One Vitamin that May Stop Flu in Its Tracks

Posted By Dr. Mercola | October ! ""# | $! %$!" &ie's

Another influenza season is beginning, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will strongly urge Ameri ans to get a flu shot. !n fa t, the CDC mounts a well"or hestrated am#aign ea h season to generate interest and demand for flu shots. $ut a re ent study #ublished in the % tober issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine found that va inating young hildren against the flu a##eared to have no impact on flu"related hos#italizations or do tor visits during two re ent flu seasons. At first glan e, the data did suggest that hildren between the ages of & months and ' years derived some #rote tion from va ination in these years. $ut after ad(usting for #otentially relevant variables, the resear hers on luded that )si(ni)icant in)luen*a &accine e))ecti&eness could not be demonstrated )or any season% a(e% or settin() e*amined. Additionally, a +rou# ,ealth study found that flu shots do not #rote t elderly #eo#le against develo#ing #neumonia "" the #rimary ause of death resulting as a om#li ation of the flu. %thers have -uestioned whether there is any mortality benefit with influenza va ination. .a ination overage among the elderly in reased from /' #er ent in /012 to &' #er ent now, but there has been no de rease in deaths from influenza or #neumonia. 3here is some eviden e that flu shots ause Alzheimer4s disease, most li5ely as a result of ombining mer ury with aluminum and formaldehyde. 6er ury in va ines has also been im#li ated as a ause of autism. 3hree other serious adverse rea tions to the flu va ine are (oint inflammation and arthritis, ana#hyla ti sho 5 (and other life"threatening allergi rea tions), and +uillain"$arr7 syndrome, a #aralyti autoimmune disease. %ne redible hy#othesis that e*#lains the seasonal nature of flu is that influenza is a vitamin D defi ien y disease. .itamin D levels in your blood fall to their lowest #oint during flu seasons. Unable to be #rote ted by the body4s own antibioti s (antimi robial #e#tides) that are released by vitamin D, a #erson with a low vitamin D blood level is more vulnerable to ontra ting olds, influenza, and other res#iratory infe tions. Studies show that hildren with ri 5ets, a vitamin D"defi ient s5eletal disorder, suffer from fre-uent res#iratory infe tions, and hildren e*#osed to sunlight are less li5ely to get a old. 3he in reased number of deaths that o ur in winter, largely from #neumonia and ardiovas ular diseases, are most li5ely due to vitamin D defi ien y.

At least five studies show an inverse asso iation betweenlower res#iratory tra t infe tions and 8'(%,)D levels. 3hat is, thehigher your vitamin D level, the lower your ris5 of ontra ting olds, flu, andother res#iratory tra t infe tions9 Unfortunately, now, for the first time, flu va ination is also being #ushed for virtually all hildren "" not (ust those under '.

3his is a huge hange. Previously, flu va ine was re ommended only for youngsters under ', who an be ome dangerously ill from influenza. 3his year, the government is re ommending that hildren from age & months to /1 years be va inated, e*#anding ino ulations to :2 million more s hool"age hildren. 3he government argues that while older hildren seldom get as si 5 as the younger ones, it;s a bigger #o#ulation that at hes flu at higher rates, so the hange should ut missed s hool, and #arents; missed wor5 when they at h the illness from their hildren. %f ourse, this #oli y ignores the fa t that a systemati review of '/ studies involving 8&2,222 hildren age & to 8: months found no eviden e that the flu va ine is any more effe tive than a #la ebo.

Age $elow ' Age ' " /2 Adults Pregnant <omen <A=>!>+9 3here is no way to 5now if the above re ommendations are orre t. 3he %>?@ way to 5now is to test your blood. @ou might need A"' times the amount re ommended above. !deally your blood level of 8' %, D should be &2ngBml. $a 5 in 822', 3he Cederal Advisory Committee on !mmunization Pra ti es (AC!P) re ommended that all hildren between & months and ' years old re eive flu shots ea h year. >ow they have e*#anded their guidelines to in lude hildren u# to /1 years, whi h means e&eryone e* e#t those between the ages of /0" A0, who are in good health, are urged to get a flu shot. !t should ome as no sur#rise to find out that a ma(ority of the AC!P members who ame u# with these guidelines have finan ial ties to the va ine industry, and stand to gain #ersonally for every additional #erson getting a yearly in(e tion. !t4s a tually the only e*#lanation that ma5es any sense for re ommendations as insane as these. Three +easons to +econsider Flu Shots

Vitamin D Dose +ecommendations Dosage :' units #er #ound #er day 8'22 units '222 units '222 units

3here are three ma(or reasons why this government #ush to va inate 1A #er ent of the U.S. #o#ulation with a yearly flu va ine is so in om#rehensible9 /. 3he ma(ority of flu shots ontain 8' mi rograms of mer uryD an amount onsidered unsafe for anyone weighing less than ''2 #oundsE And whi h grou#s are most sensitive to the neurologi al damage that has been asso iated with mer uryF !nfants, hildren, and the elderly. 8. >o studies have on lusively #roven that flu shots #revent flu"related deaths among the elderly, yet this is one of the 5ey grou#s to whi h they4re #ushed. :. !f you get a flu shot, you an still get the flu (or flu"li5e sym#toms). 3his is be ause it only #rote ts against ertain strains, and it4s anyone4s guess whi h flu viruses will be in your area. So why would you ta5e a flu shot G H.H=@ @HA= "" that has >H.H= been #roven to be effe tive, that an give you the very illness you4re trying to #revent, and has #otential long"term side effe ts that are far worse than the flu itselfF 3he #owers that be have done an e* ellent (ob of instilling fear into the #o#ulation so they believe that they must get a shot to stay healthy, but the sim#le reality is it4s doing you more harm than good. And, even if the flu va ine ould effe tively #revent the flu, there have been several e*am#les in #ast years where government health offi ials have hosen the in orre t influenza strains for that year4s va ine. !n 822A, the >ational .a ine !nformation Center des ribed how CDC offi ials told everyone to line u# for a flu shot that didn;t even ontain the influenza strain ausing most of the flu that year. T'o,Thirds o) This -ear.s Flu Vaccines /ontain a Full,Dose o) Mercury A ording to Dr. Donald 6iller, 6D, two"thirds of this year4s flu va ines ontain 8' mi rograms of thimerosal. 3himerosal is A0 #er ent mer ury by weight. Ha h dose of these flu va ines ontains more than $" times the 0n&ironmental Protection 1(ency.s sa)ety limit )or mercury. $y now, most #eo#le are well aware that hildren and fetuses are most at ris5 of damage from this neuroto*in, as their brains are still develo#ing. @et the CDC still re ommends that hildren over & months, and #regnant women, re eive the flu va ine ea h year. !n addition to mer ury, flu va ines also ontain other to*i or hazardous ingredients li5e9

Cormaldehyde "" a 5nown an er" ausing agent Aluminum "" a neuroto*in that has been lin5ed to Alzheimer4s disease 3riton I"/22 "" a detergent Phenol ( arboli a id) Hthylene gly ol (antifreeze) .arious antibioti s9 neomy in, stre#tomy in, gentami in G whi h an ause allergi rea tions in some #eo#le

The 0&idence 1(ainst Flu Vaccines Cor those of you who are still un onvin ed, 5now that there4s #lenty of s ientifi eviden e available to ba 5 u# the re ommendation to avoid flu va ines G if nothing else, then for the sim#le reason that they don4t wor5, and don4t offer any real benefit to offset their inherent health ris5s. Cor e*am#le9

A brand new study #ublished in the % tober issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine found that va inating young hildren against the flu had no impact on flu"related hos#italizations or do tor visits during two re ent flu seasons. 3he resear hers on luded that )signifi ant influenza va ine effe tiveness ould not be demonstrated for any season, age, or setting) e*amined. A study #ublished in the Lancet (ust two months ago found that influenza va ination was >%3 asso iated with a redu ed ris5 of #neumonia in older #eo#le. 3his su##orts a study done five years ago, #ublished in The New England Journal of Medicine. =esear h #ublished in the American Journal of Respiratory and ritical are Medicine last month also onfirms that there has been no de rease in deaths from influenza and #neumonia, des#ite the fa t that va ination overage among the elderly has in reased from /' #er ent in /012 to &' #er ent now. ?ast year, resear hers with the >ational !nstitute of Allergy and !nfe tious Diseases, and the >ational !nstitutes of ,ealth #ublished this on lusion in the Lancet !nfectious "iseases9 J#e conclude that frailty selection $ias and use of non%specific endpoints such as all%cause mortality have led cohort studies to greatly e&aggerate vaccine $enefits.K A large"s ale, systemati review of '/ studies, #ublished in the ochrane "ata$ase of 'ystematic Reviews in 822&, found no eviden e that the flu va ine is any more effe tive than a #la ebo in hildren under 8. 3he studies involved 8&2,222 hildren, age & to 8: months.

Mi(ht In)luen*a be 2ittle More Than a Symptom o) Vitamin D De)iciency3 .itamin D, Jthe sunshine vitamin,K may very well be one of the most benefi ial vitamins there is for disease #revention. Unfortunately it4s also one of the vitamins that a vast ma(ority of #eo#le a ross the world are defi ient in due to la 5 of regular e*#osure to sunshine. Published in the (ournal Epidemiology and !nfection in 822&, the hy#othesis #resented by Dr. Lohn Cannell and olleagues in the #a#er Epidemic !nfluen(a and )itamin " a tually ma5es a lot of sense. 3hey raise the #ossibility that in)luen*a is a symptom o) &itamin D de)iciencyE 3he vitamin D formed when your s5in is e*#osed to sunlight regulates the e*#ression of more than 8,222 genes throughout your body, in luding ones that influen e your immune system to atta 5 and destroy ba teria and viruses. ,en e, being overwhelmed by the Jflu bugK ould signal that your vitamin D levels are too low, allowing the flu virus to overta5e your immune system. At least five studies show an inverse asso iation between lower res#iratory tra t infe tions and 8'(%,)D levels. 3hat is, the higher your vitamin D level, the lower your ris5 of ontra ting olds, flu, and other res#iratory tra t infe tions9

/. A 822M study suggests higher vitamin D status enhan es your immunity to mi robial infe tions. 3hey found that sub(e ts with vitamin D defi ien y had signifi antly more days of absen e from wor5 due to res#iratory infe tion than did ontrol sub(e ts. 8. A 8220 study on vitamin D defi ien y in newborns with a ute lower res#iratory infe tion (A?=!) onfirmed a strong, #ositive orrelation between newborns4 and mother4s vitamin D levels. %ver 1M #er ent of all newborns and over &M #er ent of all mothers had vitamin D levels lower than 82 ngBml, whi h is a severe defi ien y state. >ewborns with vitamin D defi ien y a##ear to have an in reased ris5 of develo#ing A?=!, and sin e the hild4s vitamin D level strongly orrelates withits mother4s, the resear hers re ommend that all mothers4 o#timize their vitamin D levels during #regnan y, es#e ially in the winter months, to safeguard their baby4s health. :. A similar !ndian study #ublished in 822A also re#orted that vitamin D defi ien y in infants signifi antly raised their odds ratio for having severe A?=!. A. A 8220 analysis of the 3hird >ational ,ealth and>utrition H*amination Survey e*amined the asso iation between vitamin D levelsand re ent u##er res#iratory tra t infe tion (U=3!) in nearly /0,222 sub(e tsover the age of /8. =e ent U=3! was re#orted by9 /M #er ent of #arti i#ants with vitamin D levels of :2ngBml or higher 82 #er ent of #arti i#ants with vitamin D levels between /2":2 ngBml. 8A #er ent of #arti i#ants with vitamin D levels below /2ngBml 3he #ositive orrelation between lower vitamin D levels and in reased ris5 of U=3! was even stronger inindividuals with asthma and hroni obstru tive #ulmonary disease. '. Another 8220 re#ort in the (ournal Pediatri =esear hstated that infants and hildren a##ear more sus e#tible to viral rather thanba terial infe tions when defi ient in vitamin D. And that, based on the available eviden e showing a strong onne tion between vitamin D, infe tions, and immune fun tion in hildren, vitamin D su##lementation may be a valuable thera#y in #ediatri medi ine.

4o' to Prepare For Flu Season 5ithout 6ettin( a Flu Shot ! often find that some of the sim#lest e*#lanations are the truest, and this sounds about as sim#le as it gets. And, getting a##ro#riate amounts of sunshine (or ta5ing a vitamin D su##lement when you an4t get healthy amounts of sun e*#osure) is one of my NH@ #reventive strategies against the old and flu, as it has su h a strengthening effe t on your immune system.

!nterestingly, last wee5 the Ameri an A ademy of Pediatri s doubled its re ommended dose of vitamin D. Unfortunately this is still a woefully inade-uate re ommendation as the dose should be 3H> times larger. =ather than going from 822 to A22 units #er day, it should have in reased to about 8,222 units #er day. Cor most of you reading this it is Jvitamin D winter,K whi h means there sim#ly isn4t enough sunshine to ma5e signifi ant amounts of vitamin D, so you will need to use a tanning bed or ta5e oral su##lements. Although su##lements are learly inferior to sunlight or safe tanning beds, ! am be oming more onvin ed of the value of vitamin D su##lements as they are less #otentially to*i than my initial im#ression, and they are ertainly more onvenient and less e*#ensive than a tanning bed. Cor those in the winter with no or very limited e*#osure to sunshine, A,222"',222 units #er day would seem a##ro#riate for most adults. !f you are very heavy you may need to double that dose, and for hildren the dose an be half that. 3he 5ey though is to ma5e sure you monitor your vitamin D levels by blood testing, to ma5e sure your levels are thera#euti and not to*i . ! advo ate getting your vitamin D levels tested regularly, but as ! re#orted re ently, you now need to beware of where you4re getting your test done. Cor an in"de#th e*#lanation of what you 6US3 5now before you get tested, #lease read my u#dated arti le 3est .alues and 3reatment for .itamin D Defi ien y. @ou an also use vitamin D thera#euti ally to 3=HA3 the flu. $ut #lease understand that if you are ta5ing the above doses of vitamin D the odds of you getting the flu are .H=@ remote. 3he dose of vitamin D you an use would be 8,222 units #er 5ilogram of body weight (one #ound is 2.A' 5g). 3he dose would be ta5en on e a day for three days. 3his ould be a very large dose if you were very heavy (8":22,222 units #er day) 3his is the dose that Dr. Lohn Cannell, founder of the .itamin D Coun il, has been using very su essfully for a number of years. ! have not re eived a flu shot nor had the flu in over 82 years. ,ere are the other Jse retsK ! use to 5ee# the flu (and other illnesses) at bay9

Hat right for your nutritional ty#e, in luding avoiding sugar Hliminate sugar from your diet Hat garli regularly Consume a high"-uality 5rill oil daily H*er ise +et ade-uate slee# Address emotional stress <ash your hands regularly (but not e* essively)

Another useful su##lement you ould try, should you ome down with a ase of the flu, is oli&e lea) e7tract, whi h you an find in most any health food store.

%live leaf e*tra t has been found to be a #otent broad"s#e trum antiviral agent, a tive against all viruses tested, in luding numerous strains of influenza and #ara"influenza viruses. Sour Sour Sour Sour e9 e9 e9 e9
?ew=o 5well. om % tober :, 8221 H6S =es#onder Se#tember 0, 8221 <eb6D % tober &, 8221 Ar hives of Pediatri and Adoles ent 6edi ine % tober 8221D /&8(/2)90A:"'/