A report comparing how well the city of St. Louis survived the flu epidemic of 1918 versus those living in Philadelphia has uncovered some of the reasons that St. Louis fared significantly better.

Most importantly, St. Louis officials took steps sooner than Philadelphia did to limit exposure to the flu once the first cases were reported.

However, St. Louis did not act by doling out drugs; instead, officials enforced shutdowns of public schools, churches and other places where people congregate and very likely pass around the flu, while quarantining the infected from the healthy.

Because Philadelphia officials delayed their preparations by two weeks, the death toll in that city was more than double that of St. Louis. More than 700 out of every 100,000 Philadelphians died during the 1918 flu epidemic (a total of more than 12,000) versus 347 per 100,000 in St. Louis.

The CDC noted that "those who used nonpharmaceutical measures effectively were able to mitigate the impact of the severe pandemics, and this is consistent with some of the 21st-century simulation models."

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

If you ever doubted the benefits of taking common sense, non-pharmaceutical precautions to battle an epidemic like the flu versus drugs, I urge you to read this interesting report.

It provides a crystal clear demonstration as to why some states in America have remained skeptical about stockpiling useless, toxic vaccines and drugs for a bird flu pandemic that never came.

What you MUST understand is that people are dying from the flu because they are already sick and have compromised immune systems. The ultimate treatment for the flu is proactive prevention of following a Take Control of Your Health lifestyle.

You don't need health-harming drugs to strengthen your immune system if you follow these effective flu prevention steps:

• Eliminate sugar from your diet.
• Get the right amount of sleep.
• Nip stress in the bud by learning an energy psychology tool like the Emotional Freedom Technique.
• Consume high-quality fish or krill oil daily.
• Wash your hands regularly.
• Start exercising today!

You can learn more about the conspiracy behind the flu scare and what you can do protect your health by reading my book, The Great Bird Flu Hoax.

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