It’s Flu Season Again

Ever wonder why people tend to get sick in winter? There are a lot of theories, including that we spend more time indoors and close to others. Another reason is that the flu virus can live longer outside of a “host” in the colder, dryer winter air.

But there’s another reason I believe also completes this puzzle of why the flu only seems to come out in winter: Vitamin D deficiency makes us more susceptible to viral attack (along with zinc deficiency, too).

Why Vitamin D Matters

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone (not really a vitamin) that our body creates when it is exposed to direct sunlight. It also comes from foods like pastured meats and eggs, liver, wild fish, sardines, and oysters. Most of us are already low or deficient in vitamin D because unlike our ancestors who lived outdoors, we live inside offices and Starbucks, and because few of us are eating the foods listed above.

The Best Ways to Increase Your Vitamin D

• SUMMER: Exposing your skin to direct sunlight (not through windows). The rule of thumb is 15-20 minutes of sunlight on 70% of your body between about noon-4 p.m. or when your shadow is shorter than you are.
• WINTER: If you live above about the 35th Parallel (Washington, DC, near where I live is at the 38th), you are probably not making any Vitamin D between October and March no matter how much sun you get.
• Cod liver oil (I only recommend Carlson and Green Pasture — avoid most others).
• Wild seafood, especially fatty fish, caviar, and oysters.
  
• Eat mushrooms that have been grown or dried in sunlight.