It’s that time of year again! No, no, not the holidays, Christmas music and Santa. I am talking about flu season. The time of year where people are coughing, sniffling, and complaining about feeling sick. It seems to be that, once winter hits, scratchy throats and runny eyes go hand in hand with eggnog and Frasier fir. But why? And more importantly, can it be prevented?
As a chiropractor, I get many questions about natural alternatives to the flu shot or ways to keep the immune system functioning at optimal levels. One of my favorite things to tell people about is vitamin D. Not only does vitamin D help with bone support and back pain, but it has been shown to boost the immune system too!
Studies have shown that sickness and wintertime correlate because blood levels of vitamin D decrease during the winter due to less ultraviolet light from the sun. Vitamin D hormonally active form – 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 – is utilized by the immune system to induce differentiation of naïve T cells to regulatory T cells.
Vitamin D is a supplement that I take on a daily basis (along with other supplements we will talk about in a future post) and is something I believe everyone can benefit from. As the winter months roll around, prepare yourself beforehand by increasing your vitamin D levels. A safe amount is between 2000-4000 IU/day. Borella et al. (year) looked at 140 patients with Ig (immunoglobulin) deficiencies. Those who took 4000 IU/day of vitamin D3 had fewer infections for a 1-year period. Another randomized trail by Urashima, et. al. (year) found that influenza A occurred in 10.8% of children in a Vitamin D3 group compared to 18.6% of children who did not receive Vitamin D3.
Vitamin D is a low cost supplement that everyone can benefit from! To find out more about your vitamin D levels, visit www.StumpffChiro.com. Chiropractic care goes beyond just pain pain and injury. It goes to Wellness also. If you haven’t spoken with a Chiropractor regarding Wellness and nutrition. Call your Plantation chiropractor, doctor Eric Stumpff.
Borella, E., Nesher, G., Israeli, E., & Shoenfeld, Y. (2014). Vitamin D: a new anti-infective agent? Annals of the new york academy of sciences, 1317; 76-83.
Cantorna, M.T., Zhu, Y., Froicu, M., & Wittke, A. (2004). Vitamin D status, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and the immune system. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 80; 1717-1720.
Amson, Y., Amital, H., & Shoenfeld, Y. (2007). Vitamin D and autoimmunity: new aetiological and therapeutic considerations. Annals of Rheumatoid Disease. 66; 1137-1142.
Urashima, M., Segawa, T., Okazaki, M., Kurihara, M., Wada, Y., & Ida, H. (2010). Randomized trail of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1-6.
Schwalfenberg, G. (2009). Improvement of chronic back pain or failed back surgery with vitamin D repletion: A case series. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 22(1); 69-74.