Dr. David Brownstein

The You Docs are at it again, touting the wonders of conventional medicine that fly in the face of facts. Real facts, not the kind propagated by, for example, Fox News – i.e., bogus.

Facts or fiction

This time, Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen are pounding the podium over the miracle of vaccinations. Despite their overwhelming successes in eradicating many life-destroying diseases, “they’re a victim of their own success,” the docs declare in a recent newspaper column. “Although they can eradicate many life-destroying diseases, some people still don’t get why vaccines are so important. It seems facts aren’t convincing, even though they’re impressive.”

Maybe it’s because some people are aware of the unvarnished facts, which they don’t find impressive – more like depressing. Dr. David Brownstein, director of the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, Mich., and an internationally known alternative medicine authority, says vaccines can be dangerous, particularly those containing mercury. The Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine does not contain mercury, but studies nonetheless have shown a correlation between children receiving that vaccine and autism.

Vaccinations and autism

What an eye opener. I had become all but convinced that any connection between vaccinations for diseases and the chances of a child becoming autistic was a conspiracy theory that had been thoroughly debunked. That’s because the pro-vaccination forces are so adamant, and the media, populated by laymen, simply provide microphones for these so-called authorities to trumpet their dogma.

Here’s the conclusion of a scientific paper published in PubMed.gov, the voice of the U.S. National Laboratory of Medicine, National Institutes of Health: “When comparing cases and controls receiving their first MMR vaccine before and after 36 months of age, there was a statistically significant increase in autism cases specifically among African American males who received the first MMR prior to 36 months of age.” In sum, the NIH reported, “The present study provides new epidemiologic evidence showing that African American males receiving the MMR vaccine prior to 24 months of age or 36 months of age are more likely to receive an autism diagnosis.”

Wary vs. wacko

Has anyone heard this reported in the media? I seriously doubt it. All I’ve heard is that mothers who refuse to have their children vaccinated for fear they will become autistic are wackos.

The You Docs, Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen

The You Docs say there were 175,000 cases of diphtheria in 1922 and only one in 1998; 152,000 cases of mumps in 1968 and 606 cases in 1998. They attribute the decline to vaccinations, and they may be right. However, a subscriber to Dr. Brownstein’s expertise wrote that she’d come across a medical assessment indicating persons who’ve had the measles pass the immunity to their children, and the disease thus was almost eradicated before the vaccine was introduced. The information was unverifiable, but is something to think about.

Dr. Brownstein acknowledges that the MMR vaccine doesn’t contain mercury, but says, “The vast majority of flu vaccines are preserved with a mercury compound called thimerosal. Many vaccines contain other toxic additives, such as the carcinogen formaldehyde … Thimerosal is a toxic substance – 50 percent mercury by weight – that has no place in any immunization or, for that matter, in any consumer product. Yet it is used as a preservative.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) decided “there is no scientific evidence that thimerosal-containing vaccines cause adverse effects in children born to women who received vaccines with thimerosal.”

Toxicity in children

However, Brownstein said, “We are experiencing an epidemic of behavioral and neurological disorders in our children … The reasons for this epidemic include increasing toxicity levels and a lack of basic nutrients … There are hundreds of studies that illustrate the toxicity of thimerosal.”

Even vaccines free of thimerosal may contain other harmful substances. Fluarix, for example, contains Triton X-100, which caused sluggishness, and unsteady gait and other problems in animals. And its Polysorbate 80 has had several seriously adverse effects on mice and rats.

Dr. Brownstein is particularly opposed to flu vaccines. FluLaval, he said in December, not only is barely effective, but contains dangerous chemicals. It is preserved with mercury and formaldehyde, both known carcinogens. Plus, it contains octylphenol ethoxylate, an endocrine disrupter.

Flu flimflam

FluLaval’s effectiveness is almost nil, even though the company’s manufacturer claims it is 55.5 percent

effective. Brownstein shows how statistics were manipulated to arrive at that figure, using a method termed “relative risk,” which compares a group using the drug with one not using it. Of the 2,379 users, 2.4 percent contracted the flu, while 5.3 percent of the control group, which received the hepatitis A vaccine, came down with the flu. So, says the drug maker, it was 55 percent effective. However, the difference between the two percentages is only 2.9, which is the “absolute risk,” or actual effectiveness.

“Why would anyone inject a toxic substance into their body for a 2.9 percent lower risk of infection?” Brownstein asks. “It is amazing the FDA ever approved this vaccine.” Yet, in a paper the doctor quotes, the ACOG said, “It is critically important that all OB-GYNs and all providers of obstetric care advocate for influenza vaccination, provide the influenza vaccine to their pregnant patients, and receive the influenza vaccine themselves every season.”

The ACOG’s advice flies in the face of the advice given by the maker itself. Brownstein said the drug’s package insert reads: “FluLaval quadrivalent should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.”

Furthermore, Brownstein reports, “Unbelievably, there has never been a randomized, controlled flu study in pregnant women.” Undeniably, he said, pregnant women are at higher risk of getting the flu. But the vaccine is almost useless, and hazardous to boot.

Poor results

Two other studies, in the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons, showed better, but still lackluster, results for flu vaccine. The absolute figures were low, with the best rate at 16 percent for the second study. That means it was effective in one out of six instances.

A woman asked me today what alternative doctors were like. I told her they don’t accept carte blanche the claims of conventional medicine, which so often are just plain wrong.