13.8.09

H1N1? Try Tulsi?

I wish I did not have to mention him again. It isn’t really about him, anyway.

What is the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) upto?

With yoga guru Baba Ramdev suggesting that tulsi and could help prevent swine flu, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to act on his advice seriously. The civic agency has decided to provide these plants to Delhiites ‘free of cost’ to safeguard them from swine flu. Giloi branches and tulsi leaves will be given to councillors to distribute them among residents of their area.


Many people in this country use ayurveda and home remedies and these can indeed be effective. But at a time when people are going berserk and the job of a government institution is to ensure the safety of its citizens, this amounts to negligence.

How can they say that tulsi will safeguard people against the flu? Have they got any assurance or scientific data to prove it? Distributing it free of cost will divert the attention of many and it will act as a placebo. At one level it might be a good thing, but what if there is a serious case and people are not treated on time?

How different is this from faith-healing? Have we not had examples of some evangelist priest holding court and lame people walking off the stage without a limp? Or of instances where the polio vaccine is resisted because some maulvi said so?

Swami Ramdev’s ashram was found to have skulls and bones and it was widely reported. Did anything come of the enquiries?

Are these religious figures now going to decide on medical issues that are considered epidemics? He has said he has a cure for cancer. Why does the Swami not tell people about how to deal with malnutrition?

At least, food is not something that requires great effort to procure in a country that exports grains and often lets it rot.

9 comments:

  1. At first read, it appears the writer is too cynical.. but that couldn't be farther from the truth, right?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What has tulsi got to do with religion or faith? Just because baba ramdev espouses the use of tulsi doesn't mean it has no scientific basis. What scientific basis does tamiflu have? Now oxford researchers are saying it is dangerous for children. At least herbal products don't kill. The scientific establishment that you have so much faith in, is absolutely corrupt, and when not corrupt, it is generally clueless.

    http://www.health-forums.com/alt-support-cancer/swine-flu-pig-poke-77009.html

    http://www.nomorefakenews.com/archives/archiveview.php?key=3562

    Swami Ramdev may have outdated views on homosexuality, but I would put my health in his hands than in the idiotic, clueless and corrupt medical establishment.

    http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/natural-health-articles/immunity/health-longevity-tulsi-35418.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Atul:

    It depends on whether you look for the wood or the trees.

    eklavya:

    Far be it for me to take up for the medical establishment which can be extremely corrupt. There are side-effects of almost all medicines. But ignorant usage of anything can prove to be harmful.

    What I said is not about religion. No one has sat to read the scriptures and come to the conclusion. This is about some religious person saying that it will 'prevent' the disease and, more importantly, getting a governmental body's sanction for it that bothers me.

    The tamiflu has got its limitations which the medical fraternity has already announced; it reduces immunity if taken prior to the onset. Tulsi may not cause harm and individuals may well choose to opt for it, but the municipal authorities have no business to distribute it as a salve.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do not understand much about hysteria about h1ni flu virus.I am not allarmed and i live in united states where it is understood that this virus will be part of the epidemic this winter ,so the need of the vaccine.Normal flu costs 25000 lives in us and billions of dollars of lost time .

    Panic would always cost more.


    Please modify the TULSI recomendation if no fever, take tulsi tea(made with water tulsi six fresh leaves and sweetner) twice a day.It will keep H1N1 away. Check temperature daily ,wash hands,face,eyes six times a day.If you are a practicing muslim and do your namaz you have to only wash yourself only couple of times extra ,when in contact with other people.

    With the powers wested in me by the almighty(if you believe)i can assure you that you will not fall any victim to H1N1.
    If you or any member of your family has fever for 24 hours and your region has cases of h1n1 please get the h1n1 test done.Take the shots if and when they become available.

    Happy independence day

    kul bhushan
    rxri.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. FV, did you read the articles on the links I posted? They are pretty long, but very enlightening. Health is not the monopoly of the medical establishment, though the medical establishment in connivance with clueless governments and monopoly organizations like WHO (run by pharma cartel) has succeeded in creating such an impression. There is a battle going on all over the world between the medical establishment and practitioners of alternate health systems. Now whether you like it or not, Swami Ramdev is one of the main proponent of alternate health system based on yoga, breathing and herbal medicine, has millions of followers who follow his health regime and get cured from chronic ailments.

    Why should municipal authorities align themselves with the corrupt, rotten and largely unscientific (read the links to understand why) medical establishment, and not with one of the leading teacher and practitioner of alternate, traditional medical systems, a system which has survived for thousands of years and still continues to provide holistic health to millions who follow it.

    Your error is that you are seeing Swami Ramdev as just a religious person and not as a legitimate health specialist. Why? Because the criminal medical establishment says so? Have you done any independent research? Do you believe that all the millions of his followers who claim to have got cured by following his advice are delusional fools?

    Your belief that tamiflu cures swine flu is just a belief, a myth perpetuated by the fraud medical industry, not a scientific fact. Is there any evidence that tamiflu is effective against swine flu? Most of the times, even a normal flu patient will get cured in few days if he takes sufficient rest. Since H1N1 virus is not more dangerous than regular flu virus, the patients with H1N1 virus who are getting cured are not getting cured due to tamiflu but despite tamiflu..And those who are dying are dying despite being administered tamiflu because they have an underlying condition like hypertension, diabetes etc which has weakened their immunity.

    Viruses or germs don't kill people. That's the reason fatality ratio of most viral diseases is never more than half a percent. People with weak immunity or bodily organs that are already diseased are the ones who die during such epidemics. But those who die during such orchestrated panics would have died even if they had been infected by regular flu..The only difference is that during normal times, their deaths would have gone unreported.

    So the best way of protecting yourself during outbreak of any epidemic even if it is seasonal flu, is to strengthen your immunity. There is no better way to strengthen your immunity than taking herbs or spices like ginger, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, tulsi, neem etc. We don't need Swami Ramdev to tell us that. In the olden days our Daadi Maas would have guided and guarded our health, but unfortunately today, under the influence of the idiot box and the idiots who chatter ceaselessly the entire day fueling hysteria and panic, even the Daadis and Naanis have been dumbed down and are wearing flu masks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This Swami has powerful backing from the media ( don't know about his other connections), otherwise why would they publish anything and everything that he utters?And there are people out there who believe him blindly.
    Tulsi is effective to some extent in case of common cold and cough ( I think many of us had a doze of tulsi and honey when we were kids)..but common cold is not life threatening, so it's ok to try out alternative medicine. But H1N1 is life threatening and highly contagious...if one contacts it he/she should quarantine himself and take proper medication. The councilors would do a service by sending a nurse with a thermometer from house to house, to facilitate detection, instead of distributing tulsi leaves.
    I heard once Baba Ramdev say on a televised yoga program that lipistic mein gai ka khoon hota hain. He may have a million followers, but I am not one of them :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. "But H1N1 is life threatening"

    So is common flu, if it leads to development of pneumonia or any life-threatening condition.

    Dr.Mercola, one of world's leading physicians of the world, busts the myths..
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/29/Swine-Flu.aspx

    -Swine Flu is a WEAK Virus. It is important to note that nearly all suspected new cases have been reported as mild. Preliminary scientific evidence is also pointing out that this virus is NOT as potent as initially thought.

    -Tamiflu Loaded With Side Effects, Including Death and Can Only Reduce Symptoms by 36 Hours at BEST

    Please realize that Tamiflu is NOT a safe drug Serious side effects include convulsions, delirium or delusions, and 14 deaths in children and teens as a result of neuropsychiatric problems and brain infections Japan actually banned Tamiflu for children in 2007.

    Remember, Tamiflu went through some rough times not too long ago, as the dangers of this drug came to light when, in 2007, the FDA finally began investigating some 1,800 adverse event reports related to the drug.

    Additionally common side effects of Tamiflu include:

    * Nausea
    * Vomiting
    * Diarrhea
    * Headache
    * Dizziness
    * Fatigue
    * Cough

    All in all, the very symptoms you're trying to avoid.

    Additionally, Tamiflu has been reported to be ineffective against seasonal flu outbreaks, and may not be sufficient to combat an epidemic or pandemic.

    But making matters worse, some patients with influenza are at HIGHER risk for secondary bacterial infections when on Tamiflu. And secondary bacterial infections, as I mentioned earlier, was likely the REAL cause of the mass fatalities during the 1918 pandemic!

    But here’s the real kicker.

    When Tamiflu is used as directed (twice daily for 5 days) it can ONLY reduce the duration of your influenza symptoms by 1 to 1 ½ days, according to the official data.

    Why on earth would anyone want to take a drug that has a chance of killing you, was banned in Japan, is loaded with side effects that mimic the flu itself, costs over $100, and AT BEST can only provide 36 hours of SYMPTOM relief. Just doesn't make any sense.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tulsi and Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia)are the plants mentioned in our ancient aurveda. There are still more to add to this list i.e Bhumi amala (Phyllanthus niruri),Aloe (Aloe vera) Bail(Agle marmelos)etc. Trust me all these plants are having antiviral properties even proved by modern analytical study methods.. Swine flu is caused by virus(H1N1).So it is logical to use these plants for prevention and cure of Swine flu viral infection.Where does it goes against medical sciense. What assurance you want & about what? What does Tamiflu assures you? The patients who died in Pune,do you think they were not given Tamflu ?What is learnt from news is that they died instead of taking Tamflu. Conclusion Tamflu does not give 100% assurance but then useful as it has saved many lives.Science is truth and not necessary a quotation with science tag.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kul Bhushan:

    You are right about the hysteria. And am glad you have powers vested on you. Now do tell me what's a good cure to drive people nuts?!

    Eklavya:

    I have no particular love for Tamiflu and building immunity is the key. I know Ginger is great but bandar kya jaane adrak ka swaad!

    RBaruah:

    Do you think after his gai ka khoon in lipstick comment, his high society women followers will start colouring their mouths with paan or a dab of beetroot? There - my natural tip for the day!

    Vijay Deshmukh:

    Thank you.

    PS:

    The remedies etc offered here are not the responsibility of the blogger. I have not promoted allopathy, homoeopathy or Ayurveda or masks. All I say is don't panic and stay out of crowded places in my vicinity. I want to shop on peace.

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.