Are You Ready For Flu Season?
By Toby Helmstetter, LAc
Are you ready for flu season? We are! Whether you’ve chosen to get vaccinated or not, a little extra prevention during flu season goes a long way. There are so many easy ways you can prevent the flu, ways to strengthen your immune system and encourage your body to fight off infection naturally. Depending on your level of exposure (health-care worker, teacher, office cube worker or stay at home parent) you can go all-out with these preventative measures or pick one or two that suit your lifestyle. You can find these recommended products either at our clinic or at the natural foods store, just ask your acupuncturist.
Vitamin D - It has been well documented that a vitamin D deficiency can precipitate the flu virus. More recently, vitamin D supplementation has been studied for its ability to prevent the flu. Here are the stats: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of flu infection in children by greater than 50 percent compared to anti-viral medications. Not only that, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing vitamin D3 supplements with placebo in 167 schoolchildren found that only 18 kids got the flu compared with 31 kids in the placebo group. The study recommended 1200 IU of Vitamin D a day in children, so adults can take more. Depending on your Vitamin D level (get it checked if you suspect yours is low) an adult can take 2000 to 4000 IU a day as prevention during flu season.
Power Mushrooms - If you’ve been in our clinic for any length of time, you’ve probably heard one acupuncturist or another recommending Power Mushrooms for immune system support. It’s a formula created by a Chinese herbalist that contains medicinal mushrooms that are known to be immune system modulators. This means they help balance and strengthen immunity whether you are perfectly healthy or fighting an infection. They can be taken all season long and in doses as high as 3 pills 3 times a day because they’re not herbs, really, they’re food! We recommend a daily dose of 2 to 3 pills 1 to 2 times daily during flu season to help boost immunity. A little secret about Power Mushrooms: this is what many of the acupuncturists at TAC take during cold and flu season to mitigate the effects of our exposure to so many people and so many illnesses all winter long.
Muco-coccinum - This is a homeopathic remedy that can be used both as prevention and treatment of the flu. According to Unda, the company that makes it, 88% of the people who take muco-coccinum during flu season avoid getting the flu. All you have to do is take 1 pill every other week during flu season for this level of prevention. And, if you catch the flu, you simply increase the dose to 3 times per day to help lessen your sick time. Muco-coccinum is available only through health care providers.
Oscillococcinum - “Oscillo” is also a homeopathic treatment for the flu virus. Oscillococcinum has been shown in clinical trials to help reduce the severity and shorten the duration of flu symptoms. And it works fast: 63 percent of patients showed “complete resolution" or "clear improvement” 48 hours after taking it as directed. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the recovery rate within 48 hours of treatment was significantly greater in the group that received Oscillo than in the placebo group. You can buy Oscillo at Whole Foods or Weaver Street Market. We recommend having it on hand because the sooner you take it, the quicker it begins working.
Flu Ban - This herbal/homeopathic combination is for that “oh no” moment when you suddenly realize you’ve got the flu. You’re achy, feverish and totally wiped-out. If you’ve got Flu Ban on hand, you won’t even have to leave the house to get relief from these awful symptoms! Flu Ban contains powerful anti-viral herbs which makes for a rapid recovery from colds and flu. On a personal note, I’ve been taking Flu Ban since I was a kid and I never had a flu that lasted longer than 3 or 4 days as long as I took Flu Ban. This is probably our most popular medicine during cold and flu season at TAC.
The best part about natural flu treatment and prevention is that there are no side-effects. Many of these products have been tested and shown to have no interactions with medications. They are safe for children, too (just ask your acupuncturist for dosage and instructions) and many can be taken while pregnant or nursing. So choose from this list your weapon against the flu, keep your immune system strong, stay hydrated all winter long and have a remedy or two on hand at home in case you do catch something. The result will be less time missed from work, quicker recovery, a stronger immune system and a healthier family, too.