Flu shots page 3

[janie]

Good to know on the D3. I'll have to check last blood work but I remember my doc was happy with the result.. I take 2500 a day in winter, a bit less in summer. Is that adequate? I haven't been sick since 2009 when I started ignoring CW eating and lost 70 lbs.

[janie]

Good to know on the D3. I'll have to check last blood work but I remember my doc was happy with the result.. I take 2500 a day in winter, a bit less in summer. Is that adequate? I haven't been sick since 2009 when I started ignoring CW eating and lost 70 lbs.

[Dragonfly]

It's ALL about your blood level, Janie. Aim for a test result between 60-80 ng/ ml for optimal disease prevention. I take 6,000 IUs, but everyone is different.

[RichMahogany]

The Truth About Flu Shots (and What to do Instead)

Read this very balanced review of the science behind flu shots and decide for yourself. I decided I'll NEVER get one.

[EagleRiverDee]

Everyone, check out this article on N-Acetyl Cysteine. My doctor is having me take it, and so I did some research and it's got a track record for actually preventing flu replication and infection, as well as a host of other benefits. And it's OTC. More people need to know about this, IMO.
N-Acetyl Cysteine: The Overlooked Compound That Saves Lives

[snoops]

Just heard on the radio that this years flu shot is about 62% effective against this years flu. Not great stats in my mind.

Regarding the doc being OK with your D3 numbers - my old doc advised me not to up my supplementation from 2000 a day when my numbers were in the low 40's. I upped my intake to 6000 a day and now am sitting at 65 which is in the optimum range. A lot of docs think that anything in the accepted range is good. Good docs think you should optimize your numbers. DO you know which type your doctor is?

[janie]

Thank you! Great article. I forwarded to DH who is worried that we should have gotten the shot. When he sees the efficacy for flu shots for the elderly, he should stop worrying.

[janie]

Just heard on the radio that this years flu shot is about 62% effective against this years flu. Not great stats in my mind.

Regarding the doc being OK with your D3 numbers - my old doc advised me not to up my supplementation from 2000 a day when my numbers were in the low 40's. I upped my intake to 6000 a day and now am sitting at 65 which is in the optimum range. A lot of docs think that anything in the accepted range is good. Good docs think you should optimize your numbers. DO you know which type your doctor is?

I just dug out the labs. My internist was happy when the results was 45.2 ng/ml. However, an antiaging specialist I also see (and who, frankly, I trust much more) urged supplementation (which was when I started the 2500 IUs) and my last test was 66.2 ng/ml. So I'm now in the ballpark it seems.

[janie]

I will also check out the NAC. Thanks, Dee.

[Wulf]

I am a biologist and I always get all the vaccines I can, including flu shots.

Anyone who refuses vaccines is needlessly risking their life and the lives of everyone else around them, period.

It is very sad that this would be the unpopular opinion around here. The value of not getting or spreading dangerous and preventable diseases far outweighs all the needless fear-mongering going on about vaccines being bad. People very easily forget how horrible all the diseases were that are now nearly non-existent because of vaccines. Smallpox, polio? No one even thinks about all the serious diseases prevented by vaccines anymore because they are so easily and effectively prevented now.

About this years' flu vaccine: It is a relatively good match to the strains now seen causing disease AND already killing people. This year I got mine for free and had zero side effects from it. Personally, I don't care very much for myself if I get the flu or not, but I would feel terrible if I passed it onto my elderly parents or someone's young child, risking their lives, just because I was too lazy or scared to get the shot.

Please get the shot, to protect the lives of others, even if you think you yourself are super healthy. Even if you are confident your own system can fight off the disease, you can still give it to people who can't. And getting the shot increases the likelihood that your body will kill the virus before it has a chance to be spread to others.