Vitamin D and the Flu

The flu is definitely in season, and many have been home suffering between November and the end of this year. Countless friends and family members have all had to cancel for parties and get-togethers due to their illness as well as with their children. So, in order to prevent such a disaster what do we do? While some have stronger immune systems than others there are steps we can take to minimize the spread of the flu pandemic, or at least reduce our chances of getting it.

What the Flu Is?

The flu is a powerful viral disease that induces fatigue, coughing, sneezing, aching all over, fever, and just leaves you feeling blah. The flu has evolved into something more that now we know as the H1N1 virus, which has been identified as a tougher strain of flu. The flu either way is very hard to kick, and as with anything in life, there are ways to prepare to be in better health and some simple steps that we can all follow in order to reduce our chances of being prey to this flu pandemic.

Washing your hands seems like such a small thing, but when coming into contact with all types of bacteria it can really pose a huge risk. Just think about it; you shake hands with people, you exchange money when you shop or someone may cough and not wash their hands, and while shopping you go to use your credit card and they touch it. They hand it back to you with thousands of microscopic germs that you can't see, so you don't think of it as a risk. In fact, what you don't see you don't ever really think about, and in the course of a day you can encounter thousands if not millions of bacteria in all kinds of settings.

The Influence of Vitamin D

While the flu vaccine is highly recommended by many physicians, and is made mandatory by those working in the health profession, there are many doctors that dispute how effective the vaccine is. The debate arises over the fact that we all are born with an immune system, and the only way it can truly develop is by allowing it to work all this out on its own. Certainly this is up for each person to decide for themselves what they believe is best, but if there is a natural supplement that can help us prevent the illness then why get the shot?

Whether or not we choose to get the flu vaccine, vitamin D has been proven to be extremely effective in proving seasonal colds and flu. In fact, a study done with patients in a ward with a doctor who was part of a UCLA study was able to share that this patients weren't affected by the flu when other wards were hit with it. What was the difference with this doctor's patients? This doctor had all of his patients taking 2,000 individual units of vitamin D every day.

Vitamin D is the only known vitamin that has a precursor to calcitriol, a hormone steroid. Other vitamins are antioxidants, but vitamin D is able to activate protein as is necessary. The other thing to be cautious of is that vitamin D is not in sufficient quantities in the American diet. What most people eat is void of vitamins and minerals, leaving everyone deficient in what they need most. The other main difference between vitamin D and its counterparts is that you might need to pull it from various sources since it isn't in the diet. You can really only get about 1,000 units from being in the sun just walking back and forth, whereas with 20 minutes in the sun you can get about 20,000 individual units in your system, that will be released within about 48 hours.

Whatever you decide, it's worth looking into to get yourself better. Life is all about being prepared, and you owe it to yourself to know how to feel better. Talk to your doctor about your health, and what you can do to be in better health.

J.J. Cannell M.D.

Atascadero State Hospital

http://vitamindcouncil.com