Flu Season Cometh

If you want to get a flu shot that's cool with me, but I would be remiss if I didn't give you the goods on Vitamin D studies that show that elevating your levels of this substance (it's really more of a steroid hormone than a vitamin) can be incredibly beneficial when it comes to avoiding the bug of the season. The bonus is that there are many other reasons to get those blood levels up besides not getting the flu. The other bonus is that there are almost zero reasons to not take it (the most common reasons to be aware of are hyperparathyroidism, and taking the medication hydrochlorothiazide).

Among the most well known researchers on the subject is a fella name J.J. Cannell MD. In a paper titled Use of Vitamin D in Clinical Practice he and another researcher, Bruce Hollis, PhD, break down the mighty vitamin's role in everything from cancer prevention to inflammatory bowl disease. Also listed among vitamin D's uses are a role in prevention of macular degeneration, osteoporosis, and even periodontal disease. The authors describe a year long study of incidence of colds/influenza after supplementing with 2,000 IU of vitamin D. There was a placebo group, and also a subgroup of participants that took 800 IU a day (which is twice the government's recommended dose, by the way). The results? The placebo group had the usual high incidence of influenza, especially in the winter. The 800 IU group was markedly lower, and nobody from the 2,000 IU group even caught a cold that winter. Or the spring. One in the summer, and none in the fall.

I can tell you from personal experience that I haven't had a cold or the flu in over four years--the same amount of time I've been supplementing. On my 40th birthday in July I didn't feel quite right, but I still had people over, still cooked dinner and still had a good time. And by the next morning I was feeling normal again. I suspect I had a touch of the flu, but it just never "took."

The authors of the paper also state that a potential therapeutic dose when someone feels the initial onset of the flu is 2,000 IU per pound of body weight for 7 consecutive days. I've taken 100,000 IU at a time when I feel the slightest hint of sickness (like on my birthday), and lived to tell about it, so there you go. Very little concern for taking too much.

So take vitamin D! Wintertime holidays bring us in close quarters with each other when our D levels are naturally lower from the lower level of sun exposure we get that time of year. Plus, it's likely that you will be eating more sugar which lowers immune resistance, too.

And if you're wondering where to get a high quality supplement, look us up at Green Chiropractic

www.greggreendc.com