swine flu and building immunity

[tricia]

Here is what we do on a daily basis in our home to help prevent illness. Probiotics....:001_smile: Each and every day I feed something that is probiotic to my children. Something as simple as lemon juice mixed with maple syrup and water. But normally we go through gallons of kifer and kefir lemonade that I make myself. They both are full of probiotics, hence giving a high alkaline content in your body making it difficult for any bacteria that cause illness survive. When illness is present then that is when we take to high amounts of kefir and kefir lemonade. Here is a link to read more about probiotics and your family's health.

 

http://www.usprobiotics.org/

[Lovedtodeath]

I got a letter from Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine sent to pharmacists:

 

I am pleased that many of you have called to get the Interferon-Alpha (INT-A) for Flu, as recommended in the previous Alert. A common question asked is, "I have had this formula in the refrigerator for the past 1 to 2 years. Is it still good?" We believe that this product, when refrigerated, can be stored for years and not lose its effectiveness. Therefore, it is not necessary to buy new drops if you have sufficient of the old.

 

This pending flu epidemic or pandemic is most unusual because of the lateness in the season. The theory currently believed is that when the body's Vitamin D level falls in the winter months due to low sun exposure, it is responsible for susceptibility to flu viruses. Likewise, most flu seasons turn off like a faucet as soon as the angle of the sun changes in the early spring. The question then is, "Why now?"

 

It is imperative that every person takes supplementary Vitamin D in the dose of 2,000 to 4,000 I.U. daily. This should prevent you from getting the flu right from the start. Also, as stated in the first Alert, the excessive response to the virus by your body is normally what provokes the pneumonias and death. Therefore, experience suggests that taking 1,000 I.U. of Vitamin D per pound of body weight for 3 days, when acutely ill, will down-regulate this response. We have both liquid Vitamin D drops for children (2,000 I.U. per drop) and high-dose Vitamin D capsules (50,000 I.U. per capsule) for those who are acutely ill and weigh over 50 pounds. To recap: these high doses of Vitamin D (1,000 I.U. per pound of body weight) are ONLY to be used when acutely ill.

 

The use of Interferon-Alpha for Flu has been shown alone to be extremely effective in preventing the virus, and shutting it down when infected. Please follow the instructions on proper use of the formula. Stay safe and well.

 

Allan Lieberman, M.D., F.A.A.E.M.

Medical Director, COEM

Consultant in Occupational and Environmental Medicine

 

 

[fivetails]

 

People may be interested in this site - it's a link I tripped over yesterday. I haven't got time to say anything much about it right now, just that you might want to read up on 'cytokine storm' and its connection to good immune systems/this flu/etc and then look over the list of goods and bads... I'm just passing on the link, it has some medical journal links on it too, the original link was on this science blog somewhere.

[Tree House Academy]

Wow...I am really surprised at the amounts of Vitamin D and Vitamin C they are recommending. I am not sure that much is really healthy...

[yslek]

Will boosting the immune system really help in this case, though? I heard on the news that while the "regular" flu thends to attack the old and young (i.e. those with weakened ammune systems), the swine flu is mostly affecting healthy people in their 20s and 30s. (The flu of 1918 also attacked this demographic.) They said that part of the problem in this case is the strong, immediate immune response of a healthy immune system. While I'm all for building immunity, it doesn't seem like it would protect from this particular flu, given the above.

 

The vitamin D info is intersting. Glad I already take 5000 IU daily. ;)

[Supertechmom]

Wow...I am really surprised at the amounts of Vitamin D and Vitamin C they are recommending. I am not sure that much is really healthy...

 

 

One of the problems with Vit d is it is normally not tested. The assumption is that you are overflowing with vit d. The reality is as more and more drs turn to actual testing of Vit d, more and more people are coming up horribly short. It really takes a long time to get to healthy levels. drs have just made the assumptions through the years that Americans are healthy and up to par. BUt now that acutal testing of those levels are coming around, they are discovering that we are not. Add in disease and the levels start slipping fast. A therupatic dose of Vit d prescribed by regualr mds is a 50,000 unit pill. Taken several times, sometimes for several months to get the body up to the correct level. Then the multivitamin should maintain that level. The RDA is only for a person who all ready has the right amount of "stuff" to begin with. Those levels will maintain the normal levels. BUt if you are sick, chronically ill, or eat the typcial American diet then you are deficient in some or many vit/minerals and the RDA levels will not help you get them back to normal.

 

We takes tons. Some we are beginning to lower, others increasing. iT's a continual adjusting dosage based on body symptoms and test results.

[Greta]

Probiotics....:001_smile: Each and every day I feed something that is probiotic to my children.

 

Yesterday, I stocked up on a variety of veggies, and yogurt from which to extract the whey. This afternoon is set aside for fermenting said veggies. I agree with you that this is hugely important for immunity. We used to eat fermented veggies very regularly, but I've gotten lazy about it recently. This flu was a reminder that I needed to get back on track.

 

Question about kefir: a friend gave me some water kefir grains and some milk kefir grains (each in a bit of their respective liquids). But I forgot them and left them sitting out on my counter for a couple of weeks! The amazing thing is, they don't smell putrid at all. The water kefir smells a bit yeasty, or almost like a beer. The milk kefir smells like very sour yogurt (sour as in tart, not soured as in gone bad). Is there any chance that I could still use these?

 

I got a letter from Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine sent to pharmacists:

 

It is imperative that every person takes supplementary Vitamin D in the dose of 2,000 to 4,000 I.U. daily.

 

We take cod liver oil daily for both Vitamin D and Vitamin A. And amla powder for Vitamin C. What I think is really important here (personally) is that these are food sources, completely natural, not synthetic versions.

[Mommyof4ks]

Will boosting the immune system really help in this case, though? I heard on the news that while the "regular" flu thends to attack the old and young (i.e. those with weakened ammune systems), the swine flu is mostly affecting healthy people in their 20s and 30s. (The flu of 1918 also attacked this demographic.) They said that part of the problem in this case is the strong, immediate immune response of a healthy immune system. While I'm all for building immunity, it doesn't seem like it would protect from this particular flu, given the above.

 

The vitamin D info is intersting. Glad I already take 5000 IU daily. ;)

 

That is what I have been reading also. The immune system supposedly works against us with this flu. I don't know much about it, but boosting the immune system too much sounds like it might makes things worse.

 

How do they decide what is the appropriate amount of vit D?

[Lovedtodeath]

You can get tested for Vit. D deficiency and base your daily dose on that, re-testing and adjusted as needed. As far as the dosage during the flu, I'm not sure how they came up with it, but I will listen!

 

We take cod liver oil daily for both Vitamin D and Vitamin A. And amla powder for Vitamin C. What I think is really important here (personally) is that these are food sources, completely natural, not synthetic versions.

 

I have been told that most people can not get enough Vit. D from Cod Liver Oil, because by the time you would get enough, the levels of Vit. A would be toxic. Vit. D 3 is the only type available for humans, and it is not synthetic. (All of this is what I was told, I have not researched it extensively.

 

#46 this post has more information, as does the rest of the thread.

Edited April 29, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[muffinmom]

Here is what we do on a daily basis in our home to help prevent illness. Probiotics....:001_smile: Each and every day I feed something that is probiotic to my children. Something as simple as lemon juice mixed with maple syrup and water. But normally we go through gallons of kifer and kefir lemonade that I make myself. They both are full of probiotics, hence giving a high alkaline content in your body making it difficult for any bacteria that cause illness survive. When illness is present then that is when we take to high amounts of kefir and kefir lemonade. Here is a link to read more about probiotics and your family's health.

 

http://www.usprobiotics.org/

 

 

How do you make kefir lemonade...and more importantly, what does it taste like??:D

[Lovedtodeath]

 

People may be interested in this site - it's a link I tripped over yesterday. I haven't got time to say anything much about it right now, just that you might want to read up on 'cytokine storm' and its connection to good immune systems/this flu/etc and then look over the list of goods and bads... I'm just passing on the link, it has some medical journal links on it too, the original link was on this science blog somewhere.

Thank you for that! I take raw cocoa. I am glad someone warned me to stop it if I get the flu.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

There is a local pharmacist here in our town that also specializes in alternative supplements etc... I asked him about taking cod liver oil and he doesn't recommend it. He told me that the liver is what filters out toxins and you could be doing more harm than good by taking this. :001_huh:

[Sara R]

That is what I have been reading also. The immune system supposedly works against us with this flu. I don't know much about it, but boosting the immune system too much sounds like it might makes things worse.

 

I just read a book about the 1918 flu (The Great Influenza, by John Barry). The explanation of how that flu killed was really interesting:

 

Sometimes people died within 12 hours of first symptoms, sometimes in 2-5 days, and sometimes after that.

 

For those who died within hours, they were killed because the virus attacked so many lung cells. Viruses actually inject their genetic material into the nucleus of the cell, taking over the cell and using the cell as a factory to create more copies of the virus, killing the cell in the process. They attacked so many lung cells that the lungs couldn't exchange enough oxygen, and they died.

 

Those who died a week plus after first symptoms died of regular pneumonia, which is how the flu usually kills people.

 

But those young people who died within a few days of first symptoms, their cases were really interesting and it took a while to figure out how they died. Usually if the lungs fail, the lungs are empty, like a deflated balloon. But these people had lungs filled with blood. What was going on? The virus had gotten down into the lungs, and then the immune system attacked it there. Usually the immune system kills the virus before it gets all the way down to the lungs, while still in the throat or nose or whatever. But this virus was stronger than most viruses, and it got down to the lungs before the immune system could stop it. However, with younger healthy people, the immune system attacked the virus once it got to the lungs. The lungs aren't meant to be the battleground for an immune system attack, and the lungs filled with blood as part of the process. It was actually the immune system that was the final cause of death. (I think this is the "cytokine storm" that was discussed in another thread. Cytokine must be a part of the immune system.) Now they call this process Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or ARDS, and it can happen as a result of other illnesses besides just flu.

 

Interesting, huh?

[Lovedtodeath]

Yikes! What to do??? Either the virus kills the lungs or the immune system does?

[Penelope]

Very interesting.

 

We take cod liver oil in the winter and get lots of sun in the spring and summer. I always understood that if you live in a climate where you can get plenty of sun, you should be okay, and that the body stores up the D to carry you through. The cod liver is just my insurance method for the kids.

 

Is there any evidence that the swine flu has the same effect as the 1918 flu, though, for killing via cytokine storm? I had read that microbiologists who studied the sequences said that the swine flu was not nearly as virulent. So there is no worry, YET, that this new flu is going to cause more problems in the coming winter.

[6saints]

Yes. I would like to know, too!