The Sunshine Shot
It’s that time of year: when offices, grocery stores, and minute-clinics offer flu shots. Should you or shouldn’t you?
We’re not going to tell you what to do, you’ve got your own individual considerations. We will say that there’s a strong possibility that you’ve got the weapons for fighting winter colds and flus right now: vitamin D. Yeah, walk outside.
We’ve touted the benefits of Vitamin D plenty here on DailyHap (click here for just one example) but new research shows that Vitamin D can not only help you recover from a virus, but prevent you from getting the flu in the first place. From Dr. Mercola:
Dr. John Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D Council, was one of the first to introduce the idea that vitamin D deficiency may actually be an underlyingcause of influenza, which would help explain its apparent benefits as a flu-fighter.
His hypothesis was published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection in 2006,6 which was followed up with another study published in the Virology Journal in 2008.7 His hypothesis received further support and confirmation when, in the following year, the largest and most nationally representative study of its kind to date discovered that people with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly more recent colds or cases of the flu.8
In another study, published in 2010,9 researchers investigated the effect of vitamin D on the incidence of seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. Over the course of a year, influenza A occurred in just 10.8 percent of the children in the vitamin D group, compared with 18.6 percent of the children in the placebo group. According to the authors:
“This study suggests that vitamin D3 supplementation during the winter may reduce the incidence of influenza A, especially in specific subgroups of schoolchildren.”
Click here for the full article (with more research and notes).
According to the CDC, “During years when the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating viruses, it’s possible that no benefit from flu vaccination may be observed.”
So even if you opt for the flu shot, it might be a good idea to boost your immune system. Austin, Texas-based Dr. Ruthie Harper writes, “As an alternative to the flu vaccine, we are recommending 100,000 IU of vitamin D be taken for three days, under a doctor’s supervision and in conjunction with vitamin D levels being measured through your physician. Most people will need to follow this with 5,000 IU of vitamin D taken once daily thereafter (again under a doctor’s supervision).
In addition, it is essential that you take vitamin K2 along with vitamin D as Vitamin K is critical for maintaining calcium in your bones rather than depositing it in the walls of your blood vessels when taking Vitamin D.”
Hey, all that Vitamin D is good for your brain, your happiness, and your health—so why not?