Have you ever stopped to ponder the driving forces behind the pharmaceutical industry's choices, especially in the wake of a global pandemic? Join us as we peel back the curtain on the often murky relationship between healthcare systems and drug companies, particularly when it comes to flu vaccines and COVID boosters. Dr. Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenni Berman are your guides in this episode of the Berman Method Podcast, where we scrutinize the rapid emergence of COVID treatments in contrast to the perennial battles with flu vaccine efficacy. We're not just talking about public health; we're questioning the profitability motives, the push for repeated booster shots, and the sudden vanishing act of flu marketing during COVID times. This deep exploration raises a red flag on potential side effects and the scarcity of long-term data, giving you the insider's perspective on how these issues might be affecting your healthcare decisions.
Stepping into a more personal space, we dissect the factors that make or break an individual's response to diseases like the flu and COVID-19. Your baseline health isn't just a number; it's the foundation of your body's defense against illness. In this revealing conversation, we stress the importance of gut health and lifestyle choices in bolstering the immune system. Sharing relatable experiences, we illustrate how managing conditions such as elevated hemoglobin A1C and autoimmune disorders can be game-changers in your health narrative. Learn from Jenni's and my own stories about the transformative power of prioritizing your internal health, and arm yourself with the knowledge to stand resilient in the face of viral adversaries. This episode isn't just about medical jargon; it's about taking charge of your wellbeing to live your healthiest life.
Check Us Out On Social Media - Facebook: @bermanwellness , @physicaltherapynaples, @Berman Golf Instagram: @berman_wellness, @bermanphysicaltherapy , @Berman Golf Youtube: Berman Golf, Berman Physical Therapy TikTok: Bermangolf, Bermanwellness
Email us - drberman@bermanpt.com jenni@bermanwellness.com
Check out our website - https://www.bermanpt.com/ https://www.bermanpt.com/wellness/ https://bermangolf.com/
Have you ever stopped to ponder the driving forces behind the pharmaceutical industry's choices, especially in the wake of a global pandemic? Join us as we peel back the curtain on the often murky relationship between healthcare systems and drug companies, particularly when it comes to flu vaccines and COVID boosters. Dr. Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenni Berman are your guides in this episode of the Berman Method Podcast, where we scrutinize the rapid emergence of COVID treatments in contrast to the perennial battles with flu vaccine efficacy. We're not just talking about public health; we're questioning the profitability motives, the push for repeated booster shots, and the sudden vanishing act of flu marketing during COVID times. This deep exploration raises a red flag on potential side effects and the scarcity of long-term data, giving you the insider's perspective on how these issues might be affecting your healthcare decisions.
Stepping into a more personal space, we dissect the factors that make or break an individual's response to diseases like the flu and COVID-19. Your baseline health isn't just a number; it's the foundation of your body's defense against illness. In this revealing conversation, we stress the importance of gut health and lifestyle choices in bolstering the immune system. Sharing relatable experiences, we illustrate how managing conditions such as elevated hemoglobin A1C and autoimmune disorders can be game-changers in your health narrative. Learn from Jenni's and my own stories about the transformative power of prioritizing your internal health, and arm yourself with the knowledge to stand resilient in the face of viral adversaries. This episode isn't just about medical jargon; it's about taking charge of your wellbeing to live your healthiest life.
Check Us Out On Social Media - Facebook: @bermanwellness , @physicaltherapynaples, @Berman Golf Instagram: @berman_wellness, @bermanphysicaltherapy , @Berman Golf Youtube: Berman Golf, Berman Physical Therapy TikTok: Bermangolf, Bermanwellness
Email us - drberman@bermanpt.com jenni@bermanwellness.com
Check out our website - https://www.bermanpt.com/ https://www.bermanpt.com/wellness/ https://bermangolf.com/
Speaker 1:
This is the Berman Method Podcast, featuring Dr Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenny Berman. We are here to treat problems and not symptoms. Disclaimer this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and not to treat anyone or to give medical advice. If you are interested in any information that we are giving and would like to use this for yourself, we recommend that you contact your primary care physician or reach out to us and ask us questions about yourself specifically. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:
And we are back, baby, with the Berman Method Podcast, treating problems and not symptoms. No pharmaceuticals here, right, right, jenny Bair Berman sitting across from me, my beautiful co-host.
Speaker 1:
Yes, hi everybody.
Speaker 2:
Who's sitting across from you?
Speaker 1:
My wonderful husband Dr Jake Berman.
Speaker 2:
Oh man, that was different, wasn't it? Yeah, cool, I hope everybody's doing great. I hope you've been loving our jacked up episodes for 2024. Coming out of the gate swinging David against Goliath. We consider ourselves David, and Goliath is the corporate medical system, the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies. We don't believe that they have your best interests in mind. They are focused on client retention and not curation. Pharmaceutical world.
Speaker 2:
Yes, yes, Right out of the gate. Think about this. If this doesn't make you mad, I mean, this is not. What is it? Some people might look at this as like conspiracy theory stuff borderline conspiracy theory but it's really not. Just think about this. I mean, we're in playoffs time football. It's every commercial break. There's one commercial without miss Got COVID.
Speaker 1:
Get packed slow vid Right, and that was that. Yeah, we've heard it a million times on the weekend.
Speaker 2:
A million times. Yesterday watching football, got COVID Get packed slow vid. It's like what? Wait a second? So this whole thing started three years ago and they magically come up with a vaccine within a couple of months, when it's taken years. They've been working on the flu vaccine for 30 years and they still can't figure out the flu vaccine. And this variation of the flu. Covid comes out and they roll out a vaccine in months.
Speaker 1:
Right and a treatment.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah, and it's like what the heck is going on here. So the funny thing about it is just think about this for a minute. Prior to COVID, it was every single year, without fail, flu seasons coming up. Make sure you get your flu shot because flu season is coming up. The flu vaccine that you get it most likely won't protect you from the variant that you're going to catch, because there's no way we could give you a vaccine for all the different variants of flu virus that's going to be out there this year. We're just going to guess that this variant is going to be the most common variant and then we're going to shoot this into your body.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 2:
That's how flu vaccines have historically worked.
Speaker 1:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
COVID comes out. They come out with a vaccine for COVID. For whatever reason, the flu no longer exists, right.
Speaker 1:
Right, I suppose it's less communicated about.
Speaker 2:
Less communicated. So it exists I didn't even hear about it for at least two years. Nobody got the flu for at least two years.
Speaker 1:
Okay.
Speaker 2:
I love this because these are the type of conversations that makes Jenny feel a little uncomfortable because, by no fault of her own, she is Western medicine trained and trying to get more natural. And then there's all these deep rooted top teachings that are still being pulled out of her.
Speaker 1:
Well, it's just different. I mean, in 2020 and in 2021, I was still working in Western medicine. I was working in the urgent care, so I saw people with the flu. You didn't being in your world. So to say that nobody had the flu for three years, I just that's not really true. It just was less communicated about it, wasn't? They didn't have commercials on TV about getting your flu vaccine, because instead it was all about COVID. Or you know, when you talk to your friends, your friends didn't have the flu because they got tested for COVID first, and so that's that's where I'm on a different page.
Speaker 2:
I love that that's what you said, because that's helping me be more objective with what I'm saying right now. We didn't hear about the flu for at least two years. Right, that is correct. It was not marketed at all.
Speaker 1:
Yes, true.
Speaker 2:
Now I'm going to give you a new product on the line which was getting more money. Which was the COVID vaccine.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it was more profitable than the flu vaccines were.
Speaker 2:
Yes, because it was new and exciting.
Speaker 1:
It was new, exciting and there were multiple. It wasn't just one vaccine that you got for the whole year, I think we had you had to get a booster shot. Wait several booster shots.
Speaker 2:
Well, that's where I'm going to. Next is you come out with a COVID vaccine and that was supposed to cure you forever. Then, a month later, they realized ooh, that's not good for business. Actually, this vaccine doesn't cure you forever. You need to get a booster. You got to get a second one Fast forward. Four months later, we're on the sixth booster shot. No joke.
Speaker 2:
I remember hearing people bragging, bragging about how many booster shots they've gotten, and I explicitly remember some people saying I'm on my seventh. Well, I'm on my sixth. How'd you get your seventh? I didn't even know that one came out yet. Like we're talking about the iPhone or a new pair of Jordans going. I didn't know the new one came out already. How'd you get that Right? It was just. It was crazy to me to think what is going on right now. You have no idea what you're sticking in your body. Nobody has any idea what the long lasting effects or side effects of this thing is going to be. And I'm rushing up to get stuck in the arm with this thing. It's like what is happening.
Speaker 1:
Right, and meanwhile we are finding out that there are side effects to getting the medications, but that's not what was on the news or on the commercials.
Speaker 2:
It was not on the commercials. There have been multiple studies that have come out just in the past few months that are confirming that, yes, getting this vaccine is definitely contributing to all of these negative health effects that a ton of Americans are having. One of our employees actually is struggling with it big time, where he just he cannot stop being sick. It's like what the heck is going on.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 2:
So fast forward to what I'm talking about now is this went on for two years. Then 2023 rolls around and the pharmaceutical companies go wait a minute. I'm looking at my P and L profit and loss statement and COVID's doing great, but the flu vaccine is horrible. It tanked. So that's when Travis Kelsey's commercial came out the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs when you're getting your COVID vaccine, go ahead and get your flu vaccine too, because things are better in twos. So I was like wait a minute, the flu is back now. Ha ha ha, it's back.
Speaker 2:
And here's the funny thing call it ironic, call it conspiracy theory, call it whatever you want. It is no secret that this past Christmas people were getting violently ill. This past Christmas I mean it was majority of the stories that I heard over Christmas break where people went home, or all of these people up north, violently ill with the flu and some type of variation of some crazy sickness.
Speaker 1:
Right, it wasn't COVID. A lot of GI bugs. Yeah, we knew several people with the flu over Christmas, but also the GI bug. I mean just took tons of families out over Christmas as well. But this is something we talked on a podcast before Christmas and you should certainly go back and listen to it. We'd have to. Maybe we'll try to put in the show notes on what episode it was. But we talked a lot about why illnesses happened so frequently during the holiday season and we talked about sugar being the toxin. That was the toxin that drove the immune system to a point that it couldn't fight off these viral illnesses.
Speaker 2:
The same way, Exactly because it started off with. Halloween was the kickstart. So Halloween, we have a candy holiday followed by a pie and sugar. Yeah, so we had a candy holiday followed by a pie and sugar holiday, followed by a month of drinking and Christmas cookies, because the Christmas party is followed by Christmas itself, full of Christmas cookies and more sugar, followed by a heavy boozing holiday, which is New Year's Eve. And then we wonder why we get sick all of a sudden. We just spent three months poisoning our bodies.
Speaker 1:
Right with sugar and not enough vegetables and not sleeping enough through the holiday season because you're going to this event or that event, or you just have so much wrapping to do, or you have to catch up on work before the year end. You're not sleeping well, or you have a one, almost one year old, that doesn't want to sleep for 12 hours.
Speaker 2:
She just cannot sleep. What is going on? It's like we're in the twilight zone. We're just coming off a night. That was not good last night again.
Speaker 1:
And we're just not used to this because Stella was such a perfect sleeper, oh my gosh and we've tried everything with Vera. We've tried to cry it out. And don't let her cry it out. And give her a bottle and don't give her a bottle. So, needless to say, not sleeping with a whole bunch of sugar does not do well for your immune system.
Speaker 2:
It doesn't. And then we got the big media companies marketing to us nonstop saying well, you're going to get sick, so you better get your COVID vaccine and your flu vaccine. So this is all not new. If you've been listening to us for any amount of time, you're like oh yeah, I get it, you're saying the same thing over and over again. Okay, well, you better start listening because but wait it gets worse.
Speaker 2:
So now the pharmaceutical companies are still valuing profits over patient outcome. You've got to remember this. They're looking at client retention, not curation, right? How much money can I get out of a client? This is all business. Everybody in the business world should be thinking ethically along these lines is how can I ethically ask my clients, my current customers, to spend more money with me? That's business 101. The pharmaceutical companies take it up 100 notches unethically because they are now valuing profits over patient outcome. So now they're going.
Speaker 2:
Okay, we're on our 75th COVID vaccine booster. The market is starting to get a little saturated on boosters. So what can we do? Got COVID Packs low, baby, because you already got the customer. You know, you've already got the customer. Anybody who's still drinking the freaking COVID vaccine booster Kool-Aid, they are your customer. So now, as soon as somebody gets a sniffle, I got to get packs loaded sign me up and then in the fine print on those commercials I meant to pause it last night because I wanted to read it it says most. I think it says this is mostly covered by Medicare and you have to look at other insurance carriers. So this is revenue generation. Like this has nothing to do with your well-being. This is revenue generation. And here's the icing on the cake. What were the fricking side effects from Paxlovin?
Speaker 1:
Well, they put it on triple speed and ran through them, so it's hard, and you know, again, this is all very controversial and this is something that you and I discuss all the time. How you're like way one way and I'm right in the middle when it comes to all this because of my background, like you've already said, working in Western medicine and understanding that some people need the help, some people need these interventions and to be in the hospital and based on their health. But what it comes down to is why is your immune system at that state in the first place, and that's where we come in. Working from more of a functional and Eastern medicine is let's figure out why your immune system is suffering, to where these viruses make you cross that line, to where then you have to take these medications. But then there's a lot of people that don't necessarily need the treatment. They don't need the Paxlovin, but they've heard about so much about it that, oh, I must have to take it if I have a positive COVID test, and that's not necessarily true.
Speaker 2:
It's marketing 101. This is business 101. This is marketing 101. Again, every business in the world should be doing this on an ethical level. The pharmaceutical companies are not doing it on an ethical level. Paxlovin is not for your wellbeing. Yes, jenny, I agree with you. There are a very small percentage of the population that, because of their comorbidities, they do need help. If they get COVID, they need help. If they get a flu, they need help. If they get a cold, they need help. There is a very small percentage. The pharmaceutical companies should not be marketing to the masses. They should not be marketing to millions of Americans that you need this though.
Speaker 1:
Right, I agree with that. I agree with that.
Speaker 2:
It's like what the heck is going on here.
Speaker 1:
So if you could give your tips for preventing it getting to that point, that's what we wanted to.
Speaker 2:
My tips for preventing it getting to that point. Yeah, oh, the keys to success thing. Oh man, we're already 15 minutes into this thing. I ranted too long to get into that, I think. I think it's really simple, though it goes back to what you're saying.
Speaker 2:
101, which is why do some people have horrible reactions to any type of sickness COVID, flu, cold, doesn't matter what it is and then other people can get the same exact virus and it doesn't even come close to affecting them as bad. Because of what is your baseline? What's happening on the inside? What is your gut doing? How healthy are you internally going into battle?
Speaker 2:
Look at it this way. Here's the easiest way to say it the stronger you are, the harder you are to kill. That is a very high level, 30,000 foot description of life. Right, the stronger you are, the harder you are to kill. Look at it in battle, when you are in war and combat man to man combat, two men going to war. One's trying to kill the other. The stronger you are, the less likely it is that you'll die. It's that simple. Versus you. Take somebody that sits at a desk all day long, hasn't been to a gym in their whole entire life, eats shit. Take out fast food, drink soda and you put that person against a gladiator. They're gonna die. The same thing is true for viruses. Now you take somebody who really cares about what's happening internally. How's your gut health doing? If it's doing great and you get a virus, okay, you've got a lot of manpower there to fight the virus.
Speaker 1:
Right, I'll say, with working in the practice that we're in and being able to check blood work and working so closely on gut health, our clients that have had the most recurrent illnesses respiratory issues, breathing or just chronically getting colds and GI bugs most of this are going to come down to two factors. One, their hemoglobin A1C, which is the average of their blood sugar over 90 days, is elevated. So it's above 5.4%, which, if you go to your primary care and they check your A1C, if they check it, because you know, a lot of times insurance won't cover it, so they just won't check it. But if they check your A1C they will tell you anything Up to 5.7 is all right. But even if you're 5.7 to 6%, they're telling you oh, just watch your carbohydrates, change your diet a little bit, even though that 5.7 to 6% is pre-diabetes. But anyways, that's a different rant.
Speaker 1:
What I see is those who have an A1C above 5.4% so you're not even in that pre-diabetic range, but more in the insulin resistance range, is what we call it they are more likely to experience recurrent illnesses, cold, sinus infections, respiratory issues, in addition to a whole slew of other symptoms that come along with that. So that's the first thing. The second thing is their gut health. So they have a known autoimmune disease like Hashimoto's or rheumatoid arthritis or eczema or psoriasis, migraines. They have some type of other autoimmune disease that is driving their immune system down and they are also more commonly to get ill. I mean, look at me, for example, when you and I first started dating and first got married and I was struggling with a lot of autoimmune issues because we hadn't figured out my own problem yet, how often did I have colds? I was sick all the time and I kept blaming it on working in pediatrics.
Speaker 2:
You did.
Speaker 1:
I blamed it on. I work in pediatrics. I'm around kids all the time. That's why I'm sick all the time. But it wasn't until that I figured out my gut health that now, knock on wood, even with having kids, we're hardly sick.
Speaker 2:
And even when we are sick, it's nothing crazy Right, it's a couple of days. Yeah, a couple of days and the severity of the symptoms is nothing crazy and that's what I was going to bring up too is when we first started dating, you and I. I just mentioned this last week to somebody, I forget who it was. Any time I flew on a plane, I got sick, nine times out of 10. I'm getting sick when I'm flying on a plane.
Speaker 1:
I'll never forget before COVID even was the thing and you and I flew on the plane and you wore like your little fishing mask.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, a fishing buff.
Speaker 1:
A buff around your face on the airplane. I was like what are you doing? And you're like I'm going to get through this plane ride without getting sick. And it wasn't three months later that people were wearing masks. It was like you did.
Speaker 2:
How ironic was that it was.
Speaker 1:
But anyway, it's true, you were sick and when we first were engaged and you had the flu, you were in bed for days with the flu. Do you remember that?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that was in Jacksonville. Yeah, that was knock on wood the last time I had it.
Speaker 1:
You were so sick. So, again, this just comes down to now that we have so much education on gut health and, by default, you eat gluten free and dairy free at home, which really is not a bad thing for you. It reduces your inflammation internally. We are sick much less often and much less in intensity.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so back to me and flying. I was pounding emergency every flight right, taking an emergency vitamin C zinc before every flight. I'm like come on I don't want to get sick.
Speaker 2:
Now again, knock on wood, fast forward to me leading a healthier life with food. Planes are no brainer for me. Now I don't get sick on them anymore because my gut is healthier. So the same viruses I'm still breathing in, the same viruses that I was 10 years ago on the plane, because the air is circulated, everybody's breathing the same virus. However, in my layman's terms, my body is at a healthier state now. My gut is at a healthier state now there's less inflammation, less inflammatory responses in my gut. Now that when I do consume or breathe in those same viruses, I can attack them, I can kill them. My immune system can do what it's supposed to do, which is when Right, right, exactly so.
Speaker 1:
Just to summarize the top two things that we see again in our practice from a functional standpoint is for those who are frequently sick, they either have an elevated A1c, so above average blood sugar, and again it's still technically normal but not optimal, or their gut health is not optimal.
Speaker 2:
Can I extrapolate that? I should have probably asked you this before we went live on the air. Maybe we can extrapolate that and say, if you really are concerned at your risk for catching COVID catching the flu, maybe you should check these two things.
Speaker 1:
Oh, 1,000%.
Speaker 2:
And instead of rushing off to get jabbed in the arm with some type of serum that you have no idea what it is, maybe the first thing we should do is look at your risk factors. What is your A1c? If it's low, maybe you don't need that vaccine. Because even if you do get it, maybe it's just some sniffles for you compared to somebody else that's in bed for a week. Exactly, yes, that's it. It should be no surprise that the vast majority of people that were dying from COVID that first year what were they? What did they look like?
Speaker 1:
Right, they definitely had other comorbidities. One thing I just was reviewing with my fellowship is that inflammation and oxidative stress so internal and external stressors on the body are the top two reasons for over 50% of cardiovascular disease that happens. So more than 50% of the people who have high blood pressure, a heart attack, a stroke or a valve issue with their heart any type of heart issue more than 50% of those are not due to their weight or to their blood pressure or due to their cholesterol. It's actually due to inflammation and oxidative stress.
Speaker 2:
Said differently. They're eating something, potentially they're eating something that they're sensitive to, which is creating an inflammatory response in their gut that they don't even realize is happening, and that's making the whole system, the whole body, at an elevated inflammatory state, which is making you more vulnerable to these.
Speaker 1:
Heart disease or any like. We've already talked about the cold. I mean the foods that you're eating. Is it that you're eating something you're sensitive to, or is that you're not eating enough fiber, enough vegetables, or is it that you're not sleeping enough? Not getting enough sleep will cause oxidative stress. Is it that you have a high cortisol level, which is a stress hormone, because of an internal or an external process? I mean, the bottom line is inflammation is going to kill you before anything else.
Speaker 2:
Ooh.
Speaker 1:
That was deep.
Speaker 2:
That was very deep.
Speaker 1:
We could talk about that for hours and hours, maybe we should talk about that next time Maybe we should pick up on that.
Speaker 2:
That inflammation will kill you before your weight kills you.
Speaker 1:
That's right, that is correct.
Speaker 2:
Terrell, how's that for a cliffhanger?
Speaker 1:
to tune in the next week. All right, have a great week. Everybody, share this podcast. Send it to a friend, family member, staff.
Speaker 2:
Like and subscribe please.
Speaker 1:
Review us comment. Yes, All right Cool.
Speaker 2:
Thanks for listening. Ciao for now.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for subscribing on your social media and podcast platforms to the Berman Method Dr Jake Berman with Berman Physical Therapy and Jenny Berman, physician Assistant with Berman Health and Wellness. You can find more information on our website wwwbermanptcom for physical therapy, bermanptcom forward slash wellness for the health and wellness. You can also find us on social media, facebook, instagram, and on your podcast platforms, so be sure to follow us, like us, subscribe to us and, if you would like any further information, definitely visit our website and reach out to us. You may also find our free reports on the websites as well, where you can download this free information for yourself. Have a great day.