Mercury free vaccines have arrived

Coming to a state near you? Let's hope so.

Santa Fe New Mexican
State's flu shots have mercury options
Thimerosal-free versions available to both children and adults
By Diana Del Mauro The New Mexican
10/3/2007

Although a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests the flu shot's tiny dose of mercury is harmless to a child's neurologic development, parents who don't want to take the risk don't have to in New Mexico.

The Department of Health ordered about 170,000 doses of flu vaccine this year, of which 97,440 doses are formulated without thimerosal, the preservative that contains mercury. The mercury-free version is available to both adults and children.

All the flu vaccine ordered for children 6 to 35 months of age is mercury-free, said department spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer. In addition, the state purchased 17,450 mercury-free doses for children ages 3 to 18, and 20,000 mercury-free doses for adults 18 and older.

Separate from what the state offers, some clinics also provide another mercury-free alternative: FluMist, which is administered as a nasal spray and is made from the killed influenza virus. Only approved for use with healthy people 2 to 49 years of age, FluMist is not safe for pregnant women, children who are on long-term aspirin use, people with asthma or other lung diseases, people with chronic heart disease, people with diabetes or kidney failure, or people with a weakened immune system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read the rest of the article at The New Mexican.

Chili -- GFCF and bean free

My kids like this and I tend to make it more in the fall and winter. Well, here's the colder weather. And here's the recipe. Basic chili -- free of gluten, casein, soy and most major allergens. What's nice is that you can tailor this to the things you like to eat. Ours does not have beans because my youngest can't eat them. You could use rice, quinoa, potatoes, etc.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground beef
- half an onion
- 15-16 oz can tomatoes
- 16 oz tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup polenta (optional)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Easy directions:

- cook the burger and diced onion in a pan, then drain grease.
- put burger mix in a crok pot (or large cooking pot)
- add the remaining ingredients. Stir.
- cook crok pot on high for 1 hour, then at least 3 more hours.
- or cook in pot on low for 2 hours, stirring frequently.

An Autism guide -- finally

Yes, finally. I wish they had this when my kids were first diagnosed with PDD. The group TACA has published a guide about dealing with autism, called the Autism Journey Guide, which you can buy in book form, or DVD, or both. I have not read this yet, but TACA shows the table of contents and judging by the topics covered, this is thorough and covers all the important points. It appears to really help people who need help quickly, especially those who have just received an autism diagnosis and are seeking treatment options or want to start the gluten and casein free diet. This could end up being the "How-to" guide for autism.