Vitamin D Rather Than Flu Shot? Vitamin D Benefits Part 2 of 3

Continuing my 3-part series on the benefits of vitamin D.  In my post yesterday I created a foundation showing you how your body transforms the ultraviolet light of the sun into vitamin D.  I showed you how much you would need to eat in order to obtain those same amounts.  You saw that a mere 15-30min of sun exposure when it is at its highest point in the sky results in 15,000-20,000IU of vitamin D.  And that you simply cannot overdose on vitamin D from the sun.

In this next edition, I will be getting into some of the benefits of vitamin D, and the use of nutritional supplements when you can't get enough sun.  Let's start off with some of the benefits.  During his lecture, Dr. Wentz listed a series of chronic diseases that may be "warded off" by adequate amounts of vitamin D.  I'm not saying that it will CURE any of these, but rather that it will protect you from these diseases, and in some cases actually help, more than someone with a vitamin D deficiency.  The list will shock you:

• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Dementia
• Influenza (remember this one...I'll be touching on it later)
• Bacterial Infection
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Muscle Weakness
• Fibromyalgia
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Psoriasis
• Muscular Sclerosis
• Hypertension

Pretty big list.  Now before you write this off as "snake oil", let's look a little deeper.  Dr. Wentz stated that teens who are vitamin D deficient are 4x more likely to suffer from Type-2 Diabetes in their life.  In addition, teens who DO have adequate levels of vitamin D are 60% less likely to develop heart disease in their life.

There have been 2500+ studies looking at the effect of vitamin D and the PREVENTION of cancer.  These studies show that vitamin D outpaces the effects of a healthy diet.  It actually creates apatosis in pre-cancerous cells...essentially, they commit suicide before developing into cancer.  Studies have shown that the further you are from the equator, the greater your chances of dying from cancer.  Why?  Because of the available sunlight.

Even Muscular Sclerosis has been shown to be 500x more likely in a temperate zone vs. a tropic zone.  However, this is merely a preventative technique.  While there have been some successes in treating MS with vitamin D, more research is needed.

What about the flu?  Have you ever stopped to think WHY there is a "flu season"?  Flu season in Wisconsin generally starts towards the end of fall...around November.  And carries through the winter (which sadly lasts far too long here).  What else happens during this timeframe?  First, the amount of sunlight we get decreases every day.  Second, the sun is lower in the horizon.  And third, as it gets colder we tend to pile on more clothing...eventually resulting in blocking any sunlight from hitting our skin.  Therefore, in the winter we just don't absorb any sunlight and, therefore, our vitamin D levels decrease drastically.  You're losing out on those 15,000-20,000IU/day during the winter.  Even individuals in more southern climates are affected by this.

Therefore, more studies are showing that individuals in northern climates need to start supplementing with vitamin D in the winter months.  As we saw in the previous post, it is simply not possible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D solely through diet.  Put 2-and-2 together and you begin to see that your risk of contracting the flu may be directly related to the amount of vitamin D you have in your system.  Remember the list above?  It fights off bacterial infections and influenza.

What about getting a flu shot?  And, of course, there's H1N1..how does it effect that?  This can be viewed in two ways:  the effects of getting a flu shot and the effects of vitamin D.  This study in Japan (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7061778.ece) had the following results:

"The Japanese scientists, writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, say that the anti-viral drugs zanamivir and oseltamivir reduce risk of flu infection by 8 per cent in children who have been exposed to infection, compared with a 50 per cent or greater reduction with vitamin D.".

8% for drugs compared to 50+% for vitamin D.  The children were given 1200IU/day of the sunshine vitamin every day for 3-months.  That's a HUGE difference.  Now what about the effects of the flu shot?  Let's just say the results have not been very positive.  Australia has recently banned flu shots because they have been linked to vomiting, fevers, and seizures (Australia Bans Flu Shot).  In Finland and Sweden a " H1N1 vaccination program was halted following a 300 per cent increase in cases of the neurological disorder narcolepsy amongst children and young people who had received the shot over the last six months.".

Instead, Dr. Wentz indicated that "physicians recommend increasing vitamin D to 5000IU/day during flu season rather than taking the flu shot".  And if you are worried about overdosing on the supplement, you would need to take 10,000IU/day for 6-months in supplement form before maybe seeing any side effects.

So there you have it.  Several of the benefits vitamin D provides.  Especially when it comes to flu season.  Share this article with your friends and family, as the word needs to spread.  And if you like this blog, please take some time to "vote for me" on the right panel.  In the final post of the series I will tie up some loose ends and give the remaining content from Dr. Wentz's lecture.

To Your Health

Scott Huff

Scott Huff is a professional in the nutritional supplements area.  For more information on the specific products he markets, please visit www.huffster.usana.com.  And if you are interested in seeing how easy it is to create a residual income simply by helping yourself and other become healthier, take a free video web tour at www.incomesafetynet.info where you can learn about this unique opportunity.