Preventing Swine Flu with Vitamin D3?

I am a natural medicine advocate...I believe in preventative medicine and so when I came upon this article, I just had to share it..

It is from Swanson Health Foods web page...
Swine Flu Fighting Vitamin?
October 15th, 2009 | Author: Good Health & Wellness Blog

Flu Fighting Liquid Vitamin D-3?
The swine flu news is everywhere and to bring you a healthy perspective this article will clarify what researchers are getting very excited about in fighting the flu with a unique vitamin.

So here’s the story.
Influenza broke out at Atascadero State Hospital, CA, with the exception of the ward run by Dr. John Cannell.

Influenza broke out. The flu jumped from ward to ward all around them, none of the patients in his ward became infected.

Strange indeed.

After much investigation, it was determined that the only difference between the wards was that the patients in Dr. Cannell’s ward had been getting 2,000 iu of Vitamin D every day for months.

Recent scientific studies have proven that vitamin D increases the body’s production of broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides, peptides that quickly destroy the influenza virus while simultaneously preventing the immune system from releasing too many inflammatory cells called chemokines and cytokines into infected lung tissue.

An excess of inflammatory cells would otherwise damage the lungs.

The detrimental effects of excess inflammatory cells was proven in 1918 when medical scientists did autopsies on some of the fifty million people who died during the 1918 flu pandemic.

They were amazed to find destroyed respiratory tracts; sometimes these inflammatory cytokines triggered the complete destruction of the normal epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract.

It was as if the flu victims had been attacked and killed by their own immune systems.

Severe Inflammatory Reaction That Vitamin D Has Recently Been Found to Prevent

The Public Health Agency of Canada has been so impressed with these findings, it is recruiting participants for a large-scale clinical trial to see if vitamin D will effectively protect against the swine flu.

The agency is basing its study on a large body of evidence that shows vitamin D reduces the risk of upper respiratory infections, especially in the summer when people have adequate levels from the sun.

It should also be noted that in countries where there is year round exposure to the sun, there are little or no upper respiratory infections.

Taking note of all the evidence, Canada is pursuing a common-sense healthy solution that could protect people from the swine flu altogether or dramatically reduce its severity — without any long-term side effects.

BIRDIE NOTE: Vitamin D is very inexpensive to purchase...In Canada and the US you can buy two large bottles of Vitamin D..1000 IU's for about 6 dollars...It's called preventative medicine.