Vitamin D has at least two ways of reducing the risk of infectious diseases. One is through strengthening both the innate and adaptive immune systems, the other is through reducing inflammatory responses to infection. The “innate immune system”responds to threats in a non-specific manner. The “adaptive immune system” can recognize and deal with specific threats it has faced before.

Recall the old days when people with tuberculosis went to sunny locations to cure their illness? The primary benefit was production of vitamin D from solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) exposure, followed by strengthening the innate immune system.

There is also good evidence that vitamin D protects against other bacteria. The earliest evidence for other bacteria was for bacteria associated with dental cavities. A vitamin D supplementation study in 1928 noted that for children taking vitamin D, there were fewer cavities and the cavity-causing bacteria were dead. Several studies from the 1930s to 1950s reported that young people living in sunnier locations in the United States had fewer dental cavities than those living in the less sunny locations. A recent review reported that many studies found reduced number of dental cavities for those with vitamin D supplementation.

There is also good evidence that vitamin D reduces risk of sepsis (blood infection). This infection often sends people to the hospital, or may be acquired in the hospital, perhaps after an operation. Thus, those planning to enter the hospital should consider making sure their vitamin D level is above 30-40 ng/ml.

Pneumonia is yet another bacterial infection that vitamin D can help prevent. For example, during the 1918-19 epidemic influenza in the United States, the primary cause of death after contracting influenza was pneumonia. However, those living in the sunnier communities had lower death rates after developing influenza than those living in the less sunny communities. Vitamin D helped in two ways: first by reducing the aggressive immune response that among other things ruptured some of the lining of the lungs, thereby permitting the ever present bacteria to invade, and second, by helping the innate immune system to fight the bacteria that lead to pneumonia.

There is also good evidence that vitamin D reduces the risk of viral infections. Influenza is more common in winter for two reasons: cold temperatures and low solar UVB doses and vitamin D production. A randomized controlled trial on Japanese school children found that those taking 1100 IU/d vitamin D3 had about one-third the rate of type A influenza as those taking 200 IU/d. Type A influenza is the most common type of influenza, such as the A/H1N1 influenza during the 1918-19 pandemic influenza and the recent “swine flu” epidemic. This reduction is similar to the effectiveness of influenza vaccination.

Both observational and randomized controlled trials have found that vitamin D reduces risk of acute respiratory infections.

There is also mounting evidence that vitamin D is beneficial for those with HIV/AIDS through strengthening the innate immune system.

So, what should one do regarding vitamin D to reduce the risk of bacterial and viral infections? Based on several studies, one should aim for vitamin D blood levels above 30 ng/ml or for better protection above 40 ng/ml. To achieve these levels takes anywhere from 1000 to 4000 IU/d vitamin D3, depending on amount of UVB exposure and weight.

So what can you do to help stop the misuse of antibiotics and prevent the growth of superbugs?

• Be a responsible consumer:  Purchase meat, poultry, milk and eggs from companies and farmers that don’t routinely feed their animals antibiotics.
• Cut down on your antibiotic use: Don’t take antibiotics unless you actually have a bacterial infection. Antibiotics won’t help a cold or virus and taking them for illnesses they can’t treat helps contribute to antibiotic resistance.
• Make your voice heard:
  • Join the Citizens Against Superbugs campaign
  • Sign the Superbug Petition and tell the President of the United States to stop the misuse of antibiotics in food animal production
  • Support the FDA’s proposed rule to limit the use of cephalosporins in food production — and let them know they should do more by commenting on the page.
  • Spread the word: Tell all your friends and family members why you oppose the misuse of antibiotics in food animals — and why they should too!

Yesterday I introduced some pretty scary statistics about antibiotic resistance and today I want to go into more depth about how it all works.

“Aren’t antibiotics for strep throat and ear infections?”

Antibiotics are one of the most important inventions of modern medicine. In humans they’re used to treat health conditions that are caused by bacteria, including ear infections, strep throat, food poisoning, and serious conditions like pneumonia and meningitis. They also help prevent infection after medical procedures like surgery.

But the majority of antibiotics in the United States — more than 30.6 million pounds in 2010 alone — are used in industrial farming, where they are administered to healthy animals to artificially speed up growth and to make up for unsanitary living conditions. Most of these antibiotics are used without any oversight by a veterinarian.

“So what is a Superbug?”

When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics on a regular basis — the way they are when antibiotics are routinely and non-therapeutically used in industrial farming — they begin to develop new traits to protect themselves. Much like how people develop immunities to certain diseases when they’re exposed to small amounts of them through immunization, bacteria develop immunity to antibiotics when they’re repeatedly exposed to them, leading to new, stronger strains of bacteria. Basically, what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger. These resistant bacteria, or “superbugs,” have adapted to the point where certain antibiotics can no longer kill them. This means some antibiotics are no longer effective for treating specific diseases.

Antibiotic resistance has been growing because of the overuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals, and cases of infection by antibiotic resistant bacteria are also increasing rapidly. Now one out of six cases of campylobacter infection, the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning, is resistant to the antibiotic most often used to treat severe food poisoning.

“But I always cook my meat to well-done — am I okay?”

It’s true that being diligent about food safety is important in  preventing foodborne illness. Most of us already take steps to prevent foodborne illness from affecting our families, including cooking our meat thoroughly and being careful about spreading potential bacteria from uncooked meat, carefully washing our produce, and purchasing pasteurized products. We can help keep our families even safer by choosing meat, poultry, and dairy products from companies that don’t administer antibiotics to their livestock and who raise their livestock in healthy, sanitary conditions.

But it’s not enough. Industrial farms create tremendous amounts of concentrated animal waste — over one billions tons each year — and much of that waste is full of antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. An estimated 75% of the antibiotics administered to farm animals are not fully digested and enter the environment as waste products, where they can encounter other bacteria and create more antibiotic resistant strains. Because of the huge amounts of waste produced by industrial farms, these bacteria can enter and contaminate the water supply.

Everyone is at risk when antibiotics no longer work, but children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk. So it’s incredibly important that we take steps to curb the tide of antibacterial resistance.

“What Can We Do?”

Actually, a lot. Tomorrow I’ll talk about what to look for when purchasing meat and poultry products to make sure the food you feed your family is free of antibiotics. Thursday, I’ll discuss the real cost of producing food and why it’s important to vote with your dollars and buy sustainably produced food products. And Friday, I’ll talk about ways that we can take action to protect our families against superbugs — and keep antibiotics working for future generations.

It’s that season again — cold & flu! We all know some germs need to be killed (Only some, you say? Find out why we shouldn’t kill all germs from Dr. Greene). Find out what products Pure Natural Diva uses in this informative video.

Dr. Greene’s Answer:

Most adults — but not all — have already had Hand Foot and Mouth and are not at risk. There are a few different strains of viruses that cause Hand Foot and Mouth though, so having had the illness once isn’t a guarantee.

Kids may be contagious just by being in the same room while they have a fever and up to 24 hours after. The saliva can contain the virus for up to 2-3 weeks. The stool can contain the virus for 3-8 weeks or so.

I don’t recommend keeping kids out of school beyond 24 hours after fever – because there are enough kids in class with it anyway without the fever, and don’t even know they have it. Keeping kids out doesn’t appreciably change the spread.

But I do keep away from “vulnerable” adults not around a lot of kids, if possible. Not in same room if they have a fever, plus 24 hours after the fever is gone. Not sharing same food or utensils while any sores are still present in mouth or on body. No changing diapers or toileting assistance for two months. and good hand-washing all the way around, after toilet and before eating or drinking or hands in the mouth.

If others in the family do get sick, first symptoms usually occur 3-5 days after getting the virus – and become contagious about the same time (unlike chickenpox where your are contagious 24-48 hours before symptoms).

Modern kids tend to spend much less time outdoors than kids did a few generations ago – and that change could make a particularly big difference in the winter months, with today’s kids often not making the amount of vitamin D they need for optimum health.  Some have observed that kids who don’t get enough vitamin D may get 3 times as many colds and flus than others in their class. Could simply taking a vitamin D supplement slash respiratory infections in kids?

A careful 2010 study suggests the answer is yes.

More than 300 school children were given either 1200 IU of vitamin D3 or a placebo for 4 months during the winter, in a forward-looking, randomized double-blind trial. To be precise with the results, researchers who didn’t know which group each child was in tested the kids for laboratory-confirmed influenza A using nasal swabs. The results were impressive.

Taking the vitamin D supplement cut the rate of influenza A by 1/3. Among kids who hadn’t been taking vitamin D in a multivitamin or by itself before the study, taking the vitamin D supplement made an even bigger difference, dropping the rate of influenza A by 2/3.

In the absence of time in the sun, it typically takes 1000 IU a day of vitamin D3 to get optimal blood levels. Most multivitamins have no more than 400 IU vitamin D (and it’s often just D2) – but kids shouldn’t take more than one serving of a multivitamin daily because of all the other ingredients. A glass of milk has about 100 IU, but kids shouldn’t drink 6 to 10 glasses a day. Playing in the sunshine with the skin exposed can give at least 20,000 IU.

Personally, I also take vitamin D dots most days, unless I’m sure I’ve had plenty of time in the sun.

One little change could make a big difference in your child’s school year – and yours.

M. Urashima, T. Segawa, M. Okazaki, M. Kurihara, Y. Wada, and H. Ida Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2010; 91(5): 1255 – 1260

In our life time the role of germs in infection has been an accepted fact, but it wasn’t always so. Before this important discovery life was very different. I’ve narrated this informative video to tell the story of how germs were discovered and a recent development that makes fighting them safer than ever before.

What if there were a simple way that you could drop the number of coughs, colds, and fevers your child gets this school year by more than half? And when your child does get sick, what if you could cut the length of the illness in half? What if you could slash the odds that your child will need antibiotics this year, while decreasing missed school days?

Researchers randomly assigned 326 preschool children to one of three groups. In each group, the caregivers were given little foil packets of dry powder that were mixed into 4 ounces of milk for the children to drink twice a day for 6 months. During the week, the milk was prepared and served at school; on the weekends the parents were in charge.

For one group the powder contained 10 billion CFUs of Lactobacillus acidophilus, a type of probiotic or beneficial bacteria (by comparison, a typical serving of yogurt might contain 1 billion CFUs). For the second group the powder likewise contained a total of 10 billion CFUs of probiotics – but it was a mixture of two strains (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis). Probiotic supplements like this are available in many health, food, or drug stores. For the third group the powder was nothing but an inert placebo.

The school year was quite different for the three groups! In the placebo group, most of the kids got a fever sometime in the next 6 months, much as one would expect. But, the number of kids with fever was slashed by more than half among those who got the single probiotic in their mystery packets — and by almost three quarters among those who received the double probiotic —even though the kids were in the same preschool classes. Similar dramatic reductions were seen in coughs, runny noses, antibiotic use, duration of illness, and missed school days.

What we think of as “our” bodies includes ten times as many bacterial cells as human cells. Promoting healthy, diverse gut bacteria appears able to make a big difference in keeping us healthy.

Six Month Experience

Bottom line: When families didn’t do anything, most kids developed fever, cough, runny nose, and were treated with antibiotics sometime in the next 6 months. But among those who were given the probiotics, most kids did not get a fever, cough, runny nose or antibiotics over the next 6 months. And if they did get sick, it lasted on average about half as long. A dramatic difference!

Leyer GJ et al. Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children. Pediatrics 2009 Aug; 124:e172.

In the video below I discuss how to treat what I call F-Throat, or a sore throat caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum.  It’s an important health topic that you should know about, especially if you or someone you love is between the ages of 15 – 30.

If you haven’t watched yesterday’s video yet, you should.

What I call F-Throat, a sore throat caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum, is a common, important, treatable illness — but because it doesn’t show up on a strep test, it’s usually missed. Knowing about it could save a life. Find out why in the video below.

Click here now to find out how to treat F-Throat.