It’s Cleansing (Not Flu) Season - And Why

By reading this entire article, you will realize you have never nor will ever have the flu again, and you will realize what is really happening with your body is cleansing. What if the whole idea of “the flu season” was really a natural process by the body every single year? How would you then approach your symptoms? Would you approach your experience differently? Why or why not?

Lets explore exactly what is happening during “flu season.” Flu season actually begins as the weather turns colder, every single year. Why this is? Every single year in the fall the body must change the way it processes heat. In the summer it must release excess heat. In the fall to winter, it must conserve heat. This happens so we stay warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. How does the body do this? It does this by either dilating or constricting blood and lymph vessels. In the summer the body opens all available blood and lymph vessels near the surface of the body to release excess heat. In the fall to winter, the body begins to constrict those surface blood and lymph vessels to conserve heat. What do you think happens when all those vessels constrict at the first cold spell or sign of winter? When all the superficial capillaries constrict all at once, like during the first cold front, they pump 6 times the volume of blood of one heartbeat. That is a lot of blood at once. So, this is why what is really going on is really ‘cleansing season’ and NOT ‘flu season.’ I am sure you have noticed that the rings on your fingers fit tighter in the summer and looser in the winter. Have you ever wondered where all that excess fluid goes when the temperature turns cold? Read on.

As studies show, at the same time as the vessels constrict, during colder weather the body increases its metabolic rate to increase heat production. This action with surface vessel constriction combines together to avoid frostbite. This is nature’s way of protecting and helping us survive the winter. The studies also show that some of the fluid that was in those surface vessels is released through the urine, stool, and by sweating. What about all the stuff that isn’t water-soluble? There is a lot of that stuff! You have seen it. You have blown it out your nose and coughed it up from your lungs. It is called mucus. You first notice it with nasal congestion then with postnasal drip and a sore throat. The body must rid itself of this excess stuff you accumulated inside your body all year. You know, the left over excess metabolic products from ice cream, sodas, chips, pastries, cookies, and especially cheese. Basically all junk food and sweets. Your body must cleanse itself annually in order to become healthy enough to survive the winter. That healing process is what gives us all stuffy and/or runny noses, sore throats, coughs, fevers, and overall feeling yucky. So, this flu is really what is called in naturopathic medicine circles as a healing crisis or cleanse, and NOT a disease crisis. And, not something to be afraid of having. This cleansing process is something to welcome. We must assist the body during this time to help it cleanse itself of everything it does not need.

Naturopathic medicine has many different modalities to help us accelerate and ease this cleansing process. Naturopaths believe in keeping the emunctories open. The emunctories are the organ systems of elimination, and they are the urinary system, digestive system, respiratory system, and the skin.

Oh what about the influenza virus? Where does the virus come in? The flu virus or bug had nothing to do with all that junk you ate all year. However, it does like it when you begin to expel the excess mucus from your body. The mucus creates a culture medium or food for the virus and sometimes also bacteria. The flu bug is no more responsible for all your symptoms than mosquitoes cause standing water. The medium was already there by the time the flu virus came along. The sore throat is caused by the virus culturing in the mucus sitting in your nasal cavity above your throat. When the mucus is removed so goes your sore throat. Every notice that this starts in many different people who never came in contact with each other in the same area and at the same time of year? The only common denominator between all these people is the weather change. I see many different people come to my office that never knew each other or even knew the same people. And, different people start cleansing after progressive and colder cold spells or fronts. Some start cleansing after the first one of the season, other the second, still others the third, then those that are left who will start cleansing fourth if they are going to start cleansing at all that season. And, each of us manifests different symptoms in different ways. The healing process is different for each of us.

If the flu virus was the cause of these symptoms, don’t you think that it would start with one person then spread out like wild fire? The virus does not spread this way. This cleansing happens simultaneously all over the country around the same time and always after a cold spell or cold front. Although the media and other organizations would have you believe otherwise. The flu virus is not the cause. The colder weather sending your body into a cleanse is the cause of this healing reaction.

I know you remember your mother saying to you when it gets colder, “don’t go outside without your coat because you will catch a cold!” See, mother knew what she was talking about. This is why she was right. You watch, this year and in the coming years if everyone around you gets ‘the flu’ after each cold weather spell. Then, you will realize you will never get ‘the flu’ again and realize you are simply cleansing. Naturopathic doctors can offer much support to help you during this cleansing time of year to assist your body to cleanse more easily with less suffering. We have several different modalities that are used in combination according to the needs of the patient. Go to naturally4health.com to learn about the different modalities and how naturopathic medicine can help you.