flu busta experiment

It seems like everyone is sick right now. I keep finding facebook and blog posts of parents who have illness running through their families. I guess it's that time of year. I recall Riley's two bouts of flu occurring around this time.

With all the swine flu hysteria that seemed to be generated by the media last fall, we decided to take a more natural approach. We had been reading reports in the news that researchers have found a correlation between low Vitamin D levels in the winter and susceptibility to the flu. The "sunshine vitamin" works as a hormone to regulate hundreds of genes, some of which are involved in the body's defense against viruses. Vitamin D seems to have a particular benefit in fighting respiratory illnesses, like influenza.

Since the natural sources are sunlight and fish oil, I bought Riley some flavored cod liver oil and a Vitamin D gummy vitamin to supplement the multivitamin that he already takes. Since the Omega 3's contained in the fish oil also help to fire up the neurotransmitters of the brain, we noticed an almost immediate increase in Riley's attempts at speech. So he got a double benefit from the fish oil in addition to its immunity-boosting powers.

So far, he's flu-free and with the exception of some mild sniffles here and there, he's been cold-free this season. I'm not discounting the fact that he got some of my disease-resistant genes, but I can't help but wonder if the supplementation is helping. We try and keep his sugar levels low -- mainly fruit -- as refined sugar is well known for suppressing immunity for hours after consumption.

So here's Riley's recipe for keeping flu at bay so far this season:














I found the fish oil (Nordic Naturals) and Yummi Bears at Whole Foods, but recently discovered I could save money by buying the Vitamin D at Target. You may be wondering if he resisted the 1/2 tsp of fish oil. Not a bit. I was offering him kefir (a yogurt-like milk drink) to chase it down, but have discovered that he doesn't really need it. The strawberry flavor is enough to mask the fishy aftertaste, I guess.

(Riley pretty much drinks kefir instead of milk and since it has the probiotics to keep his gut healthy, I think that has helped too.)

As for me, I'm taking 1 tbs of straight cod liver oil (can you say yuck?!) and found if it's best not to breathe when swallowing and to immediately drink a couple swigs of kefir. I don't suffer the aftertaste that way. So far, I've just had some nasal and throat congestion this season, but nothing too annoying, other than finding that my voice isn't in good shape.














Jonathan has survived without any sickness so far this year as well. This was his arsenal:














Maybe one of all of us will still succumb before the season is out (there is a good two months left!), but I figure we've done what we can to try and keep our body's defenses high. I'll be curious when Riley heads off to preschool next fall and is in the company of more kids on a daily basis. I guess that's when we will really put these supplements to the test.

Shelby