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1-Page Summary of On Immunity
Overview
Super Immunity (2011) reveals the secret to a stronger immune system. The key point is that plant foods are superfoods and they’re rich in nutrients and phytochemicals. These foods can heal your body when you consume them regularly.
Some people believe that vaccines cause autism, while others think they don’t. Some parents are concerned about the safety of vaccines, and some wonder where they come from and how to trust them.
A lot of people are worried about vaccinating themselves or their children, because they don’t know the full story. The news media and experts can be confusing when they throw around statistics and research on both sides of the issue.
The key reasons why people are passionate about, misinformed on, and traumatized by vaccines are shown in the following points: (1) UN workers were murdered for administering polio vaccines; (2) fake vaccines helped US find Osama Bin Laden; and (3) the first vaccine processes were disgusting.
Big Idea #1: Stories from long ago are full of parents trying and failing to keep their children safe.
The world today is a very different place for children. There are many factors to consider when it comes to raising them, and this has been the case for thousands of years. Even in ancient times, parents tried their best to protect their kids but were not always successful. For example, there’s the famous myth about Achilles’ mother dipping him into a river so that he will be invulnerable from his heel all the way up to his neck. However, an arrow pierces Achilles’ heel and kills him while he’s fighting in Troy.
Another myth is about the King of Argos, who imprisons his daughter in a bronze tower to ensure she stays a virgin. However, this doesn’t stop Zeus from impregnating her by disguising himself as gold rain.
In fairy tales, the parents also endanger their children. These parents want to protect their children, but they end up hurting them instead. In The Girl Without Hands, a miller makes a deal with the devil and exchanges everything behind his mill for riches. However, he later discovers that his daughter was standing just there when he made the deal. Parents today can relate to these narratives: they hope vaccines will keep their kids safe, but fear it might be harmful in some way.
Big Idea #2: Vaccinations are a controversial topic. Many parents are afraid of them because they think that vaccinations cause neurological and immune disorders in children.
In the past, vaccinations carried a risk of transmitting serious diseases. For example, one vaccination method involved taking pus from another person’s arm blister and applying it to the cut on your own arm.
Vaccines were sometimes contaminated with tetanus. In 1901, a smallpox vaccine was contaminated with tetanus and nine children died in Camden, New Jersey. Over the next hundred years, vaccines became stringently regulated by the Institute of Medicine (in the USA). However, many people remain skeptical about vaccinations because they think that there might be some kind of problem. Let’s take a look at their concerns to see if we can allay them.
A relatively new fear that is spreading like wildfire on the Internet is that vaccinations cause autism or neurological damage. Vaccines contain substances such as mercury and aluminum, which in large amounts are known to be toxic to the nervous system.
A study published by Andrew Wakefield in 1998 concluded that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine causes autism.
A study by Andrew Wakefield in 1998 suggested that the MMR vaccine could cause autism. However, it was later revealed that he had been paid off by a lawyer preparing to sue the manufacturer of the vaccines. The study was retracted and there is no evidence linking vaccines to autism, but parents are still concerned about vaccination rates. Scandinavian studies have also suggested that H1N1 vaccinations may trigger narcolepsy in teenagers (one in 12,000 vaccinated in Finland and one in 33,000 vaccinated in Sweden). This research is ongoing.
