The Blogger's Note: Lately there has been an email circulated by an e-buddy about a fast non-drug remedy for FLU by drinking a cup of hot BLACK COFFEE and the question of this claim was posed to our most knowledgeable Dr JB Lim (pic left). As usual, the kind-hearted Doc offers his free-of-charge advice as follows:
Wednesday, 20 April, 2011 10:17 PM
Thank you very much for your questions.
My advice to all of you is very simple. Please don’t waste your time and effort with all these so called ‘flu vaccines’. If only you all have knowledge on virology, immunology and molecular medicine, you know that none of these vaccines and drugs neither can prevent nor cure even a simple common cold.
You need to do a course on molecular virology – as I did and underwent a 3 months post-doctoral course when I was working as a medical researcher at the Institute for Medical Research, for you to understand how exceedingly fast the RNA and DNA of these rhinoviruses mutate from one genome sequence to another before you can even test out the clinical efficacy of a vaccine even on a small pilot scale, let alone put them out for mass production.
Idiots vs. Mother Nature:
Do you think these viruses are idiots like us scientists to allow us to kill them into extinction? They are much smarter than we, as medical scientists think. This is how Nature works through its genetic program, designed to make all these pathogen, including all the viruses survive on Planet Earth. We can never, never wipe them out. We can never beat Mother Nature.
We are all losing a battle against all the diseases on this Planet. It is a very long story, discussed over and over again at countless scientific meetings during my entire 29 years professional career as a senior medical researcher at Cambridge, MIT and at the Institute for Medical Research.
Just don’t waste your time and money to enrich all these vaccine manufacturers and the doctors who gave them under influence and pressure from drug companies. Everyone is just interested in making an extra dollar. This is a commercial world. Keep your money, and let Mother Nature do its duty.
The Purpose of a Fever:
If you have flu, just keep warm, lots of fluid and bed rest, and if you have a temperature just leave it. The temperature is put there by Nature for a purpose – to combat an infection by accelerating the mobility of all the appropriate immunoglobulin (antibodies), accelerate toxic metabolic breakdown by the liver, and excretion of wastes through the kidneys, sweat, and even via the bile.
The higher than normal body temperatures generated by the body is purposely put there in order to be non-conducive for the pathogens to survive. The fever is purposely prescribed there to accelerate all the necessary protective (bio)-chemistries in the body. Never interfere with this protective mechanism.
Drinking lots of water, preferably fruit juices (fluids), and the ‘old-fashioned’ sponging will do the trick beautifully if your temperature gets far too high. Why do you want to poison your body with all these chemical antipyretics (drugs that reduce fever) - ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, and other NSAID etc, etc. We know their pharmacology and their disastrous effects very, very well as a Special Medical Adviser to an international group of drug companies.
All these antipyretics work by getting the "thermostat" in the hypothalamus to override the interleukin-induced increase in temperature. Antipyretics will also reduce prostaglandin synthesis in the hypothalamus by inhibiting the effect of endogenous or microbial pyrogens on the heat regulating sensors of the hypothalamus. By blocking prostaglandin synthetase, antipyretics prevent a rise in prostaglandin levels in the brain. Why do you want to interfere with this body chemistry? Just leave it, and let Nature do her course.
Starve the Fever:
Most of the time just leave the fever alone as the good old wise maxim prescribes ‘starve a fever’.
Sleep and bed rests are the best natural ‘vaccines’ you can inherit. You can never buy this asset from the pharmacy or from the doctor because sleep and rest is the only way that allows the body to do the job of self cleaning towards a very rapid recovery. A few studies published in the Lancet and JAMA over 3 decades ago, have clearly shown that if a fever was left alone, the patients recover much faster than if we interfere with it with antipyretic (drugs).
No vaccine or any drug, including herbal medicine or nutritional supplements can replace this wonderful job the body is designed and programmed by God to do.
Just don’t be fooled by all these vaccines. Your body produces all these natural vaccines – the immunoglobulin (IgG, IgE, IgM), continuously and consistently every minute of your life to protect you.
Be Thankful for the Program:
You have every reason to be grateful and thankful to God, your Designer and Creator Who has given you all these protective provisions and biological shield every minute of your life to ensure all these viruses and pathogens are kept at bay most of your genetic lifespan. Be thankful.
Your Best Physician:
That’s your natural investment in preventive and curative medicine. This is your best physician, and not all those factory-made vaccines, drugs, herbals, nutritionals, including your doctor, sinseh, herbalists, naturopaths, homeopaths, nutritionists, dieticians, etc, etc. Sorry, I am one of them these health-care professionals. But I am professionally honest with you.
Take this advice seriously.
Take this advice seriously.
Black coffee for flu?Finally, I do not know about your concoction using black coffee to ‘instantly cure’ a flu? Maybe I should go to a witchery medical school in the next life to learn about your magic portion. Yours is far too deep for me to understand this present life. Sorry!
But I do know that black coffee is therapeutic in the event of bronchial asthma (not cardiac asthma) – don’t be confused between the two, just like some are totally confused between diabetes mellitus, and diabetes insipidus with two entirely different aetiologies (causes).
Coffee is therapeutic for asthmatics:
Coffee contains two very potent bronchial dilating drugs – Theophylline (dimethylxanthine) and Aminophylline (theophylline and ethylenediamine) both these agents (drugs) are bronchodilators, and are used as emergency measures given by IV infusion or injections in the event of acute asthma exacerbation (asthma attack), or status asthmaticus that are unresponsive to mainline bronchodilators such as albuterol (Ventolin), adrenalin, and other short-acting beta 2-adrenergic receptor agonists. Both agents are also indicated for other COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) like emphysema, etc.
Even if these two natural drugs are removed from coffee, the metabolic breakdown of caffeine in coffee by the body will produce aminophylline and theophylline naturally. So drinking black coffee (without the milk) is both prophylactic and ‘curative’ for asthmatic patients.
Milk allergy:
Milk may exacerbate an asthmatic attack because of the presence of cow’s milk protein which may trigger off an anaphylactic shock (anaphylaxis) if drunk repeatedly to induce a serial rise in antigen-antibody titer.
Anaphylaxis is a severe systemic allergic reaction to an allergen (allergic- causing chemical) like cow’s milk to intolerant individuals. In some cases (rarely) it may even cause angioedema (swelling or edema) in the airways leading to airway obstruction, dyspnoea (SOB), and even asphyxia. This is a medical emergency.This much I know and advise about black coffee, but I have no idea about your claim on its role in ‘curing’ flu?
Thank you once again for your question(s), and kind regards,
jb lim