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vzerbeeOct 31, 2010
There are lots of benefits to taking a vitamin D supplement, including to build your immune system. With up to 80% of Americans being low or deficient, it makes a lot of sense to take a vitamin D3 tablet daily.
I made the decision to take vitamin D3 instead of getting a flu shot this year. I prefer a natural nutrition program to build my immune system and overall good health.
badqatOct 31, 2010
If you're going to quote statistical data "up to 80% of..." as well as scientific, evidence supported, and peer-reviewed data "take a vitamin D3 tablet daily" you could offer sources, no?
royalecraigJan 10, 2011
OK
Here are some lectures on Vit D3 benefits given by top researchers I put together on my site, please pass the link to others.
http://harveyalexander.weebly.com/vitamind3.html
addiktionOct 31, 2010
You know what else prevents sickness? Eating healthy, it works great. There is no guarantee but its super effective and not enough of us do it. I used to get sick a few times a year and after I got married, stopped eating out at crappy places, and began to eat healthy, I haven't been sick for 5+ years. Now I watch my co-workers get sick left and right around me with just about everything and wonder what it is in there life that is preventing them from staying healthy. Of course there is always a chance but your chances will diminish if you already are chalked full of nutrients to power your bodies natural fighting mechanisms.
In fact I almost died from pneumonia before I got married because of my poor eating, lack of exercise, lack of sleep (4 hours or so), and extreme work hours (12 to 16). My body couldn't fight the infection so it just overcame me as I was exhausted most of the time. I'd hope some of you want to live past the age of 22 (if you haven't already) so I'd recommend at least eating somewhat healthy to keep that immune system strong.
revynOct 31, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D#Measuring_vitamin_D_status
This test is not on a standard blood panel you'd get from your doctor. To check your Vitamin D3 level, specifically request a Vitamin D 25 Hydroxy test.
When your body metabolizes D3, it converts it to D 25 Hydroxy, which is ultimately what you need. Being low or deficient can cause all sorts of troubles.
I am your typical IT geek. I go to work in a building made of concrete and steel. I work in a cube, and there are no windows nearby. I then come home to my apartment and am not outside frequently enough--and I live in Wisconsin where the weather sucks more than half the year. I eat relatively well. But my level was 10 ng/ml, which is dangerously low.
Get it tested and fix yourself. I've been taking 10,000IU/day for five months now. I haven't gotten sick even when exposed to sick people. The prescription for low/deficient Vit D3 levels is a once-per-week 50,000IU pill. This is more of a shotgun approach.
You can safely bring your levels back up taking 10,000IU/day for months, perhaps years. How do you know if your levels are getting too high? Your stomach will hurt a little. Oh noes.
/endrant
linageeNov 1, 2010
I don't get paid by them, but I thought I would share the deal:
https://www.directlabs.com/MonthlySpecials/tabid/2492/language/en-US/Default.aspx
($39 vitamin D test. Extremely cheap. I've paid $150 in a clinic for this same test before. Also, they use labcorp PSCs, so it's quality too.)
Btw, better do this in the next few hours if you want it. I think they change their monthly specials in a few hours.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
badqatOct 31, 2010
FTA: As always, caution should be taken when interpreting these results...there is no biological proof that the children in the test group had higher blood levels of vitamin D than the placebo group.
No biological proof = bunk "study".
ecwilsonazOct 31, 2010
Certainly blood samples would have strengthened the results, but you can't argue with the statistical significance.
badqatOct 31, 2010
Sure you can. They offer no proof of anything. There is no evidence-based statistical significance. None.
ecwilsonazNov 1, 2010
Give one group vitamin d (n=170), give another group a placebo (n=170). The vitamin d group comes back with 40%+ less incidence of flu. That's pretty damn compelling. Not perfect science, but pretty compelling. If it were closer, I'd be nitting it up right there with you.
kooftNov 1, 2010
I thought this was a study proving that sugar pills weaken your immune system.
badqatNov 1, 2010
Indeed. That's as "valid" a result as the vitamin D folks are claiming.
DaftPunkJusticeOct 31, 2010
Funny how about two months ago I heard Vitamin D may cause cancer...
antdudeOct 31, 2010
Funny how I still got sick after getting a flu shot a 1-2 months earlier last year. :P
johnnysoftwareOct 31, 2010
Flu shots are pretty much targeted at a particular strain of the flu; the one expected to affect the most people or whatever. Last year's seemed to be far less necessary or effective than the hype mongers made it out to be. Marketing breakthrough, not a medical one.
You could get the same effects as were cited as signature symptoms of H1N1 flu virus last year and the year before, simply by taking defectively manufactured Tylenol and Roiaids. They were "voluntarily" (trainslationa: sorta) recalled by the manufacturer after CBS News pried stats from the government's hands that only a teeny tiny percentage of those "presumed" to have H1N1 based on their symptoms actually had H1N1. In fact, hardly anyone who allegedly had H1N1 had any form of flu at all.
This year, sales of generic store brand competitors to Tylenol are up. The name brand drugs used to be made in the US and had consistent quality. Now the ingredients or even the drugs themselves arrive imported from other countries with flaws and tainting you would never have expected to find on US retail shelves a decade ago.
The head of QC at a major US drug company just raked in $75 million for blowing the whistle on a bunch of problems with name brand drugs made overseas by one of the biggest drug makers in the world. Small consolation to consumers who took the products the government's action was over in the case.
But things like that explain how you can have a minor headache or upset stomach, take a pill for it, get worse - and the last thing in the world you expect is that the medicine you took is what made it go from annoying to really bad.
Anyhow, that is why taking a flu shot at the beginning of flue season and medicine after you get sick might not prevent infection with something that causes the symptoms you hoped to avoid. And taking medicine to reduce the symptoms might not do the job, and might actually make your symptoms worse.
Like the ancient Romans used to say: buyer beware.
antdudeOct 31, 2010
Ah. Interesting. Well, the flu shots were free from my workplace so... I get sick (allergies and cold/flu) easily because of my multiple disabilities (born with them), so I am an easy target :(
azrael84Oct 31, 2010
The flu vaccine is not meant to guarantee 100% immunity against all flu virus strains because that's impossible. It does, however, significantly reduce the chances of having one and, if you do, it is milder than it could have been. Also, did you really had a flu or just a common cold?
antdudeOct 31, 2010
I am not sure. I remember I had sneezings, running nose, coughs, tons of mucous (green color too), aches all over including headaches, ringing head, diaherras, etc. I had it for almost a week. I recalled it started before the new year's day. I did not vomit.
azrael84Oct 31, 2010
it probably was the flu then. The common cold usually doesn't give you generalized aches. The flu can cause really annoying muscle pain and make you stay in bed for about 3 days. If your case was milder then the vaccine probably helped :)
kiantechOct 31, 2010
steve gibson talked about this in one episode of security now
http://www.grc.com/health/Vitamin-D.htm
cnldeltaOct 31, 2010
Unsweetened yoghurt every night ought to keep away most flus.
The article's more or less an attempt to boost pharmaceutical sales.
What's next? There's less sun in winter, peeps get less vitamin D so that's why there's more flus and since a tanning bed's the next best thing to real sun, tanning in a tanning bed may prevent flus.
addiktionOct 31, 2010
Or you could just eat a few oranges a week and not worry about the skin cancer that comes with the tanning process.
funderboltOct 31, 2010
Do you think that there is really that much money to be made off of Vitamin D?
themachine1Oct 31, 2010
Pretty simple solution people. Less sun in fall and winter means you need to wear less clothes. I always garden naked in the winter.
badqatOct 31, 2010
What season isn't right for gardening naked?
ricksiteOct 31, 2010
In other news... the flu vaccine has been around for decades.
readmymindOct 31, 2010
With all the vitamin bashing that goes on by the medical establishment and their cohorts in government, this is definitely good news. To "cnldelta" who said this was an attempt to boost pharmaceutical sales, I hear your point and respect your view, but vitamins aren't pharmaceutical material. Doctors, hospitals and the medical/pharmaceutical juggernaut that rules the country hate the alternative medicine industry, which includes vitamin and herbal remedy distributors and manufacturers, because it eats into their profits. They want you to "see you doctor," take an expensive prescription medicine, and stay as far away from Vitamin World and GNC as you possibly can. It's all about the money.
johnnysoftwareOct 31, 2010
Right but there is little or no testing of the vitamins and herbal remedies. Instead, they are distributed under a disclaimer which basically tells you that. There has been a lot of scientific research that explains how vitamins work. Herbal remedies are less explained, and hopefully people know that.
dragoon117Oct 31, 2010
Vitamins help prevent sickness?
lies..
dbuckOct 31, 2010
Dammit. I have been taking Vitamin C all this time. Off by one letter. Story of my life.
mmilitiaOct 31, 2010
Sounds a lot like bulls**t.
e1samanOct 31, 2010
Is it that Vidamin D is produced inside the body? then we only need... SUN :-)
ecwilsonazOct 31, 2010
Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin, but a hormone for this reason. Fun fact: the Vitamin D your body produces has a half-life 2x that of the Vitamin D you ingest. Problem is, hardly anyone gets the UV exposure they need unless they live near the equator or work outdoors.
vzerbeeOct 31, 2010
Eating healthy is very important, as well as getting exercise and sleeping well. We must all be in charge of our own good health and it's our choice as to what food we eat and if we take the time to exercise.
One of the reasons that I choose to take vitamin D3 in supplement form is because it is too hard to get the amount we need daily from our food alone.
According to the National Institute of Health "Vitamin D deficiency is much more common than previously believed - more than 80 percent of Americans experience a vitamin D deficiency. Populations most at risk for serious vitamin D deficiency - along with deficiency-related cancers and other chronic diseases - are those in which exposure to sunlight (natural or artificial) is poor. Increased skin pigmentation and use of sunscreen markedly reduce natural production of vitamin D"
tekgnosOct 31, 2010
The Vitamin D Council has compiled all the research on Vitamin D and Influenza.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/science/research/vitamin-d-and-influenza.shtml
There is more than a couple studies. If you are Vitamin D Deficient, you are putting yourself at risk for a host of problems. And if you are a breastfeeding mother, you are putting your child at risk.
ecwilsonazOct 31, 2010
Does anyone else find this part ridiculous?
"It should also be noted that this study’s dose of 1,200 IU Vitamin D exceeds the adequate intake for children currently established by the Institute of Medicine (200 IU)."
Every Vitamin D resource I've ever read that wasn't an RDA on a nutrition facts label suggested 2,000-6,000 IU as the right dose. More accurately, whatever dosage it takes to get your blood levels in the 60-80 ng/ml range.
jacquelynekNov 1, 2010
The words "research has shown" has become irrelevant in my mind.. just see it too often.. The legitimacy of research depends on who is doing the research and who is paying for it.
mhiles78Nov 1, 2010
I have a daughter that received a heart transplant last year so she will have a suppressed immune system for the rest of her life. After her transplant my sister told me that vitamin D could help us to avoid getting sick. We will do anything we can to keep her healthy so we have been taking vitamin D daily for over a year. Not sure if it is the vitamin D or one of the many other precautions we now take but we have not had anything more the a sniffles for the last year.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
tomyclikNov 1, 2010
What's Doc?
rupeshonlineNov 2, 2010
great post about flu vaccin thanks for it