SWINE FLU AND VITAMIN D

You will probably have read enough about swine flu to consider yourself reasonably well informed. However, as far as we are aware, there has been no mention of the efficacy of vitamin D in supporting the immune system and hence both reducing the likelihood of infection by the swine flu virus, and, should you be unfortunate enough to catch it, reducing the severity of the symptoms.

Vitamin D is mainly produced in the skin in response to sunlight. Far too many people living in high latitudes are not exposed to sufficient sunlight to be able to sustain reasonable levels of vitamin D, ourselves included. As vitamin D enables the body to produce substances known as defensins, our own powerful antimicrobials, we tend to be much more vulnerable to infections.

Vitamin D is available in oral form and is inexpensive. However, it is important to take an effective dose. This is 2000 IU daily for adults. Over the counter preparations usually contain at most 400 IU. As these preparations in the UK are mostly manufactured from fish oil, they contain significant quantities of vitamin A. If, therefore, you take enough vitamin D you will be absorbing too much vitamin A which can be toxic.

The WellMan Clinic has sourced a manufacturer in the US which can supply the most potent vitamin D, cholecalciferol, in a pure form, and this is now available from us in 1000 IU capsules. One pack contains a three month supply. Please contact the Clinic if you would like to purchase a supply.

"...Aloia and Li-Ng presented evidence of a dramatic vitamin D preventative effect from a randomized controlled trial (RCT). In a post-hoc analysis of the side effect questions of their original three-year RCT, they discovered 104 post-menopausal African American women given vitamin D were three times less likely to report cold and flu symptoms than 104 placebo controls. A low dose (800 IU/day) not only reduced reported incidence, it abolished the seasonality of reported colds and flu. A higher dose (2000 IU/day), given during the last year of their trial, virtually eradicated all reports of colds or flu. Recent discoveries about vitamin D's mechanism of action in combating infections led Science News to suggest that vitamin D is the 'antibiotic vitamin' due primarily to its robust effects on innate immunity."

On the Epidemiology of Influenza, J C Cannell et al, Virology Journal, February 2008