It seems that colds and the flu are making the rounds again so what steps can we take to protect ourselves? Here are some suggestions.

1) Take a multivitamin tablet daily and supplement it with additional Vitamin D3. The amount recently recommended is 35 I.U. (International Units) for every pound of body weight (A) or approximately 1,000 I.U. for every 30 pounds. Vitamin D3 is relatively inexpensive and is available in capsules of 400 and 1,000 I.U.

2) Eat at least 3-4 servings of fruit and 4-5 servings of vegetables daily. A serving size is half a cup, except in the case of salad greens where it is one cup (B). A medium-sized apple or orange would equal one serving. The fruit should all be fresh or quick-frozen, and at least half of the vegetables should be fresh and uncooked. Choose a variety of colors. Fruit should be eaten separately from other foods, at least 30 minutes beforehand or 3+ hours afterwards, to maximize the benefit.

3) Minimize the consumption of processed sugar and products containing it as sugar has been shown to inhibit our ability to fight infections (C).

4) Maintain adequate hydration levels by drinking plenty of fluid and particularly fresh filtered water. A good estimate is to take your body weight in pounds, divide that number in half and that will be the weight of fluid in ounces that you should consume each day. Good hydration helps to keep the tissues of the respiratory system moist and also aids the functioning of the immune system.

5) Keep active and exercise regularly. Try to walk briskly for at least 30 minutes every day. Take the stairs rather than the elevator whenever possible. Regular exercise has been shown to stimulate our immune system.

6) Get enough sleep as this has been shown to boost our defenses. Between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per day is recommended.

7) Control stress by relaxation techniques such as meditation and deep breathing exercises.

Enjoy humor as laughter reduces the levels of stress hormones and boosts our defenses.

9) Always wash your hands thoroughly using soap or alcohol-based hand wipes or sanitizers after visiting the bathroom, before touching your face, and before handling food.

10) Avoid crowded spaces as much as possible and especially during the cold and flu season.

© Christopher J. Jones, M.Sc., Ph.D.

References
A) http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/10/
Vitamin-D-Experts-Reveal-the-Truth.aspx

B) http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/f/servingfruit.htm

C) http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm

Because so many governments, particularly those in developed countries such as the USA and UK, are strongly recommending vaccination against flu, the general perception is that vaccination works and is protective. However, this assumption has been challenged in an analysis performed by Dr. Tom Jefferson and his colleagues at Cochrane Vaccines Field, an organization based in Italy that was founded to gather evidence on vaccines and their effects. The staff there is compiling a “Vaccines Register” comprising all relevant studies on the effectiveness, safety and economics of vaccines. In an analysis of the data published with flu vaccines, Dr. Jefferson reported (1) that in children under 2 years of age, inactivated virus vaccines had “the same field efficacy as placebo (2) and in healthy people under 65 vaccination did not affect hospital stay, time off work, or death from influenza and its complications (3).” No evidence was found of an effect in patients with asthma or cystic fibrosis, but inactivated virus vaccines did result in a 39% reduction in the incidence of exacerbations after three to four weeks in those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (4-6).

In his review in the British Medical Journal (1), Dr. Jefferson concluded with the following observations and comments:

“Public policy worldwide recommends the use of inactivated influenza vaccines to prevent seasonal outbreaks.
Because viral circulation and antigenic match vary each year and non-randomised studies predominate, systematic reviews of large datasets from several decades provide the best information on vaccine performance.
Evidence from systematic reviews shows that inactivated vaccines have little or no effect on the effects measured.
Most studies are of poor methodological quality and the impact of confounders is high.
Little comparative evidence exists on the safety of these vaccines.
Reasons for the current gap between policy and evidence are unclear, but given the huge resources involved, a re-evaluation should be urgently undertaken.”

As more data become available, there should be further clarity on the question of whether flu vaccines are effective or not and how the results obtained with nasal spray vaccines containing weakened live virus compare with those from intramuscular injections of inactivated virus.

References

1) Jefferson, T. (2006) Influenza Vaccination: Policy versus Evidence. Brit. Med J. 333, 912-915
2) Smith. S., Demicheli. V., Di Pietrantonj, C., Harnden, A.R., Jefferson, T, Matheson, N.J., et al. (2006) Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in Healthy Children. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (1): CD004879.
3) Demicheli, V., Rivetti, D., Deeks, J.J., Jefferson, T.O. (2004) Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in Healthy Adults. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (3): CD001269.
4) Cates, C.J., Jefferson, T.O., Bara, A..L, Rowe, B.H. Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in People with Asthma. (2003) Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (4): CD000364.
5) Poole, P.J., Chacko, E., Wood-Baker, R.W.B., Cates. C.J. (2006) Influenza Vaccine for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (1): CD002733.
6) Bhalla, P., Tan, A., Smyth, R. (2000) Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in People with Cystic Fibrosis. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. (1): CD001753.

Christopher J. Jones, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Did you know that a person can be highly contagious up to one day before they develop flu symptoms? So what steps can we take to strengthen our body’s defenses against the flu in addition to possible immunization? Here are some suggestions.

1) Take a multivitamin tablet daily and supplement it with additional Vitamin D3. The amount recently recommended is 35 I.U. (International Units) of Vitamin D3 for every pound of body weight (A).

2) Eat at least 3-4 servings of fruit and 4-5 servings of vegetables daily. A serving size is half a cup, except in the case of salad greens where it is one cup (B). A medium-sized apple or orange would equal one serving. The fruit should all be fresh or quick-frozen, and at least half of the vegetables should be fresh and uncooked. Choose a variety of colors.

3) Minimize the consumption of processed sugar and products containing it as sugar has been shown to inhibit our ability to fight infections (C).

4) Maintain adequate hydration levels by drinking plenty of fluid and particularly fresh filtered water. A good estimate is to take your body weight in pounds, divide that number in half and that will be the weight of fluid in ounces that you should consume each day. Good hydration helps to keep the tissues of the respiratory system moist and also aids the functioning of the immune system.

5) Keep active and exercise regularly. Try to walk at least 30 minutes every day. Take the stairs rather than the elevator if possible. Regular exercise has been shown to stimulate our immune system.

6) Get enough sleep as this has been shown to boost our defenses. Between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per day is recommended.

7) Control stress by relaxation techniques such as meditation and deep breathing exercises.

Enjoy humor as laughter reduces the levels of stress hormones and boosts our defenses.

9) Always wash your hands thoroughly using soap or alcohol-based hand wipes or sanitizers after visiting the bathroom, before touching your face, and before handling food.

10) Avoid crowded spaces as much as possible and especially during the flu season.

References

A) http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/10/Vitamin-D-Experts-Reveal-the-Truth.aspx

B) http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/f/servingfruit.htm

C) http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm

© Christopher J. Jones, M.Sc., Ph.D.

There are two forms of this vaccine; the injectable form and the nasal spray. The injectable form contains heat-killed virus and comes in single dose vials and multiple dose vials. It is approved for use in healthy people 6 months of age and older. Children between the ages of 6 months and 9 years should receive two doses of the vaccine about a month apart. Because the seal on the multiple dose vial will be penetrated several times in order to withdraw doses of vaccine, the antiseptic and antifungal compound Thimerasol has been added as a preservative. Thimerasol contains nearly 50% mercury by weight and its presence in certain vaccines is the subject of growing concern because of its toxic potential. Single-dose vials of the vaccine are reported not to contain Thimerasol and this should be confirmed beforehand by asking your physician. If you decide to be vaccinated by injection and are concerned about mercury, you should request vaccine that does not contain Thimerasol.

The nasal spray contains live, weakened virus, which is temperature-sensitive. It is approved for use in healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49 but should not be given to pregnant women. The vaccine is contained in single-dose spray syringes and does not contain Thimerasol. Children between the ages of 2 and 9 will need two doses of this vaccine separated by about a month. A recipient of this live but weakened virus will not get the flu but for three weeks afterwards they should not be close to anyone whose immune system is seriously compromised by illness or by treatment such as chemotherapy. For more information on FluMist nasal spray vaccines, please refer to the article written by Dr. Iannelli (1).

The following people should not receive flu vaccine (2):

a) Those who have a severe allergy to hens’ eggs.

b) Individuals who have previously had a severe reaction to a flu vaccination.

c) People who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine previously.

d) Children younger than 6 months of age.

e) People who have a moderate-to-severe illness with a fever. They should consult their physician and wait until they are well before getting vaccinated.

References

1) http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/immunizations/a/new_flu_vaccine.htm

2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2009) http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/vaccine_keyfacts.htm

© Christopher J. Jones, M.Sc., Ph.D.