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What Really Causes Influenza? Part 1

Written by Daniel Roytas (MHSc Human Nutrition), BHSc (Naturopathy), Dip. RM

In part 1 of this blog, an overview of some of the most important experiments conducted to try and prove that influenza was caused by a contagious virus were discussed in detail. Despite the most desperate attempts by scientists and doctors to make healthy people sick, every single attempt failed. Part 2 of this blog post aims to answer two questions. Firstly, what is the original proof showing that a virus causes influenza? Secondly, if not a virus, then what other plausible explanations are there?

It’s important to note that whilst a number of potential alternative causes of influenza will be discussed in this blog, these are only hypotheses and not claims.

The Discovery of Influenza

How did we get to the point where we “believe” that a virus causes influenza (or any infectious disease for matter)? An assumption was made, that a sick person was able to...

What Really Causes Influenza? Part 1

Written by Daniel Roytas (MHSc Human Nutrition), BHSc (Naturopathy), Dip. RM

Part 1 of 2 of this blog presents an overview of the studies that tried to prove a virus as the cause of influenza. Part 2 will hypothesize a number of potential causes of influenza. 

Influenza is said to be caused by one of four viruses, namely influenza A, B, C and D¹, however many people might be surprised to hear that none of these viruses have ever been observed in the bodily fluids of a human being. More surprisingly, isolated and purified viral particles have never been exposed to a healthy host and been shown to cause disease^2,3. This is not due to lack of trying, or due to limitations of laboratory techniques, in fact, dozens upon dozens of experiments have been undertaken over many decades to try and transmit the influenza virus from sick people to healthy people.

The Most Important Influenza Study?

At the height of the Spanish Influenza epidemic between...

Episode 43: Joel Salatin - The World's Most Famous Farmer

Joel Salatin calls himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Others who like him call him the most famous farmer in the world, the high priest of the pasture, and the most eclectic thinker from Virginia since Thomas Jefferson. Those who don’t like him call him a bio-terrorist, Typhoid Mary, charlatan, and starvation advocate. He co-owns, with his family, Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. Featured in the New York Times bestseller Omnivore’s Dilemma and award-winning documentary Food Inc., the farm services more than 5,000 families, 50 restaurants, 10 retail outlets, and a farmers’ market with salad bar beef, pigaerator pork, pastured poultry, and forestry products. When he’s not on the road speaking, he’s at home on the farm, keeping the callouses on his hands and dirt under his fingernails, mentoring young people, inspiring visitors, and...

Written by Daniel Roytas (MHSc Human Nutrition), BHSc (Naturopathy), Dip. RM

When we think about raw milk, getting food poisoning from Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Now I’m not saying people don’t get sick from drinking contaminated milk, but as I highlighted in part 1 of this blog, the evidence proving that L. monocytogenes is the cause of disease, is less than convincing to say the least. In part 2 of this blog, I’m going to provide alternative hypotheses as to the reasons why people might get sick from contaminated milk. It’s important to note, that in no way am I making definitive claims, I am merely highlighting that there are other plausible explanations. It's also important to note that contaminated milk refers to any source of contamination, not just bacterial contamination. 

It’s probably important to note that when I say “contaminated milk”, I am referring to both...

Episode 41: Dr Lorraine Day - Exposing The Truth About Medicine

Episode 40: Paul Hellier - The Fair Food Forager

Paul Hellier is the Founder and CEO of Fair Food Forager and the Co-Founder of the Peloton Against Plastic. An ocean lifeguard turned environmental scientist, who specialised in coastal processes and natural area management. In 2015 he founded the tech start up, fair food forager. The only mobile app in the world (26 countries) dedicated to sustainability in the food system with its own ethical social media. The app crowd sources; farmers markets, co-ops, cafes, bulk-foods stores and restaurants that are reducing their impact on the planet according to the apps 18 sustainability categories. Fair Food Forager also has its own podcast focusing on health, wellness and connecting to nature. In 2018 Paul teamed up with Jamie Lepre to film and produce the award winning documentary, the Peloton Against Plastic, a light hearted documentary on making a difference, travel and good times.

Paul joins me to talk about his perspectives on the...

 Episode 39: Mike Donio - Scientist Questions The Science

Mike Donio holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a Minor in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s degree in Biotechnology with a concentration in Biotechnology Enterprise from Johns Hopkins.  He is an accomplished scientist with 20 years of experience, including 15 years in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry.  This experience spans the spectrum of drug discovery ranging from target identification through pre-clinical and IND-enabling studies.  His first job as a scientist was in the lab of a top infectious disease doctor doing HIV research.  Following that, he went into the pharma industry working several years at Schering-Plough which was subsequently acquired by Merck.  Next, he decided to mix things up and worked for a few years at Eurofins, a Contract Research Organization.  Finally, he spent the last 6 years at a...

Written by Daniel Roytas (MHSc Human Nutrition), BHSc (Naturopathy), Dip. RM

When I mention to people that I am doing a raw milk fast, their immediate reaction is, “That’s so dangerous, you could get sick from listeria and die”. Naturally, I wanted to dig deeper in to the scientific evidence supporting the theory that listeria is the cause of disease.

Listeria (L. monocytogenes) is said to be the bacteria responsible for causing food poisoning (listeriosis) from the consumption of contaminated raw dairy products. The symptoms of listeriosis range from no symptoms at all (asymptomatic), to a severe infection resulting in diarrhoea, fever and in extreme causes, septicaemia and even death. To prevent listeriosis, raw dairy products are required to be Pasteurised, which is the process of heating milk to a temperature of approximately 65°C for 30 minutes, or temperatures above 90°C for just a few seconds¹. It’s important to note that just because milk has...

30 Day Raw Milk Fast

Over the last 5 years, I have been healing myself from a chronic disease, that my doctors told me was "incurable". During this time I have tried many different dietary therapies to heal my body such as water fasting, ketogenic diets, carnivore diets, fruitarian diets, urine fasting (yes you read that right), OMAD (one meal a day), and various different types of supplementation. I have also tried many different physical therapies and mind based therapies as well. It has been a long, hard road, full of trial and error, finding out what does work and what doesn't work. In the early days, I felt completely hopeless and wasn't sure if I would ever recover. Fast forward to the present day and I am now 95% healed. 

One day about 12 months ago, I was sitting in the waiting room of a friends clinic and a copy of the book "Milk Diet As A Remedy For Chronic Disease" written by Charles Sanford Porter M.D in 1916. As I began reading this book, I remember being intrigued...