Vitamin D vs. Flu Shots

Flu season is upon us again. To prevent the flu, we're told that the best remedy is to get a flu shot--a shot which is consistently ineffective, and, incredibly, still contains mercury in many cases. More and more evidence has accumulated that vitamin D is a cheap, safe, and effective natural medicine for the flu. 

A new study, which pooled data from 25 studies that included more than 10,000 participants, found that vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of respiratory infections (cold and flu) by 10 percent overall. The protective effect of the sunshine vitamin was even more dramatic in those who were deficient. For the deficient, which about 40% of Americans are, the risk of infection was reduced by half with vitamin D supplementation.

The media tries to diminish these findings, with one article stating that "not everyone is convinced that this study should lead us to the supplement aisle." We're then told that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has determined that adults need only 600 IU of vitamin D--an amount that most Americans do not get from sun exposure or their diet alone. The IOM also said that a vitamin D blood level of 20 ng/mL was adequate.

This is nonsense. The Vitamin D Council, for example, recommends 5,000 IU of vitamin D per day to achieve at least 40 ng/mL; other integrative doctors say that 50-70 ng/mL is optimal. Other calculations have shown that IOM recommendations are only about one-tenth of what is needed to cut the incidence of diseases related to vitamin D deficiency.

What this means is that most Americans are not getting the vitamin D they need, in part because health authorities at the IOM and elsewhere in the government are mistaken when telling Americans how much to take. That we do not get enough vitamin D in our diet or through sun exposure to meet a paltry 600 IU means that the number of Americans who are deficient must be staggering. It is a crime that health authorities are not telling people to take vitamin D supplements.

The good news is that this study shows that those who are deficient in vitamin D--likely most Americans, given how wrong the IOM is about how much vitamin D we really need--can reduce their risk of cold or flu by 50 percent. That is more effective than the flu vaccine usually is, and without the list of possible side effects such as: fever, headache, sore throat, fatigue, muscle pains, fainting, nausea, and more. Some flu vaccines contain mercury, a potent neurotoxin, that has been shown to cause neurological damage similar to that seen in autistic patients.

Write to the FDA, CDC, and Congress, urging them to tell the public about the benefits of vitamin D.