Swine Flu and Vitamin D3
In researching what can be done to naturally protect against swine flu, the role of Vitamin D3 in maintaining respiratory health has emerged. The BBC reported that in a study of 14,091 people by the Universtiy of Auckland, those with higher levels of Vitamin D in their blood had significantly better lung function.
Because of the concern about skin cancer and the use of sun screens, Vitamin D deficiency is becoming more and more prevelant. This deficiency has been linked to many conditions including heart attack, stroke, and cancer. The recommended daily allowance is 200 IU which cannot even begin to deal with deficiency. The skin produces approximately 10,000 IU vitamin D in response 20–30 minutes summer sun exposure—50 times more than the US government’s recommendation of 200 IU per day!
It is suggested that if you are interested in finding out whether or not you are deficient, ask your doctor for a test of your blood serum for 1,25-dihyroxy D3 levels to determine the proper level of supplementation required. Healthy blood serum levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L). If you are deficient, your doctor can recommend a therapeutic dosage. Due to Vitamin D3’s high safety profile in doses up to 10,000 IU per day and because of the wide role it plays in our health, consuming 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day of this nutrient at times of the year when sunlight is scarce is a prudent way to improve overall health.
You can also eat more foods rich in Vitamin D, including cold-water fish (particularly fatty fish such as wild salmon, halibut and cod), eggs and fortified foods like milk, which has 100 IU of Vitamin D per cup (however, milk has its own issues).
There is a plethora of information on the web about Vitamin D deficiency. The ones used for this post are:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?ProdID=2130
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/jan2009_Millions-of-Needless-Deaths_01.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4521060.stm
September 15, 2009 8:47 pm 1 Comment
Other Links to this Post
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Subscribe
By Jon, September 17, 2009 @ 8:41 am
This is great news! With the H1N1 widespread, and no vaccine available yet, the best protection is an ounce of prevention. Wash your hands too!