an outbreak of mumps and children died.

4. I wish I had more time to respond but, please, anyone that is considering NOT getting a flu shot based on this blog, be sure to talk to your doctor first to get all the correct facts. The viruses that cause the flu change often so you won’t build an immunity to it. If you are concerned with the perservatives look into the nasal option. The egg allergy is a concern but there is research being done on a vaccine that does not contain the egg component and there is talk about that being available soon. I was opposed to the flu shot years ago – this actually goes back to when they actually had the live virus in the shot and I would always get a “little” flu when I got the shot. So I stopped getting it and sure enough, “encountered” the flu and spent a week in the hospital. Just my 2 cents.

   1. Here are the facts from the Nasal Spray Manufacture –

      Who should not get FluMist?
      You should not get FluMist if you: are allergic to eggs, gentamicin, gelatin, or arginine; have ever had a life-threatening reaction to influenza vaccinations; or are 2 through 17 years old and take aspirin or medicines containing aspirin—children or adolescents should not be given aspirin for 4 weeks after getting FluMist unless your healthcare provider tells you otherwise.

      Children under 2 years old should not get FluMist because there is a chance they may wheeze (have difficulty with breathing) after getting FluMist.

      Who may not be able to get FluMist?
      Tell your healthcare provider if you: are currently wheezing; have a history of wheezing if under 5 years old; have had Guillain-Barré syndrome; have a weakened immune system or live with someone who has a severely weakened immune system; have problems with your heart, kidneys, or lungs; have diabetes; are pregnant or nursing; or are taking Tamiflu®, Relenza®, amantadine, or rimantadine.

      They will decide if FluMist is right for you.

      What are the most common side effects of FluMist?
      The most common side effects of FluMist are runny or stuffy nose; sore throat; and fever over 100 degrees F

      Stabilizers/Preservatives in FluMist include sucrose, monosodium glutamate, the amino acid arginine, and hyrdolyzed porcine gelatin.

      Based on this information – I wouldn’t suggest nasal spray either.

      Flu comes over from Asia, then to Europe and then to the United States – if you start hearing headlines that mass people in these countries start dieing from the Flu – it could be a deadly flu and worth getting the shot for that year only. But no one knows what strain will hit until it starts migrating over to our side of the globe. Since I haven’t seen these type of deadly headlines – it isn’t worth it to get this shot every year. Additionally there are thousands of people who die from the flu shot every year that is not reported by the mass media. The flu vaccine systematically weakens your immune system (read symptoms that occur when you take it for evidence) and what you experienced previously – this could one of the reasons why ultimately you ended up catching the Flu or it might have been just bad luck. Glad to know you survived the Flu and are doing better. 2 weeks in the hospital is rough!

   2. Doctors are not made aware of ‘all the correct facts’. They’re aware of what the CDC tells them is the truth. Do you know that doctors are paid by the government based on the percentage of their patients who are vaccinated? That is one of the reasons that doctors do not like to have dissenting parents in their practice. They stand to lose profits. The higher the percentage of patients vaccinated on schedule, the more money they make per patient, so there’s a lot of incentive to vaccinate and they are essentially punished with lower profits for allowing parents to make a different choice.

      The nasal mist sheds, so not only do you risk getting the flu but passing it on to others. For people who are afraid of the flu, this is obviously not the right option.

      There are several flu strains, but those don’t change. What does change is which will be around at any given time. You can indeed build natural immunity to the flu strains, but vaccines do not confer lifelong immunity or any immunity for that matter because antibodies alone do not confer immunity. They only fight the virus once it infects the body, so you can still be infected. The cold, on the other hand, does mutate with every person it infects, so the only protection there is good, healthy food, plenty of sunlight in the summer, and clean drinking water.

      If the flu landed you in the hospital, I’m sorry to say that it was because you were lacking in natural defenses. Spend more time in the sun (at least 20 minutes each day or much more in the summer), eat more fruits and vegetables, buy a bottle of sodium ascorbate (vitamin C), and start supplementing with iodine (Lugol’s or Iodoral, not kelp).

5. I only mention the nasal mist as an option for those concerned about the perservatives. There are limitations as to who can receive the mist because of the slightly “less effectivness”. Again, something to discuss with one’s doctor as to whether this is an viable option for you. One of the concerns about waiting and seeing if there is going to be an outbreak is by then it may be too late. One also runs the risk of a “mass rush” and not being able obtain the immunization.

   I’m not here to try and convince you or your followers to get a flu shot. That’s the CDC’s job. (But they do seem to make a pretty good case for it!) Here are a couple of websites that may answer some questions for anyone intererested. All the best to you. I’ve enjoyed looking over your website.

   http://www.facesofinfluenza.com/en/influenza-risk/

   http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccine-selection.htm

   1. The nasal mist sheds, and most people who willingly follow the CDC’s schedule are unaware of that and send their children to school. Then you end up with several children getting the flu from one child having the mist. Often, that includes the child who received the mist.

      I’m not saying that having the flu is a bad thing though. Having it will confer lifelong immunity against that particular strain, but the parents choosing this for their children are doing something counterproductive to their own goal–which is to keep their child from ever getting sick, and often to keep other children from getting sick from their child. The nasal mist flu vaccine is not the only vaccine which sheds, by the way, but it’s the one we’re discussing, so I’ll leave it at that.

6. Casey – The CDC is unfortunately controlled by the government who depends on the pharmaceutical industry for lobby money. I would encourage you to look into why the CDC pushes the flu vaccine so hard. Check out this site for one instance where there are some serious questionable actions from the CDC – http://www.laleva.org/eng/2004/03/vaccinations_risks_and_myth_upi_investigates_the_vaccine_conflict_and_cdc_corruption.html

   Also the other site mentioned is completely one sided and is a grassroots campaign started by the American Lung Association to urge more and more people to get the flu shot – its not a resource where you can learn about the facts and whether or not the flu vaccine is actually effective.

   Why don’t these websites give us the other side of the story – how many children and other people are hospitalized from actually receiving the flu shot?

   It would be nice if someone found a website that had all the facts – both sides of the story in complete detail. Unfortunately most of the “Flu” information out there is paid by the government or pharmaceutical industry – that’s why I wrote this article to help shed some light on some real facts not highlighted by the mainstream news sources.

   Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comments Casey!

   1. You didn’t provide any real facts. You didn’t cite a single scientific study.

7. I am writing a comment to share my experience i had with the “food babe”. First off i would like to say that she is very unprofessional,very stuck up and rude. She came into my business asking questions on the nutritional facts and ingredients of products we provide. I gave her both of the criteria she was looking for and even gave her the phone number and website to corporate if she had further questions, but she was not satisfied. She kept being persistant and wanted to see the actual product. So being a businessman i always want my customer to leave happy, even though she wasnt a customer, she just came to harrass my employees, I went to the back and showed her the product with the nutritional facts on the bag. She didnt want me to hold my own product and read her the ingredients, she instead cut me off and said ” i dont want you to read it to me, let me hold it and read it myself”, RUDE! I was doing her a favor to help her to the best of my ability. Then she had the nerve to ask me if she can take a picture of our ingredients?! Theres a thing called confidentiality and it does exist in businesses. Of course my answer was no, and like a teenage girl she rolled her eyes and got an attitude and stormed off. WORK ON YOUR PROFESSIONALISM & ATTITUDE FOOD BABE! The way you acted made you seem like the “Food Nazi”, you should really work on that.

   1. Wow.

      I’ve only just stumbled onto this site (never heard of Food Babe before today), but I am very taken aback by Your Rude’s comment.

      I have a major sensitivity, and must check ingredients of the foods I buy. I always request that I read the ingredients, rather than have someone read them to me.

      This is because of the time I bought tuna salad at the deli, where the manager there did not want anyone to know that they added bread crumbs to the tuna salad (a common practice, and not at all illegal–it sops up the extra mayo and any leftover liquid from the tuna). It was clearly listed on the ingredients, but he SKIPPED that ingredient when reading them to me.

      And yeah, I had a nasty reaction to the tuna salad.

      For all I know, Food Babe may be the most obnoxious babe ever. I have no idea. I just got here. I don’t even know if she has food allergies. But I thought that Your Rude might like to hear why some of us are so persistent about reading ingredients for ourselves.

      1. Thank you so much for responding to this oddly placed comment on my blog. I have a really interesting story that I am going to share soon about this encounter with “Your Rude” – I hope you stick around and watch things unfold! I am extremely passionate about knowing what I put in my body. I do have allergies and I am even more concerned about the potential chemicals I am consuming in products I don’t have control over. It really upsets me when companies won’t disclose the ingredients they are using in their products. We trust them with our business, our money and our body – the least they can do is trust us with information about their product.

      2. I may be able to take the post by “Your Rude” a little more serious if they spelled it “You’re Rude”.

         I completely understand you wanting to read the ingredients yourself, otherwise the manager could have just read off the ones they wanted you to hear.

         It is tortuous to get sick off of all this food. I am currently suffering from some new allergies and I already have to deal with lactose intolerance. The least people can do is let us know what we are consuming. I would prefer not to get sick or even something worse.

         Thanks for all your hard work Vani! I hope you weren’t rude, but I understand that it can be difficult to work with these individuals. Looking forward to your next report.

      3. That person has started a website called: foodbabeisrude.com. Wowzer.

   2. You’re calling someone rude because she’s concerned about what goes into her body and won’t take the word of a stranger who actually stands to gain from selling her the food item? You do realize how illogical that is, right? Trust what I say despite the fact that I’m the one profiting. Yeah, no. Sorry, but your agenda is simply to discredit someone you don’t even know for being concerned about her own personal health. You can really call HER a nazi? You should be ashamed for coming to her blog to say what you have said.

      1. Lexie – Thanks for responding on my behalf on this strangely misplaced comment. I am going to address where this came from in a blog post soon – Hope you’ll be become a regular Food Babe fan so you can watch the excitement unfold! BTW – I love all the thoughts you have on the Flu Vaccine. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with all the Food Babe readers. Welcome!

   3. I’m sorry, but your professionalism is not exactly admirable either. FoodBabe has probably been burnt by corporate companies before and learned that in order to get the truth, she must see the facts for herself. Much like any reporter. And confidentiality does not include the ingredients on your product. If it is listed on your product for the customer to see (which by law the ingredients must be shown) then you telling FoodBabe she could not take a picture of your ingredient list only makes you sound like you have something to hide. Are you saying your customers are not allowed to take picture of the product they purchased to review online? Because I am sure you have no say in that matter. Also, why if you felt “harassed” as you said, did you come to her blog to harass her back? Your own professional skills and manners need some improving.

   4. If you are confident in the product you are selling is not misleading then I don’t see why there would be a hesitation to let me hold the product and read the ingredients myself.
      The tone of your comment is rude and definitely unprofessional, maybe that is why you didn’t write your company name?

   5. There is a study published in the New england journal of medicine that states how bad synthetic vitam C is. It causes thicking and harding of the arteries. This means it will lead you straight to a heart attack.

   6. You’re

8. I’m not getting it, either. I don’t plan to be the government’s guinea pig any time soon. If most people ate REAL food and reduced the amounts of artificial crud and processed foods, we’d all be healthier and most of us able to fight viruses. Besides, sometimes it is good to get sick as it cab actually STRENGTHEN immune systems.

   1. Vanessa – I am kinda of chuckling right now – because I think I contracted the Flu last week – luckily my immune system was so strong, I fought off all symptoms other than a fever & aches for 12 hours. It’s amazing realizing the way you eat and live and it’s impact on your bodies ability to fight diseases and viruses!

      1. Good for you for fighting off the flu without a vaccine!!

         I hope that you didn’t pass on the virus to anyone weaker than you, like small children or the elderly, because the flu can be killer for them! 🙂

      2. you did not have the flu

9. Hey, Food Babe, I just wanted to point out that vaccines never confer lifelong immunity. That means Hep B, Chicken Pox, you name it. No matter the vaccine, it does not provide immunity for a lifetime. That is why children are routinely given boosters and there has been talk about forcing boosters on adults. The only lifelong immunity is natural immunity, and the reason for that is that antibodies alone do not confer immunity. That is why many children and adults who have been vaccinated still get sick with the diseases they are vaccinated against. Their symptoms tend to be considered milder–though I question that because the diseases (and I’ve seen them myself) are milder than the public is led to believe anyway. Since you like to do research, do some on the immune system and how it works, and remember having antibodies is not the same thing as having immunity. Vaccination and immunization are not one in the same.

   1. Actually vaccines work in the same manner as getting sick. Artificial immunity vs. Natural immunity – the main difference is how you obtain the antigen. When you get the vaccine (chemicals put aside for the moment) they are giving you the microbe (virus or bacteria) or a part of it. Your body essentially responds in the same way it would if you breathed in the microbe. The length of the immunity (in both cases natural or artificial) depends on a number of factors including health of the individual, concentration of the antigen (how much of the microbe you got infected with or injected with), what part of your immune system got to it first, among others.

      I am a fan controlling what we put into our bodies and organic, natural living. I have not given my kids the flu shot and I choose to only due to underlying health conditions. But you must be careful when trying to reason with and persuade others without all the facts and without citing information. Vaccination as a whole has benefitted the human race a great deal and should be thoroughly researched and understood completely be RELIABLE sources before each person makes that decision for themselves.

      1. I’ll make a quick comment in regards to immunities with vaccines – my parents’ doctor pushed the shingles vaccine, and my mom contracted it after getting the vaccine. It is really horrible & painful to go through that, and she has recurrences of it now. The doctor just said “sometimes that happens…” Thanks for your thought-provoking questions regarding the vaccine! It is always good to think about what you put in or on your body, and the environment in general for that matter.

10. I just found your blog and when I came to the “Top Posts” list and saw the title of this, I wanted to see what you had to say. I’m disappointed that you haven’t cited any sources for the information you give about the flu shot. You don’t seem like a total crack-pot, but when I see people spouting off info like this without even an attempt at giving a source, it makes me wonder if you have actually researched both sides or just jumped on board the conspiracy theory wagon.

    That said, I have received one flu shot in my life. Last summer, when my daughter was born prematurely and in the NICU with an immature immune system, along with other medical issues, I got a flu shot (along with a TDaP booster) on the off chance that it would protect me from getting the flu and passing it on to her. If there was even the slightest chance it could offer her some protection from what would have been a very serious illness for her at the time, I was doing it.

    1. Welcome Liz… and I hope your daughter is healthy and happy now! Looking back at the post, I wrote it almost entirely off the top of my head and this is after years of looking into the best health choices for me and my family. When you read through my blog some more – you’ll notice I am just not willy nilly in my approach to health…but then again, my blog is not intended to serve as your sole basis of research for own health decisions nor do I want my blog to turn into one big research paper. I really think making decisions like this are individual in nature whether you take the information I discovered or not. Since this post, I am even more convinced the flu shot doesn’t provide the protection that it is intended to have. To read more about this you can check these sources out… Good Luck!

       http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/why-the-flu-vaccine-doesnt-work

       http://www.naturalnews.com/034452_flu_shots_vaccines_immunity.html

       1. Foodbabe, you wrote, “Looking back at the post, I wrote it almost entirely off the top of my head.” This is quite evident from the complete lack of citations in the post, and it is very unfortunate that you claim to put forth conclusions from studies and “famous scientists” but are really just writing “off the top of [your] head.” Not wanting your blog to turn into a research paper is no reason to not include any sources at all. Shame on you for your fear-mongering and poor research.

11. I would love to skip the flu shot but I have a 3 year old son with heart issues, lung issues, a blood disorder, a compromised immune system, heterotaxy syndrome and chronic pneumonia. The flu could be life threatening. I do what I can to eliminate chemicals and processed food but I can’t find away around this. Thanks for the info though.

    1. The flu shot may make you sick. Take a high dose of vitamin d3 (natural), vitamin c (food-based vitamins like Megafood), selenium, collodial silver.

       Flu shots don’t protect anyone from the flu. This is a known fact that no one wants you to know.

12. Hey Food Babe,
    Love your blog. It has certainly enlightened us to all those deleterious ingredients in processed foods! Thank you for all the hard core investigating. Also, you’ve listed flu vaccine ingredients…but what about all those infancy and early childhood vaccinations? Do they contain the same toxic chemicals? Please let me know if you have any info. Thanks so much.

    1. I haven’t looked into all the vaccinations, but I encourage you to do thorough research before deciding to do them or not. Good Luck!

13. Hey! I was just wondering if you have any advice for dealing with friends or co-workers that are less than supportive of the switch to real food and a healthy lifestyle? I was telling a co-worker about how the artificial sugar in diet soda messes with your system(not in a judgmental way, just in a shocked way) and less than five minutes later I heard her and another co-worker making fun of me and telling another co-worker as well. I’ve also had them laugh at me when they see me eating vegetables during my afternoon snack, and friends and family have been the same way (except my husband, thankfully!). When I told people I wasn’t getting the flu shot? Everyone freaked out on me no matter what facts I told them. How do you recommend handling situations like these?

    Thanks so much!

    1. Hold your head up high and stand up for your body and your beliefs…and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. When your skin glows and your energy soars, they will start to figure it out. Good Luck! Maybe I’ll write a post about this soon…

       1. Thanks! I think it would make a great post topic as I’m sure there are plenty more struggling with the same issue.

       2. Same for me…they call me a Hippie Tree Hugger, I love trees but I’m not a hippie. It would be nice to be able to convey facts in a manner that even the most reluctant person will not want to cover his ears. For example, people (specially at work) make fun of me for drinking organic milk and worse when I switched to grassfed/pastured products – they tell me they don’t like the flavor. I know that most people just get defensive over a new subject that threatens to change the way they eat.

       3. In those situations I often tell people that this is what works for ME. I tell them I have tested varieties of food and have found and am still finding what works for me. It is an all around health, not a skinny health or athletic health.

          Since I usually have done research on whatever I am ingesting I usually can tell them a small fact as to why I do it.

          I don’t encourage them to do it. I just emphasize that it is what works for me and if they would like to hear more I’d love to talk to them about it.

          Like Vani said, hold your head up high. Be proud and happy about what you are doing.

    2. Hi Carol,
       I know this is very late in response to your post and hopefully you’ll see this 🙂 But I had the same issues in my switch to real and unprocessed foods about a year ago and then again when I started a new job in June. My co-workers eat fast food every day, drink sodas, and laugh and make fun of my food (I bring water, green drinks, raw veggies, seeds & nuts to work). My family tends to make fun too. I was very bothered at first but then one day I snapped and told them I could make fun of them for eating pink slime and putting chemicals and other unknown substances in their bodies, but I respect their choices of what they do to their bodies and they should respect mine. I know that’s not the best way to deal with it, but mine got to the point of being ridiculous…so I had to resort to that. However since that, many of my girl co-workers come to me for advice about eating healthy and they’re finally realizing I know what I am doing 🙂

       1. Hi Alicia,

          Thanks for your response! My co-workers are in their mid to late 50’s so they’re pretty set in their ways. If I had younger co-workers I’m sure they’d be more likely to listen or change their ways. They just think it’s some weird new fad that won’t last, and since they’ve eaten that way for so long why change (even though they’re all overweight and all have lots of health issues).

          Thanks for sharing your story. Makes me feel better to know it’s not just happening to me!

       2. Lllegitimi non carborundum! Don’t let the bastards get you down! I’ve been vegetarian since about 1974 in an overwhelmingly junk food, “flesh pot” society. 🙂 All this time I’ve dealt with criticism and ridicule from family, colleagues, and even some friends. I ALWAYS smile and love them right back. If I only associated with people just like me I would be a hermit. 

          The love is genuine but not effortless and each person responds differently. Most relatives eat horribly and are paying dearly for it in serious health issues. Several are so immensely overweight they can hardly move. A sister has had her knees replaced due to weight and still can’t change, but just yesterday chose the same vegetarian option as me at a restaurant. 🙂 An alcoholic, severely overweight sister-in-law who never leaves her apartment was ridiculing younger nieces and nephews for “experimenting” with healthier diets — some trying vegetarianism — and said right to my face, “It’s just a passing fad.” LOL! I just grinned ear to ear and flashed my 10 fingers at her 4 times and waited for her to get it. 

          The key is that I genuinely love these people so much and, though I recognize their pain and fear and the stereotyping can be frustrating, I respect them and their lifestyle choices. Over time, this works well enough (though often I dream of meeting a sensible woman life partner and living among like minded people!). 

          My vegetarianism is as much or even more a moral issue as one of health. This makes it all the harder to just come right out and say what I think — about the horrific, miserable enslavement and feeding on the flesh of other species simply because one likes the taste of their fat. 

          This puts a bit more pressure on me to communicate in more subtle ways in day-to-day comments and actions: occasional, genuine and spontaneous expressions of compassionate feelings for the eaten and the eaters, in time, says I’m a compassionate person, not a gratuitous hater of their lifestyles. 

          Yet, my lifestyle often makes me something of a persona non grata at family barbecue parties. Everyone knows what I’m about even if they don’t understand it and fear it. However, if I keep on my toes, stay positive, uncritical, and loving, the atmosphere changes every time: a quorum will relax with me NOT eating the prize flesh and we’ll all have a good time.

       3. I made the decision to go gluten free almost a year ago and have never felt better. On top of eating organic where possible and staying away from processed foods, I feel great and that’s what matters most. I’m not a doctor, and I can’t explain it, but I did not suffer from regular seasonal allergies or get the cold or flu once since I quit eating wheat or any gluten products. My immune system and digestive system have thanked me for it and my colleagues and family members called it a “fad diet” and that I was “skinny enough.” It has taken almost this whole year for these people to get used to the fact that it was a lifestyle choice, not a crash diet in an attempt to drop pounds. Keep up the good work and do what’s right for YOUR body and soul.

    3. I was made fun of for not wanting to eat Yellow #5 (artifical dye).

       Best thing is to just do your own stuff and enjoy life. I’ve found that as people around me start getting sick they’ve ask me what I did to get better. I’m not a doctor so I don’t give advice… I just share my journey to health. I’m beating a chronic condition that caused havoc to my system.

14. What about the HPV vaccine called Girardasil?

15. If mercury (thimerasol) is your main concern, it is only used as a preservative in multi-dose vials to prevent the vaccine from breaking down once the seal on the vial has been broken. (Kind of like how yogurt can get watery if you eat out of the tub and put the spoon back in.) My dr’s office uses only single-use vials, so it’s not an issue.
    Yes, it DOES contain egg components, but that DOESN’T prevent everyone with egg allergies from getting the vaccine. The vaccine is cultured in albumin (egg whites). I’m allergic to egg yolks, and I tolerate the vaccine just fine. The best thing is to see a PCP you trust, who knows your medical history, and decide with her what is best for you.
    I was born six weeks early with underdeveloped lungs, and have always had a compromised immune system, asthma, and allergies to just about everything you can think of. My mom kept our family organic before organic was cool out of necessity. For me, and the people I live with, the flu shot is not an option. I have to have rigorous good-health practices year-round, but doubly so in cold and flu season.
    Also, not all vaccines confer life-long immunity. I was among the group of kids that accidentally received weaker childhood MMR vaccines and had to be re-vaccinated before I could go to college. That shot made me sicker than the flu shot ever has!
    Ultimately, like all health decisions, whether or not to get a flu shot is a person one. Just don’t dismiss the vaccine out of hand without doing your homework and finding out both the risks AND the benefits for you and the people you love.

16. Hi Food Babe,

    Your article is great! I don’t trust the flu-shot either and personally I am appalled at what I find whenever I dig deeper into anything that I read to find out the details that so called “experts” decided to leave out. For instance, I remember reading about the “effectiveness” of the flu shot, and it said that of the 100 people who took the flu shot, only 0.8 got the flu, versus the 1.8 in the “control” group that did not take the flu shot. Then they tell us that it decreases your chances by over 50%!!!! Then of course, I realized that pharmaceutical company A ran hundreds of these trials, and probably only published the good ones… aka confirmation bias

    I personally don’t trust any vaccines, I believe that if you eat the right food, get enough fresh air, sunlight and have the right mindset, you will not be sickened by any bacteria or virus that is floating around – your body will somehow fight it off using your nature immune response!!

    Oh, and check out this website vactruth.com

    thanks,
    John

17. What do you think of the edinberry syrup? Have you ever used?

    1. you mean elderberry? I thought that helped you feel better over a few days at the first sign of cold symptoms… I think it’s helpful, personally.

18. Hi Food Babe:
    Thank you for your informative article. I wish I had been able to read it before my family got our last flu shots two years ago. Both my husband and myself have been experiencing muscle pain and weakness in our left arms ever since the day of our flu shot, and as I said, it has been two years now. We will never get another one and do not take our children for one as well.
    Thanks again.
    Anne

19. No one is my house ever gets the flu shot. My husband keeps saying that something isn’t right when the government is pushing the flu shot more and more every year. Of course, I had no idea that it was a $7 billion/year business. That would be a good reason on their part.
    We have been slowly changing our diet and feel better for it. Not so many doctor visits.
    Living in a rural area makes it harder to find certain things at prices I can afford. I am doing what I can.

20. This is the only “vaccine” I don’t get, or have my kids get, because of a lot of what you said. I didn’t know all this info, but now I do, and it just further supports why I don’t do the flu shot.
    Now to get my husband to understand, lol. He’s always insisting we get it, and telling me I’ve gone off the deep end, (in a nice joking, but not really joking way). He gets the shot every year though, and I’m ok with that, because it’s his decision for him.

21. My husband had the flu shot 7 years ago, two months later he ended up totally disabled in the hospital, and was finally diagnosed with Guillain Barre’ Syndrome–he probably recovered 50% of how he was functiong before this–a horrible disease. They never knew how he got it, or had we even heard of it–however—he has been told never to have a flu shot again–years ago the Swine Flu shot was the cause of many people to get GBS–I can put two and two together~~

22. I totally agree. So does my 60 year old mom who is a pediatric nurse and hasn’t had a flu shot in 30 years. Nor has she had the flu in 30 years. But this year, she is being forced to have the shot or lose her job. Period. She is furious and feels her hands are tied. She has looked into legal ways to defend herself but the only loophole seems to be if it is against a person’s religion. She says she will ultimately have to get the shot in order to keep her job. It’s infuriating!

    1. That’s terrible! It is the same in Florida. So many jobs require the flu shot here. It is just cushy for the drug companies when they can get something to be required like that. It is not right!

23. I am 56 years old. I have only gotten a flu shot once, back in the early 80’s. I believe if you do the right things: washing your hands, eating plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, and avoiding those that ARE truly sick, you should make it through flu season relatively unscathed! And I NEVER eat out! Food safety in this country is nowhere near the quality it should be for such an advanced industrial nation.If you think that is just the rantings of a foolish, paranoid man, watch the documentary ” Food, Inc.” Opened my eyes.

24. I have felt this way for a very long time, but didn’t know how to gather my thoughts informatively. SO when people asked my opinion, it was hard not to give a long lengthy response without looking like a crazy anti-flu vaccine person. It’s wrong how much the government does not want you to know, whether it’s this or food. Post WWII food/life changes are insanely scary!

25. My wife was told to get the flu shot when pregnant with our son in Oct of ’00. Our son was diagnosed with autism when he was two. Also love your spelling of vial in the first sentence.

26. This is an unbelievably misguided post. Do you also distrust everything else your doctors and government try to tell you? Do you really think they are motivated by money only and not the well-being of the people they serve? You can rant all you want, but nothing in this world is ever black-and-white, so please stop presenting it as such.

    Here is a very well reasoned discussion about the pros and cons of the flu vaccine. I’m sure you’ll complain it’s from an infectious disease clinician, but it’s better articulated than what was laid out above.

    http://www.quackcast.com/spodcasts/files/3839f3b631ec8ccd66e2093d4cf96f6c-34.html

    There’s plenty of info here about the dangers of the virus, too:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza

    People – please just be rational about the information you spout and disseminate.

27. I am 51 and have never had a flu shot! I had no reason…just something about it I didn’t trust! This article is my confirmation that sometimes you should follow your instincts! I am new to your blog and was searching for something on vitamins and supplements. I saw in the ‘shop’ section the Vitamineral Green. What do you recommend?

28. Unfortunately, many people in the medical field are required to have the flu shot! My sister is in nursing school, and she is more or less forced to get it. I am thinking about volunteering with hospice, and I am hoping that they don’t want me to get more shots. I never got the flu shot before, but I do feel a lot of pressure every year to get it. I agree that it is money and greed that compels the flu shot makers. Such a shame… Thanks for the good information!

29. At my place of employment, those of us who decided to not get the free flu shot provided had to sign a Statement of Declination with our name, address, telephone number and reason for not wanting a shot. I got a cold shiver up my spine when I got the email asking me to do this- very hinky to me.

30. These discussions always make me batty. Everybody telling everybody else they’re uneducated, irresponsible, yadda yadda yadda. Bottom line, sometimes some vaccines work, often they don’t. This is well documented. The CDC is a tricky beast–they’re required to report to us, but they’re not required to make sure that the accurate reporting is what we can easily access. But all the info is there, in their records. Think Polio is gone thanks to its vaccine? Look up their mandate some 35 yrs ago that the name of Polio be changed to Viral Meningitis. News outlets blair throughout flu season that there are upwards of 36,000 flu deaths per year–funny, the CDC’s website lists that number at closer to 1,000. They’re allowed to clump that together with pnemonia deaths and report them all as the flu. There is ample evidence based research showing the inneffectiveness of the flu shot, as well as evidence based research showing that if you’ve had the shot and still contract the flu, your risk of hospitalization is higher than if you had the flu WITHOUT having had the shot. It’s also true that vaccines DO NOT prevent disease transmission–any vaccinated person can get the virus up their nose and sneeze it on someone else, infecting that person. It’s called being a carrier. I’m sorry all you well-meaning parents and caregivers, but you were given a very false sense of security. The only way to guarantee you aren’t carrying and potentially transmitting a virus is to have a nasal swab tested for it. This information is available for anyone willing to look for it–this blogger is reporting her findings in the hopes it will inspire others to become empowered and find their own answers. Doctors are valuable resources, but they don’t know more about my body and my health than I do. Can you imagine expecting one person to have the knowledge it would require to determine the best course of care for millions of individuals, all of us with our own unique needs? Holy Crazy-talk Batman! No wonder they get God complexes, if we’re expecting them to be omniscient! Take responsibility for your own health people, it’s scary I know-then you can’t blame doctors or nurses or bloggers if you don’t do your research and things go wonky-but you’ll be healthier and happier.

31. You are absolutely correct! I used to work for a heath insurance company. During flu season, people would line up to get the free vaccine at my building and then I’d watch as 2-3 people a day were whisked away to the emergency room because they’d had some bizarre reaction that made them really ill. I wondered what the hell was in those things and vowed to never get one! I also was the first employee at a Portland hospital to get fired for not submitting to a chicken pox vaccination. I was an office worker! I filed for unemployment and the State of Oregon sided with ME! and then gave me unemployment benefits!

32. Food Babe, I enjoy your posts more than you will ever know! This one especially. I actually read this one while I was waiting in the Dr’s office. At the end of my visit my Dr. pressured me about getting the flu shot…especially since my husband and I are trying to get pregnant. She said the flu shot does protect against H1N1 and that if I contracted this virus while pregnant it could be very dangerous for the baby. I DON’T want to put these chemical in my body, but I don’t want to risk harming my baby =( I also don’t want to harm my baby with the chemicals from the shot either. I feel conflicted…any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you so much for all that you do to uncover the truth about what we are putting in our bodies.

    1. Get the opinion of a ND (Naturpathic Doctor) and see a whole knew way of thinking on health. There are MANY things you can do like take vit d3, selenium, colloidal silver, etc. Don’t let anyone scare you to do anything you don’t want. Fire your doctor if you have to. It is your body, your choice.

33. Pingback: Should I get the Flu Shot? « plantcentric

34. Foodbabe, where is the extremely informative comment left for you a few months ago by the biochemist? I am curious to know where it is, as it provided optimal information regarding this topic. It would be very disappointing if you deleted it because although it highly discredited your article, it provided a lot of very truthful points. Please let me know because I would like to keep it in my archives for reference.

35. I just found this article via Pinterest. I am so glad I did. My dad pressures me several times a year for me to get a flu shot and for me to have my children get it. I refuse. I have known too many people who have side effects from it. I will share your article and maybe, just maybe, he’ll ease up a little on the subject.

36. The “Foodbabe” reminds me in her actions of the Muslim Imams in Pakistan who prevented children from getting the polio vaccine because it was a “western plot to sterilize our children”.

    Those same imams are now encouraging the same children to get the vaccine after seeing many of them die or be disabled by polio. Of course, the damage has already been done. It’s too late for many of those who listened to them last year.

37. God you people are paranoid. You see the Boogy-Man behind every tree and spout such schlock that you don’t know anything about. Get the opinion of an “Naturpathic Doctor”?!!!! For real? Wonder where they got their degree- University of Grenada or something. Why don’t we just call the medicine man and get him to sprinkle us with cow dung. I hope you all get the flu.

38. I am 24 years old and have never received a flu shot (and have never gotten the flu). I think that it’s great that you aren’t getting the flu shot, and that you are helping expose what is actually in these “vaccines”. I only hope that you take it a step further and research EVERY other vaccine and come to realize that they all have these toxic ingredients in them. In reading a lot of your posts, I can see that you are very health conscious and care about what you put into your body, and think you would benefit from further research on this topic. There’s a book called “vaccination is not immunization” by Tim O’Shea that is very informative.

39. I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with this topic. I just received my “mandatory” flu vaccine today…had till 11/30 to get it or else I would be terminated from my job as a nurse. It is shockingly disturbing how many healthcare facilities throughout this country have begun this mandate. I have read countless stories, all saying the same thing…flu vaccine or loss of job. There have been a few scenarios where you are exempt, based on medical condition, but you must then wear a mask all 12 hours of your shift, all 5 months of flu season. For many, that’s ridiculous. Due to my own idiocracy I did not read the fine print stating that my waiver needed to be in to the office no later than 10/1, so now my only option was to put said harmful chemicals into my body. I was told the vial they used did not contain mercury, and she assured me that no harm has ever been documented from said mercury…blah blah blah! It is in violation of my rights as a human being to be subject to this garbage. If I do not want chemicals in my body, I should not be mandated to do so. Resigning, so as not to have to take the flu vaccine, would only lead me to another healthcare facility that would also put me under said mandate. I am beyond agitated by all of this. When I talk to others, it’s as if no one cares. They say, “I’ll let you vent, but what are you going to do about it? At least you’ve gotten it, and you’re healthy, so you’ll be fine.” That’s BS! I don’t think anyone should be able to mandate how we care for ourselves. We don’t send patients out the door if they refuse the flu vaccine, so what the hell? I’m starting to calm…sorry! If anyone out there has suggestions, I would love to hear them.

40. More of these types of articles, please!!

41. ‘during the 2011-12 flu season… the percentage of physicians getting flu vaccine rose from 81 to 86 percent.’ – https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/opinion/health-care-workers-have-a-duty-to-get-vaccinated.html

    if you have counter-evidence on this statement, feel free to provide it. but dont make up numbers

    anyways I agree that “making decisions like this are individual in nature whether you take the information I discovered”

    But if you give false information – as highlighted by your 93% comment – you’re honestly doing harm to readers. btw this isn’t personal because you’re not a physician. you might put up a disclaimer because you may be hurting a lot of people

    1. Not true,

       Your link to the NY Times links to the study where you get your 81-86% (physicians). Note that this is a non-random, non-verified survey of only a couple thousand HCP vs the approx 18 million HCP in the US. Now if my job was to market the flu vaccine to the common Joe, I would make the rates for doctor vaccine uptake look as good as possible. Because we all trust a guy/gal in a white coat with MD behind his/her name right?

       “The findings in this report are subject to at least five limitations. First, the sample was not selected randomly from the approximately 18 million HCP in the United States. The sample consisted of a much smaller group of several thousand volunteer HCP (a nonprobability sample) who had already enrolled in Medscape or SurveySpot. Second, all results are based on self-report and are not verified by employment or medical records. Third, the definition of HCP used in this Internet panel survey might vary from definitions used in other surveys of vaccination coverage. Fourth, occupation categories could not always be separated because of small sample sizes and questionnaire design or other limitations. Finally, the 2011–12 estimates might not be directly comparable to those made for previous influenza seasons using Internet survey panels and NHIS, because different methods of recruitment were used each year. Compared with the population-based estimates of NHIS, influenza vaccination among HCP from the Internet panel surveys differed (63.4% versus 57.5%) for 2009–10 (5). A similar difference (63.5% versus 55.8%) was observed for 2010–11 (4) (CDC, unpublished data, 2012).”
       http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6138a1.htm?s_cid=mm6138a1_w

42. I’ve never had the flu & I’ve never had the flu shot. I was against it because I know people that got the flu shot & ended up getting the flu. No thank you! I take a natural & wholistic approach to medicine. It’s what generations before me have done & they seem to be healthy & live longer:)

43. what do you recommend for vitamin D, especially for children? PiIl form or natural through foods?

44. As a health care provider, I have to get the flu shot in order to maintain my employment. There are VERY few exceptions including egg allergy, history of anaphylaxis to the vaccine, or some neurological conditions that will be allowed as proof to not receive the flu shot. The number of physicians receiving the vaccine has gone up because of hospital mandates. We DO know the facts about the shot however we don’t get to make the choices. Every single employee – nurses, doctors, techs, etc – griped, grumbled, and some begged to not get the shot. We all know there’s no proof it will work and in fact, my guess is more people go out on sick leave with illnesses just after the shot (as I did) than those do who truly get the flu. Now, granted, I have seen some very serious cases of influenza that have landed people in the hospital – however this is true of any illness. Some people have weakened systems and simple infections, like the flu, can be dangerous. But without a guarantee it will prevent such illness, why would we be forced into putting toxins in our body. I think if you choose to get the shot, that should be completely your own decision and no one else’s.
    On the point of other vaccines – there is a lot of misinformation flying around. Routine immunizations are very different from the flu shot. Just to prove they still don’t all work – my mother took me to the doctor right on schedule for all of my vaccines as a child/teen. As an adult, I had to have my levels tested to work in the hospital and come to find out I developed no immunity to Hep B or Rubella. It goes to show this system of vaccinating is far from fool-proof and everyone needs to educate themselves. I think there is a lot of good that has come from routine immunizations but it’s a science we have yet to perfect.
    I appreciate your insight and the time you spent to write this blog. I often come to it for my information as I have made dramatic dietary changes and am trying to avoid as many toxins and chemicals as possible as I have been able to directly correlate them with illness, general poor health, and other symptoms. Thank you 🙂

    1. At my hospital employees who choose not to get the flu shot must wear a mask at all time around patients, they aren’t forced into getting it

       1. They had that option 2 years ago, last year it began to be “enforced”, this year it was mandatory to remain employed. Only those with “legitimate medical reasons” get to not receive the shot and they have to wear a mask all flu season.

45. I won’t get the flu jab ever again! My healthy husband took it some 3 years ago as prevention. Within a week of taking in he started to develop the most weird symptoms, too long and scarey to describe. No doctor could pin down what was wrong with him and he nearly lost his life. Some of the doctors seem to think it was related to the jab, others do not, we will never know. It took him around a year to get back to normal, but I guess he was luckier than others. He had autistic symptoms, couldn’t walk, no memory and many more symptoms, He had plasma exchange plus long term steroids as part of his medication. Like we said , we shall never know, but in my case , prevention is better than cure and my prevention is not having the jab! Each one to his own!

46. Food Babe, I enjoy your blog and I appreciate your efforts to raise food awareness. I choose not to get the flu vaccine, but I can’t find evidence that there may be a connection between vaccines and Alzheimers. Where have you seen this?
    Thanks

47. I get my flu shot each year because I work in a hospital around very, very sick children. If I pass the flu bug onto them they could die. So I choose to protect my patients in any way I can. If I didn’t work in a hospital I probably would not get the shot.

48. Thank you for yet another interesting blog post on a major health issue in this country. I have never gotten the flu shot and never will, but I do get distressed when I hear people disregarding ALL vaccines. Many, many children in Africa still die every year from a lack of vaccines (according to UNICEF, one child a minute dies in Africa from measles), and while we have much better hygiene in the States, in my mind that only gives us a false sense of security against some of these diseases. Also according to UNICEF, many infants and children contract Hepatitis B, and more than 2 billion people worldwide have had the disease at some point. Many of the diseases that were once thought eradicated, like TB and small pox, are making a come back because there are children who don’t have access to the vaccine and then parents in first world countries who refuse to vaccinate. I’m not saying that there aren’t risks to vaccines, as there have been children who’ve been injured or have died from them, but I believe the benefits to one-time vaccines far outweigh the risks. I also realize there are some harsh toxins in vaccines, but when they are only given once in a lifetime, I again believe the benefits outweigh the risks. With the flu shot, I don’t get it for many of the same reasons that Food Babe outlines in her blog. However, I have had the HR rep in my company employ scare tactics to try to get everyone to get a flu shot. I have stood firm and will continue to stand firm in my refusal to get a flu shot.

49. What a complete joke of a post. This is dangerous and completely wrong at best. You clearly have no concept of influenza viruses and how they replicate/ mutate. It is not currently possible to have a universal vaccine due to various subtypes of influenza viruses and your concept of ” lifetime immunity” by supplementing with vitamin d and natural exposure is laughable. I also enjoyed your idea that viruses ” migrate ” here from Asia. Brilliant. I suppose we don’t have our own sources here? No bird farms? What abt Mexico? You are clearly ignorant of this topic, grammar, and common sense. Those of us that work with influenza have a constant battle to inform the public and help prevent epidemics/pandemics with morons like you on the loose. Also, you should really cite your sources.

50. My husband is required by the military to get a flu shot. Thankfully they don’t make the spouses get it. Never have gotten it and if you just eat right and take preventative action you should be fine. Boost your immune system by eating the right foods, you know what they are, and drink plenty of water everyday.