Few alive today remember the great flu epidemic of 1918. That epidemic killed more than 21 million people worldwide, and 500,000 in the U.S. alone. Considering the population of the U.S. at that time, it would likely translate into over 1.5 million deaths in today's terms. By contrast, Ebola pales in the devastation it wreaks.

With winter just around the corner, are we due for another flu epidemic of these proportions? It's quite possible. After all, recurrent flu epidemics were common in world history. Many historical accounts detail many devastating influenza attacks. More than 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates described an epidemic of a disease strikingly similar in its symptoms to the 1918 influenza strain. He wrote that it slaughtered an entire Athenian army.

In the late 1600s, Noah Webster detailed at least 44 similar outbreaks in Europe in the preceding 500 years.  It's foolhardy to think it cannot happen again.

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If fact, it appears that the flu is gaining in severity. In just three months in 2002, a deadly outbreak of the flu spread across the island of Madagascar (winter there). The strain was influenza A, the same type as the 1918 pandemic. And it engulfed nearly the entire nation.

During that year, some 23,000 people contracted the disease. Almost 700 from the small island nation died. Malnourished villagers were hit the hardest. Others hit hard were the elderly, the very young, and those with low immunity. These groups are at the highest risk of bacterial infections (such as pneumonia) secondary to the flu. While this round of the disease was largely confined to the island, we might not be so fortunate next time. It's only a matter of time before this vicious virus or another like it makes its way through the worldwide population.

There's a bit of good news in this, especially for anyone aware of oxidation therapy.

During the great flu pandemic, with so many people dying, a team of physicians in India tried the unthinkable. They treated patients with intravenous infusions of dilute hydrogen peroxide. The Lancet reported that their actions cut the death rate in half! Fortunately, this information was not totally lost.

Although many physicians have had their licenses demolished for following this same treatment, there are still plenty of doctors who place human service above dogmatic conventions. Oxidative therapies have expanded beyond H2O2 as well, into ultraviolet blood irradiation and ozone.

Furthermore, my friend and colleague Richard Cathcart, MD has pioneered the use of high dose vitamin C for a variety of conditions. And now, hundreds of other physicians worldwide have picked up the IV-C gauntlet. Many times, high dose vitamin C, at least 25 grams, and up to 75 grams, will knock out a virus within hours. In fact, it works even where oxidation therapy has failed. Why? It appears that such high dose vitamin C is yet another oxidation therapy, at least in its effects on cellular chemistry.

Here are some precautions you can take if an epidemic hits:

(1) Take care to eat as healthy of a diet as you can, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, since severity of disease is far worse in the malnourished.

(2) Take additional vitamin C, totaling perhaps 3,000 mg daily.

(3) High dose vitamin A (I recommend 100,000 units daily to my patients for serious illness) jump starts the immune system and has proven useful in slowing the devastating effects of measles outbreaks in Africa.

(4) Exercise, exercise, exercise. It boosts the immune system, helping your body heal itself.

(5) Be sure to get modest sun.

(6) Take a high-quality multivitamin (such as Healthy Resolve's Max Plus - 800-728-2288). It will assist in fixing any deficiencies brought on by nutrient poor foods.

(7) Find an integrative physician who understands hydrogen peroxide and the other oxygen therapies. Those physicians best trained and prepared are those of the International Oxidation Medicine Association (phone number). The American College of Advancement in Medicine (888-439-6891) and International College of Integrative Medicine (866-464-5226) are additional sources for integrative physicians.

It's not a question of if another flu epidemic will occur. It's a matter of when!

Ref: Brennan, Phil. NewsMax.com, Friday, Aug. 30, 2002.