Colds are a leading cause of doctor visits and missed days from work and school, and this season is no exception. Americans suffer from approximately 1 billion colds per year, or about two to four colds per year for the average adult. Dr. Mercola, a leading wellness practitioner looks at methods to avoid getting sick during the "cold and flu season".
But why do people start getting sick as the leaves start to fall?
Unfortunately in the US, thanks to the CDC, nearly anyone seeing their doctor for a cold will be told that they are infected with H1N1 and will be added to the already inflated CDC statistics.
However, according to the CBS news study, when you come down with chills, fever, cough, runny nose, malaise and all those other "flu-like" symptoms, the illness is likely caused by influenza at most, 17 percent of the time, and as little as 3 percent! The other 83 to 97 percent of the time it's caused by other viruses or bacteria. Nevertheless, as temperatures drop, we begin to congregate indoors and spend less time in the sun. This means our vitamin D levels begin to drop, and we are more apt to spread viruses from one person to another. It isn’t that these opportunistic pathogens magically appear at certain times of the year—they’re always around. It’s your ability to respond to them that changes with the seasons.
Many people believe that colds and flu are caused by bacteria, but this is simply incorrect. Colds and flu are caused by viruses, and using antibiotics to treat a viral infection is inappropriate and completely ineffective.
So, what is the real cause of colds and flu?
A simple and short answer has always been that it’s due to an impaired immune system. Although there are many ways you might end up with a weakened immune system, the more common contributing factors are:
Vitamin D deficiency (out of the sun in the cold weather months)
Eating too much sugar and too many grains
Not getting enough sleep ( back to school for moms and kids)
Insufficient exercise (cold weather less outdoor physical activities)
Inadequately managing emotional stressors in your life
Any combination of the above
The Number One Way to Conquer a Cold or Flu: Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an amazingly effective antimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 different antimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi. In the United States, the late winter average vitamin D level is only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. It’s estimated that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public. The best source for vitamin D is direct sun exposure. But for many of us, this just isn’t practical during the winter. If neither natural nor artificial sunlight is an option, then using oral supplements is your best bet. Remarkably, researchers have found that 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day abolished seasonal influenza. This is somewhat surprising, as it is half the dose of what most adults need to achieve ideal levels of vitamin D Please note that this is far greater than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) advised by public health agencies like the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently doubled the RDA of vitamin D for children to 400 IU. This new guidance still falls absurdly short of what’s needed to keep kids healthy, especially during flu season. In order to prevent the flu, children and adults need 35 IU of vitamin D per pound of body weight. So, for example, a child weighing 57 pounds would need 2,000 IU a day of vitamin D. Adults typically need an average of 5,000 IU per day.
That said, if you feel yourself coming down with a cold or flu, this is NOT the time to be eating sugar, artificial sweeteners or processed foods. Sugar is particularly damaging to your immune system--which needs to be ramped up, not suppressed, in order to combat an emerging infection. You must address nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress issues the moment you first feel yourself getting a bug. When you’re coming down with a cold, it’s time to address ALL of the contributing factors immediately.
My personal experience has shown that regular chiropractic treatment can give you a notch up for a strong immune system.
Dr. John Rosa
Chiropractor Rockville, MD
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