Getting a Tan Can Naturally Prevent You From Catching The Flu

Dr. Mercola | Mercola.com

Image: jokeroo.com

Vitamin D is an amazingly effective antimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 different antimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi. So optimizing your levels will not only help send a cold or flu virus packing… it will prevent them from invading your body in the first place.

Contrary to flu vaccines, this recommendation has been gaining scientific validation.

For example, in a study published last year, researchers investigated the effect of vitamin D on the incidence of seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. For over a year, they conducted a study comparing the effects of vitamin D3 with placebos. They found that influenza A occurred in just 10.8 percent of the children in the vitamin D group, compared with 18.6 percent children in the placebo group.

According to the authors:

"This study suggests that vitamin D3 supplementation during the winter may reduce the incidence of influenza A, especially in specific subgroups of schoolchildren."

Why getting your vitamin D from sunshine is so important

In a recent interview, Dr. Stephanie Seneff brought the importance of sun exposure to a whole new level. I've consistently recommended getting your vitamin D from regular sun exposure whenever possible, and Dr. Seneff's review of how vitamin D—specifically from sun exposure—is intricately tied to healthy cholesterol and sulfur levels makes this recommendation all the more important. To review the details of the interview, please click here.

However, as a quick summary, when you expose your skin to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D is water soluble, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements, which is unsulfated. The water soluble form can travel freely in your blood stream, whereas the unsulfated form needs LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) as a vehicle of transport. Her suspicion is that the oral non-sulfated form of vitamin D likely will not provide the same benefits as the vitamin D created in your skin from sun exposure, because it cannot be converted to vitamin D sulfate.

I believe this is a very compelling reason to make a concerted effort to seek to get your vitamin D requirements from safe exposure to sunshine, or by using a safe tanning bed (one with electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ballasts, to avoid unnecessary exposure to EMF fields). I have maintained my level between 65 and 110 ng/ml with regular sun exposure. This article has much more information about tanning for vitamin D: http://articles.mercola.com/maximizing-vitamin-d-exposure/

The video below shows you how to calculate your sun exposure to see if you get enough from the sun:



I recognize that these options may not be feasible for most people, and certainly an oral vitamin D3 supplement will be much than nothing at all.

Sources:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/26/maximizing-vitamin-d-exposure.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/13/could-a-cup-or-more-of-this-a-day-keep-the-flu-away.aspx