Get Balanced 4 Life, LLC

05/09/2025

Why I Don’t Get the Flu Vaccine

I’m often asked if I get the flu shot. The answer is simple: No, I don’t—and I have good reasons.

While the media may portray the flu vaccine as a “must,” the reality is more nuanced. The flu vaccine offers about 40–60% effectiveness in most years, and often less when the circulating strains don’t match the vaccine formulation well.

But here’s the kicker: a well-supported immune system is often just as effective.

I trust the innate power of my body—nourished through sleep, nutrient-dense foods, breath, movement, and nervous system support. I’ve seen firsthand (in myself) that we can walk through flu season without fear or pharmaceuticals—when we care for the body before symptoms show up.

And importantly: I also choose not to inject substances into my body that I wouldn’t choose to eat, breathe, or drink.

Let’s talk about that.

What’s Really In the Flu Shot?
Many people don’t realize that flu vaccines contain more than just a weakened or inactivated virus. Here are some common components:

Adjuvants

Added to stimulate a stronger immune response:

Aluminum salts – a neurotoxin in high amounts; linked to neurological conditions.
MF59 (squalene oil) – linked in some studies to autoimmune reactions, particularly after the 2009 swine flu shot.
AS03 – contains squalene, vitamin E, and polysorbate 80 (which can cross the blood-brain barrier).

Preservatives and Stabilizers
Used to prevent contamination in multi-dose vials:

Thimerosal (ethylmercury) – still found in some flu vaccines; neurotoxic at certain levels.
Formaldehyde – a known carcinogen used to inactivate the virus.
Polysorbate 80 – linked to potential autoimmune and anaphylactic reactions.

Residual Biological Material
Animal DNA and cells – derived from chicken eggs, insect cells, or canine kidney cells (MDCK lines).
Antibiotics – like neomycin or gentamicin, used during manufacturing, may remain in trace amounts.

These ingredients may be present in “safe” levels by regulatory standards—but that doesn’t mean they’re optimal for every body. Especially when we consider cumulative exposure to toxins from food, water, air, and products.

Effectiveness vs. Innate Immunity
Let’s break down the numbers:

Flu vaccine effectiveness (2024–2025) ranged from 40–55% in adults. In some pediatric groups, it reached up to 78% for hospital prevention.

Sounds decent, right?

But consider this: a healthy adult with a resilient immune system often fights off flu naturally with equal or greater efficiency. Your body remembers, adapts, and strengthens after every exposure.

So if the flu shot gives me a 40–50% chance of “success,” but so does my immune system—why inject substances I don’t agree with into my body?

For me, it’s a no-brainer. I support my terrain, not just block invaders.

The worst case of flu I have ever had came after having received the flu vaccine.

04/09/2025

Did you know????

Travel is one of the major factors that can contribute to DVTs (deep vein thrombosis), because sitting still for hours — whether in a car, train, or plane — can cause the blood to pool in your legs, and lead to the formation of clots.

When you travel by car, it is imperative to take advantage of every rest stop you come across to get out and stretch your legs. And if you’re on a train or plane, you need to get up and walk around frequently.

This sounds simple, but it’s your best protection.

03/09/2025

Are you familiar with biological aging????
Biological aging is the gradual decline in physiological function and structural integrity that occurs over time, leading to an increased risk of chronic diseases and mortality.
The interesting thing is that biological aging is not the same as chronological aging at all. We are all familiar with chronological aging by looking at the calendar and checking off when our birthday rolls around again, but it is possible for biological aging and chronological aging to be completely different. Case in point, my chronological age is 72, my biological age is 48.
You may be asking how the biological age can be determined:
I was reading an article earlier today and this is the information that article gave.

How do you know you’re aging?
I’m not talking chronological aging—we mark that on our calendars, and it’s pretty clear how the years go by.

No, I mean biological aging, the aging that tells you how much cellular senescence has occurred in your body, how well your organs function, and how your physical and mental capacity is declining.

Chronological aging is easy to measure, but biological aging is a much more challenging metric to obtain.

But there may just be a new way to measure it, according to a recent study.

In late May 2025, a paper published in the Nature Aging journal presented a novel method for measuring biological aging using a few critical measurements and assessments.

According to the paper, the measurements taken include:

C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory marker, typically present in high levels when something is triggering an inflammatory response. It’s a clear indicator of aging because CRP levels tend to rise with age, chronic disease, infection, and health conditions.

Cystatin-C. Cystatin-C is a protein that is produced by most of your body’s cells, but which your kidneys normally filter out and eliminate. However, when levels of this protein rise, it’s a solid indicator of reduced kidney function. There is a known correlation between high Cystatin-C levels and frailty in older adults, including slowness, reduced physical activity, weakness, and exhaustion.

Glycated hemoglobin. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a natural byproduct of high sugar consumption, resulting from hemoglobin proteins binding to glucose molecules. It naturally increases with age, but high levels of HbA1c are also used to assess diabetes control and blood glucose regulation, and can indicate cellular damage suggestive of accelerated biological aging.

Diastolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is a less reliable metric than systolic blood pressure to measure cardiovascular risk. However, in regards to aging specifically, it is more useful because diastolic blood pressure tends to increase as you age, until you hit around the age of 50 and it begins to decline. DBP can be used to measure arterial stiffness, pulse pressure, and vascular resistance.

Waist circumference. Waist circumference is a good indicator of body fat accumulation, which in turn identifies body composition to signal the likelihood of abdominal obesity, slowed metabolic function, diabetes risk, and cardiovascular disease probability. Aging also tends to cause weight to shift to the abdomen, so waist circumference increases with age.

Lung capacity. Lung capacity tends to decline with age, particularly vital capacity and forced expiratory volume. The muscles involved with breathing also weaken with age and cause impaired lung function.

Balance. Balance tests measure neuromuscular decline, an important indicator of biological aging and decreased brain function.

Grip strength. Grip strength decreases as a result of age-induced muscle wasting and muscle weakness.

Gait speed. Gait speed can slow down as a result of poor brain health, reduced energy production, increased weakness and fatigue, and accelerated aging.

All of this data can be obtained through blood tests or dried blood spots, performance tests, and simple physical exams.

Thanks to all that information, analysts will be able to form a clear picture of how prone you are to chronic illness, disease, cognitive decline, cardiovascular health problems, cancer, and other health conditions.

After going down that list, it’s pretty easy to see why this can be so helpful. With all the data to measure, you can identify the weak spots in your body that signal accelerated biological aging.

Not only can this data tell you what to expect—the possibility of future chronic disease, cognitive risk, or cardiovascular health issues—but they can help you pinpoint the areas where you need to work to improve through daily exercise, cognitive training, improved diet, and healthy lifestyle choices.

When it comes to aging, foreknowledge like this is worth its weight in gold because it gives you the ability to take proactive steps years before long-term problems arise!

29/08/2025

Lessons learned on this journey called "LIFE"!!!

Inflammation is at the root of every single illness known to man, but there is not a single fold method of correction. It cannot be corrected by JUST supplements, it cannot be corrected by JUST dietary changes, the correction requires BOTH!!!

Unfortunately, our soil has become depleted of nutrients the body needs, so supplements need to be taken to fill in the gaps.

28/08/2025

Have you ever wondered how inflammation affects the different areas of your body??? Inflammation can be caused by stress, environment, foods that are eaten and the list goes on. What may affect one person adversely may not affect someone else the same way.
One way to make sure that you are controlling the inflammation, as much as possible, is to make sure that your blood sugar is staying steady throughout the day and NOT peaking and crashing.

12/08/2025

What are you having for lunch today???

11/08/2025

Who else beside me loved chewing gum, lollipops and life savers growing up????

Did you know that when you are born you only have so many digestive enzymes allotted to you for your lifetime? Did you know that every time you chew gum or suck on a lollipop or life saver that you body prepares for food coming down to the stomach and you use up some of your allotted digestive enzymes in preparation for food coming down that never materializes?

Having an autoimmune disorder means, that in all likelihood, you have problems digesting proteins.

For the past two years since I fractured my knee cap in a fall, I have been fighting a losing battle to strengthen my thigh muscles, but I have now figured out what I need to do:
#1 I take a digestive enzyme with every meal to assist me in breaking down the protein that I am consuming
#2 I have figured out that my body prefers plant based proteins instead of animal based proteins
#3 I take a methylated b complex every day, since I know through a DNA test that I have the MTHFR gene variation that does not allow my body to convert b vitamins from the foods that I eat into a format that my body can use.

I am finally seeing improvement in the development of my thigh muscles when getting from a sitting position to a standing position.

If you listen to your body and what it is telling you, you will find a solution to the problem that you are having.

06/07/2025

The importance of taking care of yourself!!!! If you do not take care of yourself, you will not have any resources on board to help someone else when they need it most.
On June 24th at 2:30 am, I was awakened by a family member, who was experiencing chest tightness and extremely high blood pressure, got them to local ER, where we learned that cardiac enzymes were elevated. Then transported to Richmond hospital, where ECHOcardiogram and stress test were done. We learned that a Cardiac Cath was needed and then learned that bypass surgery was needed. If I did not take care of myself, being there would not have been possible. I did not leave the hospital from Tuesday until Friday after surgery, when they would no longer allow me to stay.
Emotional stress can do a number on you but you can make sure that you are not adding additional stress on top of that by not eating the way you should and supporting your body and it's needs. I was building salads, 2 and 3 at a time, and keeping them in the refrigerator on the nursing unit.
Do not even think about taking care of yourself as being selfish, you are actually putting the other person first by taking care of your needs.

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02/06/2025

I have learned through trial and error what works best, dietary wise, for my body. Somebody can try to change my mind, but I am not going to jeopardize my health just to please someone else.
YOU have got to be YOUR biggest advocate.
YOU live in YOUR body 24/7, just you, nobody else.
YOU know how it responds to what YOU put in it.
Stand Firm and Proud!!!!

31/05/2025

Dinner tonight was yummo!!! Plant based burger, curly kale and purple sweet potato (lower glycemic than regular sweet potato.

12/05/2025

Huge Congrats today to S.H., who at the end of 3 weeks has lost 5.2 pounds, 2.2 % body fat and 4.75 inches. So proud of the positive changes they are making in their life.

10/05/2025

Did you know???? Eat some from each color on a daily basis.