Dynamite In Vitamin D - Beats The Flu

Whatever dynamic messages vitamin D carries, the whole body seems to listen. Now that flu season is near it can be especially important. Every year, the flu emerges like clockwork in the cold months of November and December, then fades back into the woodwork in March. Does this mean that the virus is activated by cold weather? No. Do people spend more time in close physical contact during these months with increased person-to-person contact and contagion? Not really and you can avoid it without the "shots". We are not saying not to get flu shots because they may help but you need to do more and Vitamin D is an important part of the answer. Plus this dynamic vitamin "D" can do much more for your health.

What Causes Flu? There has to be a reasonable explanation for the seasonal appearance of influenza. Infectious diseases are caused by one of two things: either an excessively virulent bug, or a weakness in the host. A major cause of the problem is Vitamin D Deficiency. Vitamin D is produced when ultraviolet-B radiation strikes the skin. This vitamin is used in the intestines to facilitate the absorption of calcium, in the muscles to improve strength and agility, and in other tissues to dampen inflammation. It also plays an important role in immunity.

Much of that excitement about vitamin D is centered around cancer research. Just like nearly all healthy cells, cancer cells have vitamin D receptors too and when D binds, it tells those cells to stop growing, a potentially life-saving command. In fact, a 2005 article in the Southern Medical Journal called vitamin D "one of the most potent inhibitors of both normal and cancer cell growth." This potential cancer-fighting power may help explain why cancers of the breast, colon or prostate tend to be more common, or more aggressive, in dark-skinned people.

In some cases, taking vitamin D supplements to compensate for a shortage of sunlight may stop such diseases before they start. In a 2006 study published in Science, a UCLA research team found that vitamin D-related peptides can actually kill the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis. This effect was so profound that these researchers concluded, “…differences in ability of human populations to produce vitamin D may contribute to susceptibility to microbial infection.” That primary difference is sun exposure, for without it, vitamin D synthesis is stopped in its tracks. During the shorter, darker days of winter, vitamin D production plummets and the immune system falters, opening the seasonal door for flu. The solution is Vitamin D supplementation.

Generous amounts of D also seem to strengthen bones and prevent fractures. A 2005 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that an extra 700 to 800 IU of vitamin D, taken with or without calcium, reduced the risk of hip fractures in post-menopausal women by 26%. A recent Mayo Clinic survey found that 93% of adults and children with unexplained pain were vitamin D deficient.

Vitamin D supplements can releive pain as reported by many people with pain. They get relief when they take vitamin D. When the researchers added a little vitamin D to the mix, disease-fighting cells that had previously sat dormant suddenly roared to life and started attacking the infection.

You can boost your vitamin D levels by taking supplements of this crucial vitamin. How much should you take? It depends on where you live. How much sun exposure you get? If you live above 40 degrees latitude, which is the parallel running through Philadelphia, Denver, and Reno—there isn’t enough UVB radiation during the winter to stimulate vitamin D production so you need more. If, on the other hand you live in the South, you need to get outside, without sunscreen, for at least 10 minutes a day. Your age counts since production in older people is less efficient. Your skin color is also important since those wtih darker skin needs considerably longer sun exposure to produce vitamin D. As far as Vitamin D supplements we suggest that you take at least 1000 mg daily and 2000 would be fine.