Posts Tagged ‘flu’
Cold & Flu Season – Solutions for the Masses
One of the most important things we can do for our health is to receive adequate sunlight and keep our vitamin D levels high.
Seriously, this one of the major interventions I make with clients across the board. The results are sometimes staggering. I love the Vitamin D Council for their clearing house of great information, analysis of current studies and championing the cause of D supplementation. I will not bore you here with all the details but please check them out for all your further questions. www.VitaminDCouncil.org
A Dietary Supplement Providing 2000 IU of Cholecalciferol per Drop
and Backyard Remedies Flu & Virus Formula
Rx Vitamins sells exclusively to health professionals and is one of the few products I sell that I do not make myself. Their LIQUI-D3 provides cholecalciferol, a highly bioavailable form of Vitamin D, in a nutritious, olive oil base. They recommend that physiologic requirements for vitamin D may be as high as 4000 IU per day. I personally take around 4000-10,000IU in the winter months.
Low levels of Vitamin D have been associated with rickets and osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, at least 16 types of cancer, depression, autoimmune disease, eczema, etc. The Vitamin D council recommends that we keep our levels at 50-80 ng/dl year round.
You can have your blood tested for 25-hydroxy-vitamin D AKA 25(OH)D by your doctor or order the test yourself here: http://www.zrtlab.com/vitamindcouncil/ . Personally, I have never tested myself preferring to take the research at its word and monitor my sun exposure. I supplement D in the late fall, winter and early spring and find that it suits me just fine!
Vitamin D Council Recommended Amounts
Based on the body’s indicated daily vitamin D usage, Vitamin D Council recommends the following amounts of supplemental vitamin D3 per day in the absence of proper sun exposure. Due to the variable response discussed above, these are only estimated amounts.
-
Healthy children under the age of 1 years – 1,000 IU.
-
Healthy children over the age of 1 years – 1,000 IU per every 25 lbs of body weight.
-
Healthy adults and adolescents – at least 5,000 IU.
-
Pregnant and lactating mothers – at least 6,000 IU.
Additionally, children and adults with chronic health conditions such as autism, MS, cancer, heart disease, or obesity may need as much as double these amounts per the Vitamin D Council’s recommendations.
Fifteen minutes of sun exposure to 40-percent of the body is suggested daily for fair-skinned individuals, and more time for dark-skinned people. People with dark skin pigmentation simply don’t make as much vitamin D as Caucasians.
These folks are not making any vitamin D (photo from www.momentaryawe.com/blog)
Vitamin D Winter and latitude
Average levels in middle-aged folks in North America in March are about 16 ng/mL, a level at which some children will manifest rickets and at which flu symptoms & pneumonia are more severe.
When the sun at noon is lower than 45 degrees, all the UVB is absorbed and this is known as the “vitamin D winter.” So check your latitude and the sun’s angle where you live to determine if you need to supplement D in the late fall, winter and early spring months. If you’re not living on the equator chances are you can benefit from supplementation.
Estimated Vitamin D Winter months according to latitude:
-
Latitudes from zero degrees to around 35 degrees north or south allow year-round vitamin D production, though the amount produced will decrease as latitude increases. 35
-
Latitudes above 40 degrees north will experience Vitamin D Winter from around November through early March.
-
Latitudes below 40 degrees south, around June through August.
-
Latitudes above 50 degrees north, October through early April. 3
-
Latitudes below 50 degrees south, mid-April through July. 4
Ok, to simplify just remember this, “If your shadow is longer than you are tall, you are not making much vitamin D.”
$20 per 1 oz bottle, which lasts me a whole season.
Flu & Virus Formula
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Ok, but I use echinacea already, why do I need this?
A teacher once told me that using echinacea alone is like pouring chlorine into your pool, but not turning on the pump; the herb by itself has no innate power to expel. This formula is designed to warm up our bodies, stimulate the immune system and help us move and excrete the nasties. Many of the herbs help our pores to open and detoxify waste and aid the lymphatic system in the movement and refining of toxins and invading agents.
This formula is very aromatic meaning that disinfecting essential oils extracted in the tincture will be excreted through our lungs, skin and ureters.
I like to use the Flu & Virus formula preventatively taking small doses throughout the day or week. If I know I have been around sick folks, I may increase the frequency of the dose, but I stick to about 10-15 drops.
If did come down with the flu this aids in allowing the fever to run its natural course without hurting the body. It is very important that we not suppress fever with NSAIDs as suppressed fevers can cause a variety of health issues and recurring illness. Boneset, one of the herbs featured in the formula, is specific for the bodily aches and pains that flus are want to cause. I like to take the formula in warm water or tea if I am actively and acutely ill.
$10 per 1 oz. bottle
Buy both of these winter warriors together for the special price of $27 until January 15th
Elder Season
We are now in full fledged flu season, and H1N1 season to boot. Elder offers us some of the easiest, tastiest and downright most powerful protection for the seasonal flu. Both the flowers and the berries have magic to bring to your medicine cabinet. The flowers are more diaphoretic: they induce sweating and excretion.
The berries modulate the immune system helping it to more appropriately respond to your environment and circumstance. Elder fights cold and flu viruses aiding them flush through body quickly all the while strengthening the mucus membranes. Elder acts as an adaptogen improving energy and stress handling. It does all this and it tastes great. Not much more you could ask for in a medicine, hu?! (more…)