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Immune Health – Cold and Flu Support; Dr. Wazny's Recommendations

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It's flu season! Typically our cold/flu severity follows Australia/New Zealand's and unfortunately they had a doozy this past year. So, we're hoping to do all we can now to improve overall immune health to avoid illness to begin with while also preparing for illness if it does break through. The NUMBER ONE preventative step you can take to avoid illness is to limit daily sugar intake. It likely isn't a coincidence that the cold/flu season falls during a time of the year (i.e., the holidays) when sugar intake is typically at its highest. Plenty of studies show sugar's stifling effect on the immune system. Depending on the study, the immune system's strength dwindles anywhere from 25-75% for 45 minutes to 3 hours after sugar consumption. In other words, sugar blunts your immune system's strength, creating an opportunity for illness to invade your body (typically through the nose, mouth and eyes--be sure to wash your hands regularly and try to keep hands away from your nose, mouth and eyes). Many of you are aware of the "CADZ" protocol (vitamins C, A, D and zinc) used during the COVID-19 pandemic. I recommend restarting that now to help bolster the immune system. As a refresher, daily dosages include: vitamin C (AKA ascorbic acid) 1,000-2,000 mg, vitamin D3 5,000-10,000 IUs, vitamin A 20,000-40,000 IUs and zinc picolinate 25-50 mg. I find this approach to be especially important among high-risk populations, such as children, the elderly, or those with compromised immune systems. If, however, you do end up sick, here are a few studied and time-tested nutrients that can help decrease the duration and severity of your symptoms. For over 15-years, I've used V-Clear (formerly called "Vira-Clear") from Integrative Therapeutics, 1 tsp 2-3 times a day, safe for both children (over 2 years old) and adults alike. One other little trick I learned during COVID-19 from our friend across The Pond is boosting vitamin D to close to 1,000 IUs PER POUND of body weight for 2-3 days ONLY. So, a 150-pound person could safely take 150,000 IUs of vitamin D3 for 2-3 days, then lower to 5,000-10,000 IUs a day (depending on vitamin D blood status).