What is the Real Cause of Influenza Epidemics?
Influenza does not follow the predicted patterns for infectious
diseases. In fact, there are several conundrums associated with
influenza epidemics, such as:
1. Why is influenza both seasonal and ubiquitous -- and where is the
virus between epidemics?
2. Why are influenza epidemics so explosive?
3. Why do epidemics end so abruptly?
4. What explains the frequent coincidental timing of epidemics in
countries of similar latitudes?
5. Why did epidemics in previous ages spread so rapidly, despite the
lack of modern trans****t?
A theory gaining weight in the scientific community explains influenza
epidemics as a result of a dormant disease, which become active in
response to vitamin D deficiency. This theory provides answers for
many of the above questions. A disease that remains dormant until
vitamin D-producing sunlight exposure is reduced by a winter or rainy
season would explain a widespread seasonal disease with a rapid onset
and decline.
There is compelling epidemiological evidence that indicates vitamin D
deficiency is just such a "seasonal stimulus." Recent evidence
confirms that lower respiratory tract infections are more frequent,
sometimes dramatically so, in those with low levels of vitamin D.
Researchers have also found that 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day
abolished the seasonality of influenza, and dramatically reduced its
self-re****ted incidence.
Sources:
Virology Journal 2008, 5: 29
CBCNews.ca October 22, 2008
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Dr. Mercola's Comments:
With flu season in full swing here in the United States, you need to
be aware that your vitamin D levels play a direct role in your risk of
getting the flu.
The vitamin D levels in your blood fall to their lowest point during
flu season, which generally coincide with low-sunlight seasons. Less
than optimal vitamin D levels will significantly impair your immune
response and make you far more susceptible to contracting colds,
influenza, and other respiratory infections.
Dr. John Cannell and colleagues introduced the hypothesis that
influenza is merely a symptom of vitamin D deficiency in their paper
Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D, published in the journal
Epidemiology and Infection two years ago, which adds even more weight
to this latest research in the Virology Journal.
Unfortunately, conventional medicine=92s answer to preventing the flu is
not to increase vitamin D levels, but rather to encourage, or even
mandate, flu shots. What they don=92t tell you is that flu shots, at
best don=92t work, and at worst, can make your health worse.
New Studies Show Flu Shots Don=92t Even Work
A recent study published in the October issue of the Archives of
Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine found that vaccinating young children
against the flu had no impact on flu-related hospitalizations or
doctor visits during two recent flu seasons.
Additionally, no studies have conclusively proven that flu shots
prevent flu-related deaths among the elderly, even though this is one
of the key groups to which they=92re pushed.
Yet despite these findings, physicians like Dr. Danuta Skowronski,
epidemiologist at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, keep insisting
that the benefits of the flu vaccine outweigh the risks for most
people.
I wholeheartedly disagree.
If you actually weigh the benefits found by these studies (no apparent
benefits) against the re****ted risks (fever, malaise, the flu,
allergic reactions and Guillain-Barr=E9 syndrome, just to name a few),
you=92d have to employ some fairly odd math to come to that conclusion.
In the CBC News article above, a man who contracted Guillain-Barr=E9
syndrome and was paralyzed for almost five months after receiving his
flu shot wants to warn others of the risks inherent in this widely
pushed vaccine.
Guillain-Barr=E9 syndrome is an autoimmune disease that attacks your
nervous system =96 similar to muscular sclerosis. The B.C. Centre for
Disease Control estimate your chances of developing that particular
disease from the flu shot as one in a million. However, if you get it,
the consequences can be severe.
Research Shows Optimal Vitamin D Levels Protect You From the Flu,
Naturally
In the United States, the late winter average vitamin D is only about
15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. It=92s
estimated that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be
deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public. No wonder the
flu runs rampant each year.
Remarkably, researchers have found that 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day
abolished the seasonality of influenza!
Please note that this is far higher than the recommended daily
allowance (RDA) spouted by public health agencies like the American
Academy of Pediatrics, which just announced that they=92re doubling the
RDA of vitamin D for children to 400 IU. This new guidance still falls
absurdly short of what=92s needed to keep kids healthy, especially
during flu season.
In order to prevent the flu, children need 2,000 IU a day of vitamin
D, while adults need anywhere between 4,000 to 5,000 IU per day. The
key is to make sure you monitor your vitamin D levels by blood
testing, to make sure your levels are therapeutic and not toxic.
For more information about safe sun exposure and tanning, vitamin D
testing, and the recommended forms of supplementation when sufficient
sunlight is not available, please see my article Test Values and
Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency, which includes recent, and vital,
updates.
Vitamin D Can Also TREAT the Flu!
If you are taking the above doses of vitamin D the odds of you getting
the flu are very remote. However, if you do come down with the flu,
keep in mind that you can also use vitamin D therapeutically to TREAT
the flu.
The therapeutic dose of vitamin D is 2,000 units per kilogram of body
weight (one pound is 0.45 kg). The dose would be taken once a day for
three days. (This could be a very large dose if you are very heavy =96
as high as 2-300,000 units per day).
This is the dose that Dr. John Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D
Council, has been using very successfully for a number of years.
If you start this program early on in the illness, it should be able
to completely wipe out the flu in short order.
Another useful supplement you could try, should you come down with a
case of the flu, is olive leaf extract, which you can find in most any
health food store. Olive leaf extract has been found to be a potent
broad-spectrum antiviral agent, active against all viruses tested,
including numerous strains of influenza and para-influenza viruses.
Related Articles:
Avoid Flu Shots With the One Vitamin that Will Stop Flu in Its
Tracks
Flu Shot Facts -- Battling Influenza
Mandatory Flu Shots for Preschoolers Cause Outrage
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