Decrease your Risk for the Flu
>> Friday, October 18, 2013
In recent months you can find a lot of news reports regarding a winter flu outbreak nationwide. The Center for Disease Control says that influenza has now officially reached epidemic levels. Obviously, being a parent, one of the first things that pops into my head is how do I prevent my kids from coming down with the flu? One of the most effective natural preventions for the flu is Vitamin D. An interesting clinical study from 2010 indicated that kids using a 1200 IU daily supplement of Vitamin D had essentially a fifty percent decrease in their risk for contracting the flu.
What exactly is Vitamin D, and why don't we read about it all that much? Vitamin D is a steroid vitamin that has an impact on many genes within the body. It has been demonstrated that Vitamin D has a significant effect on over two hundred genes within your body, and it has more than two thousand binding sites contained in the human genome. Most of these genes have been associated with various health conditions, showing that Vitamin D may play a role on the manifestation and prevalence of these kinds of diseases. In the past, the main role Vitamin D was believed to have was protecting against the bone disease referred to as Ricketts, mainly because it assists in the absorption and metabolism of calcium. Due to this limited view, the daily recommendation for Vitamin D was established to be 400 IU per day. Keep in mind that this is the lowest quantity necessary to protect against Ricketts. The truth is, the body may need much more than that to gain the full benefit.
How can we get Vitamin D? It's fairly difficult to get appropriate quantities of Vitamin D from food, because quite frankly it doesn't generally exist naturally in foods. The very best method to get Vitamin D is through sunlight. Our skin carries precursors which are triggered after being subjected to natural light. In fact, entire body exposure to the sun for only thirty minutes can make around 20,000 IU of Vitamin D. But what percentage of us go outside in the sunshine? Especially in the winter months it can be difficult to obtain ample quantities of Vitamin D. It is estimated that nearly 85% of North Americans may be deficient in this crucial vitamin.
If vitamin D plays a part in our immunity, and we get less of it over the winter season, maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that the flu and colds are likely to appear more often in winter. But it doesn't just stop with those seasonal illnesses. Research has steadily been building up that Vitamin D could be beneficial in many illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, cancer, eczema, psoriasis, and much more.
It is starting to be more and more evident that by optimizing your vitamin D quantities, you will be a substantially healthier human being. The question then becomes, just what is an optimal level of Vitamin D. There is quite a bit of disagreement on that topic, but in my personal opinion, a great range is 50-70 ng/ml. This range was developed from individuals in tropical and subtropical places who regularly get sufficient sun exposure. But for those of us who whether due to weather, work, or money, can't get enough sun exposure, taking a Vitamin D supplement might be our best alternative. However, before starting oral supplementation of Vitamin D, it's very important to get your blood quantities tested. Every person's body is unique, and may require different amounts of Vitamin D so that you can maintain an ideal level. To make it even easier, home tests are now available for vitamin D that you can purchase on the internet.
If you are worried about coming down with something this winter, think about getting your Vitamin D levels tested. If you are like the majority of people in America, you will probably find yourself being deficient. Supplementation of Vitamin D could go a long way towards keeping you and your family healthy.
What exactly is Vitamin D, and why don't we read about it all that much? Vitamin D is a steroid vitamin that has an impact on many genes within the body. It has been demonstrated that Vitamin D has a significant effect on over two hundred genes within your body, and it has more than two thousand binding sites contained in the human genome. Most of these genes have been associated with various health conditions, showing that Vitamin D may play a role on the manifestation and prevalence of these kinds of diseases. In the past, the main role Vitamin D was believed to have was protecting against the bone disease referred to as Ricketts, mainly because it assists in the absorption and metabolism of calcium. Due to this limited view, the daily recommendation for Vitamin D was established to be 400 IU per day. Keep in mind that this is the lowest quantity necessary to protect against Ricketts. The truth is, the body may need much more than that to gain the full benefit.
How can we get Vitamin D? It's fairly difficult to get appropriate quantities of Vitamin D from food, because quite frankly it doesn't generally exist naturally in foods. The very best method to get Vitamin D is through sunlight. Our skin carries precursors which are triggered after being subjected to natural light. In fact, entire body exposure to the sun for only thirty minutes can make around 20,000 IU of Vitamin D. But what percentage of us go outside in the sunshine? Especially in the winter months it can be difficult to obtain ample quantities of Vitamin D. It is estimated that nearly 85% of North Americans may be deficient in this crucial vitamin.
If vitamin D plays a part in our immunity, and we get less of it over the winter season, maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that the flu and colds are likely to appear more often in winter. But it doesn't just stop with those seasonal illnesses. Research has steadily been building up that Vitamin D could be beneficial in many illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, cancer, eczema, psoriasis, and much more.
It is starting to be more and more evident that by optimizing your vitamin D quantities, you will be a substantially healthier human being. The question then becomes, just what is an optimal level of Vitamin D. There is quite a bit of disagreement on that topic, but in my personal opinion, a great range is 50-70 ng/ml. This range was developed from individuals in tropical and subtropical places who regularly get sufficient sun exposure. But for those of us who whether due to weather, work, or money, can't get enough sun exposure, taking a Vitamin D supplement might be our best alternative. However, before starting oral supplementation of Vitamin D, it's very important to get your blood quantities tested. Every person's body is unique, and may require different amounts of Vitamin D so that you can maintain an ideal level. To make it even easier, home tests are now available for vitamin D that you can purchase on the internet.
If you are worried about coming down with something this winter, think about getting your Vitamin D levels tested. If you are like the majority of people in America, you will probably find yourself being deficient. Supplementation of Vitamin D could go a long way towards keeping you and your family healthy.
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