It's NOT Back!!!!!

News of how to fight the flu and that the flu has already returned (it is that time you know!). What we can take heart in knowing is that those who know how to fight it and what the effects of the tools we have to fight it are and can be. We love vitamin therapy. We believe in vitamin therapy treatments in spite of the research for and against it. It's cheap and easy - that's why we love it.

"Cases have already been reported by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means flu is striking early this year—the season doesn't officially start until October. Flu activity usually peaks in January, February, and March, and winds down in May, says Henry Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' infectious diseases committee." - US News & World Report (August 26, 2010)

The deaths have already begun for this season (2010) though not in our jurisdiction or even in this country, as far as we know. We do know this - Dr. Edward Belongia is again apart of the research team bringing us the good news. You may remember Dr. Belongia from his earlier research in the area of vaccine:

"In the largest population-based study to date of the safety of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in young children, there were very few medically attended events, none of which were serious, significantly associated with the vaccine. This study provides additional evidence supporting the safety of universally immunizing all children 6 to 23 months old with influenza vaccine." - Journal of the American Medical Association (Oct 25, 2006)

The news reports are getting as detailed as we normally make them. No where in the "analysis" is vitamin D mentioned but researchers are so familiar with the apparent success of the others reviews that they mention the therapy even though a connection is not as scientifically asserted. Indeed the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) discusses the matter more in their Letters to the Editor section than they do in actual research data. Its the analysis that is much at odds. We don't present it here because it's not free to see but your doctor's office or clinic may have a copy you can peruse.

"In an analysis of data from a population-based active surveillance study of influenza cases in Wisconsin, Belongia and colleagues compared clinical characteristics of pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) with illnesses caused by other influenza A strains. Among the authors’ findings were that individuals with 2009 H1N1 infection were younger than those with 2007-2008 (H3N2) infection (median age, 10 years and 25 years, respectively) and that the risk of most serious complications was not elevated among adults or children infected with 2009 H1N1 compared with other recent seasonal influenza A strains." - Journal of the American Medical Association (Sept. 8, 2010) 

The numbers are small but not insignificant to reach the conclusions they have (and before you go and say: "that I took the vaccine and still got the flu!") the idea is to stay alive. If you didn't die the fact that it was hard to get, or that you had to stand in a long line, all might be inconvenient but the best thing, at least for us is that we're still here with you and for you.

"545 2009 H1N1, 221 seasonal H1N1, and 632 H3N2 infections ..individuals with 2009 H1N1 infection were younger than those with H3N2. The risk of most serious complications was not elevated in adults or children with 2009 H1N1 compared with recent seasonal strains." - JAMA

What the most recent study suggest is that vitamin D did work or rather boost the effect of the vaccine that:

"The reduction in influenza A was more prominent in children who had not been taking other vitamin D supplements" - The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (March 10, 2010)

If that says anything then it says don't go hog wild on taking vitamins (which is what we've known all along). If your body can't use what you're taking it in it discards it or in this case can make you less able to receive the effectiveness that can come using what you need and only what you need. We also feel that about exercising. Why do it unless you're going to get the maximum effect from it? We're going to work on that.