For decades we have heard the myth that flu strikes in winter because of the colder weather. But numerous studies have all debunked that theory. Studies have shown that flu hits the tropics in their winter when its still quite warm (usually during the rainy season).
No, there is another reason flu hits in winter. And it gives you an easy way to stop the flu before it hits. And it does not involve getting a flu shot.
The flu shot, as Ive discussed repeatedly in these pages, is worthless at best, but far more likely to be very dangerous.
Dr. Tom Jefferson is coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome. He has conducted an extensive review of previous studies on inactivated flu vaccines on hospital admissions, death rates, and time off work. He bluntly said, We have got an exaggerated expectation of what vaccines can actually do…. I am hoping American and European taxpayers will be alerted and start asking questions. I looked at the evidence described by systematic reviews and confronted it with policy and I found that there is a massive gap.
He continued, Almost none of the benefits that these policy documents list are actually given by inactivated vaccines or, if they are, they are given in slighter measure.
These comments appeared in the prestigious British Medical Journal (10-28-06). But I have not seen anything in the mass media about this unbiased report. In fact, in my local paper, I still see ads and news articles urging people to get flu shots.
However, Dr. Jeffersons words are not powerful enough. I consider flu shots to be one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the American public. You already know that its highly unlikely the drug companies will get the right strain (the vaccine must be prepared long before its known what strain will be going around).
But most people (other than astute Second Opinion readers) do not know that the shots are laced with preservatives, toxic metals, and immune-deranging proteins from the eggs they are incubated in. Eminent scientist Hugh Fudenburg published data linking flu shots with a much greater risk of Alzheimers (likely due to aluminum as a preservative). You can read about this in past issues of Second Opinion (subscribers can read all back issues on my website free of charge).
Enough about the flu shot. Lets get back to why the flu hits in winter and what you can do to prevent it.
We already know that our bodies produce a lot less vitamin D during the winter. But is it possible the reduced vitamin D levels in winter contribute to the flu?
The evidence is there. Years ago, an observant British general practitioner, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson, connected influenza epidemics in the northern hemisphere with winter solstice. So, flu hits right when vitamin D levels begin to plummet. His work was largely ignored, until now.
Just this year, a report was released in two medical journals. It was written by Dr. John Cannell, a California psychiatrist at the Atascadero State Hospital in California. This hospital is a maximum security facility for the criminally insane 200 miles south of San Francisco. In his report, Dr. Cannell noted that wards all around his got hit hard with a severe flu-like outbreak in April 2005. All of his 32 patients were unaffected, though they mingled with infected inmates from other wards before those inmates were quarantined.
Dr. Cannell wondered why his ward was spared when all the others were hit. He soon realized it was the high doses of vitamin D he prescribed to all the men on his ward. He had found that his patients, like most other people in the industrial world, had a deficiency. His efforts to correct the deficiency boosted their immune system and completely protected them from the flu.
Why does it work? Science recently discovered that vitamin D stimulates your white blood cells to make a substance called cathelicidin. Researchers have not studied this chemical on the flu virus yet, but they have previously reported that it attacks a wide variety of pathogens. These include fungi, viruses, bacteria, and even tuberculosis.
So, it turns out that my suggestions for you to have your vitamin D levels checked this time of year were right on target. But now, armed with this new information, I do not even think its necessary to spend the money on a test. Vitamin D is cheap. And it stimulates your body to make what might be the ultimate antibiotic! One with no toxicity at all and only kills those organisms invading you (not your own cells).
Arm yourself with the incredible protection of vitamin D. Get sunlight when you can. Just be sure not to burn. If you are mostly indoors, I strongly suggest that you add vitamin D to your daily regimen. I recommend 5,000 IU per day. I see no downside to this dose, especially in the winter months!
When you buy vitamin D, make sure you buy vitamin D3, not vitamin D2. Even though vitamin D2 is vegetarian, which I like, its not as effective as the D3. Vitamin D3 as cholecalciferol comes from fish or lanolin. Lanolin is the substance that helps sheep and other animals get their vitamin D from the sun. It allows the animal to absorb the vitamin even though its skin is blocked by fur. The animal is not harmed in any way to get the vitamin D3, so its the form I prefer. However, both forms are very good. My favorite brand is made by BioTech. You can find it on Amazon.com or by calling 800-345-1199.
Ref: NewsTarget.com, October 27, 2006.