How much vitamin C should an athlete take to keep healthy?

It is the common experience of many athletes to finish an exhausting event like a marathon or iron man triathlon and feel surprisingly good; only to crash several days later going down with a virus an injury like tendonitis or feeling very depressed and tired or all of the latter. This may be fully or partially due to the delayed effects of the extreme oxidative stress suffered during the exhausting exercise (This can be either from competition or heavy training). In many cases, such as multiday events there is the added stress of sleep deprivation which hammers one's immune system.

"A practical way to reason is that, if a person carrying out heavy exercise feels that he or she has colds too often, he or she could (should?) try vitamin C.

The doses have been about 0.5 to 2 grams per day in the controlled trials and that kind of doses are safe for ordinary people (and cheap). In the US nutritional recommendations they consider that safe range goes to some 2 g/day. That is a conservative limit in my opinion, but with the current knowledge, I do not think it makes much sense to use substantially larger doses even though I consider them safe.

If we assume that the oxidative stress caused by the marathon would b protected against by higher vitamin C levels in the body, I think that the time scale would be initiation a few days before and continuing a few days after the marathon (one or two times per day I would think)". Harri

(Excerpt from correspondence between Gary Moller and Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD,Department of Public Health,University of Helsinki, Finland. Dr Hemilä is one of the world's leading researchers into the benefits or otherwide of substances like vitamin C and vitamin E).

Dr Hemilä's impressive work in this area makes fascinating reading. Here is an E-pub that summarises some of his work and contains links to substantive work by him and others on this matter.

With what we know about free radicals and how they are generated during exhasting or intense exercise, it would make good sense to anticipate excessive oxidative stress to your body and take preventive measures, if you are doing heavy training or have an exhausting competition coming up. This migh also apply to work and personal situations that may be emotionally as well as physically exhausting.

Using Dr Hemilä's advice as our guide, here is my guidance:

• If you are doing exhausting training take 1-2,000mg of vitamin C per day
• If you have a history of frequent colds, take towards the upper level (2,000mg)
• Take 2,000mg per day over the 2 days before an exhausting competition and for 2 days afterwards
• If you are taking Wagner Ester C, then you could reduce these guidelines to 50% and you will probably get the same protection or still better.
• Regardless of vitamin C supplementation, take a daily Super Smoothie that has red berries and whey protein added and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Go to sleep before 11pm every night and be out of bed by 7am
• Get plenty of sunlight on your body to boost your vitamin D levels. Get a blood test of your levels.
• An athlete requires more minerals and B group vitamins than most
• Other antioxidant food extracts like high potency garlic extracts could be added to the diet
  
• Have recovery days within your training schedule and take 3-5 days rest after an exhausting competition like a marathon.

I will be posting some guidelines about use of vitamin E which is currently a confused and controversial matter.
Your vitamin C needs can be met by purchasing from http://www.myotec.co.nz/

Read more!

Vitamin D May Cut Breast Cancer Risk by up to 50%!!!

Vitamin D May Cut Breast Cancer Risk by up to 50%!!!
April 5, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP)

Women who get lots of vitamin D are less likely to develop breast cancer, suggests a pair of studies that add to the already strong evidence that the "sunshine vitamin" helps prevent many types of cancer.
High levels of vitamin D translated to a 50 percent lower risk of breast cancer, one study found. Even modestly higher levels resulted in 10 percent less risk, which would translate to 20,000 fewer cases a year if it were true of all American women. A second study, by Canadian researchers, found that women who spent time outdoors or got a lot of vitamin D from their diets or supplements -- especially as teens -- were 25 percent to 45 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than women with less of the nutrient.

"Exposure to vitamin D at the time breasts are developing, particularly around adolescence, might be important," said lead researcher Julia Knight of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto city
_____________________________________________________

Gary Moller comments:
Why, oh why is it that research like this gets hardly any publicity, to the point of being ignored? Get this right: Here is the way we can REDUCE THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER BY HALF! Furthermore, it’s FREE!

If this was a pharmaceutical drug development, the publicity would be front page headlines, demand would be sensational and each dose would be worth a thousand dollars.

By keeping our girls out of the sun, we are increasing their breast cancer risk later in life by as much as 50%! Surely this is a scandal?

For the last few years, I have been presenting the arguments why we should be encouraging our children to be outdoors doing healthy activity, including getting exposure to Vitamin D producing sunlight. The evidence grows by the day that sunlight is essential for human health. Depression, osteoporosis, cancer, heart failure, multiple sclerosis and more and more and more are associated with Vitamin D deficiency. To understand why influenza and other viruses run rampant during winter and not summer, we need look no further than the Vitamin D connection.

Perhaps the following are reasons why this powerful and free natural therapy is being mostly ignored:

• There’s no money in it for big business: Vitamin D is free via sunlight and in dietary form (e.g. cod liver oil) it is cheap and readily available.
• Health experts and administrators have overdone the hysteria and the consequent rules about skin cancer risk. It is going to take a big effort and the need to swallow much pride to backtrack and accept that people, especially children, need daily sunshine.
• A further issue is the bureaucratic need for “one-size-fits-all rules and the need not to be seen to be discriminating by race. So, because I am fair skinned, I need just 10 minutes sunlight per day; whereas my dark-skinned partner, Alofa, needs about 30 minutes per day to get her Vitamin D.

The photo above, of my son, Alama, and his cousin, Jasmine, demonstrate two very different skin types. They are dressed appropriately for the conditions.

Problem: how do you set non-racist rules in places like childcare centres and schools? Personally, I see no problem at all – just do it!

In the meantime; what do you do?

• Get out in the sunlight for several minutes per day, depending on your skin type and expose at least 1/3 of the body.
• On days you do not get sunlight, such as during winter months, eat eggs and oily fish regularly and consider a few capsules of cod liver oil and natural vitamin D. You can get fresh high quality cod liver oil and a natural vitamin D supplement from my Store www.myotec.co.nz
• If you have children that go to school or are in day care, why not raise this sunlight and health issue at the next suitable meeting with a view to ensuring that the rules and practices are sensible and healthy?

Read more!

Is the cough caused by too much sugar?

Gary,
I have been told my kid has a cough because she has too much sugar and had poor immunity.

All I can find on the internet are hundred of references to Dr Stolls claims that sugar does affect immunity.

I know sudden high levels are not advisable - sugar rush - adrenalin injection, etc.

any input appreciated

thanks
John
____________________________
Gary Moller comments:

Notes:

1. There is growing evidence that high intakes can weaken the immune system over time. I have no doubt and as parents we should err on the side of caution.
2. There are many ailments related to high sugar intake including diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
3. Sugar comes in many forms. All carbohydrates, other than indegiestible forms like starch, become simple sugars with digestion, so noodles, bread, corn flakes and most fat free foods are ultimately sugar.
4. With processed sugar and carbohydrate products comes many other potentially harmful things like colourings, flavourings, preservatives, stabilisers, trans fats and so on that may become toixic to the growing child.
5. It may not be the sugar that is causing the cough. A high sugar diet may be indicative of a diet that is low in the fat soluble vitamins. Vitamins A, D and E are essential for lung health. We can assume that she is low in these fat soluble vitamins unless she has been:
1. Eating organ meat regularly
2. Consuming whole milk, yellow butter, yellow cheese daily
3. Eating the yellow yolks of free range eggs often
4. Eating oily fish
5. Having fish head soup, beef bone broth and so on frequently
6. Taking cod liver oil
7. Getting lots of sun on her growing body
8. Getting plenty of Vitamin C which is also essential for lung health - A diet high in refined foods is usually very low in this.
6. Even quite young girls can complicate matters considerably by being picky eaters, becoming amateurish vegetarians and so on.

Possible solutions:

1. Implement all of the items detailed in 5 above
2. Supplementing the diet with a child's nutritional supplement like Floradix Kinderval, or Nutra-Life Nutrimon - plus some additional vitamin C
3. Dealing with the Picky Eater problem, if this is the case (Would some readers like to write in with their advice, please!)
   

Read more!

New Service: Hair Tisssue Mineral Analysis

I am delighted to offer an exciting new service:

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)

Minerals are essential for growth, healing and wellbeing. If you are an athlete in serious training you need to ensure that your mineral balance is healthy. If you a chronic health condition, or just keep getting sick or feel constantly stressed or tired, you have a mineral imbalance or toxic levels of posonous heavy metals. If you are on prescription medicines such as for blood pressure, you may have an imbalance.

At last! We can eliminate most of the guessing about whether or not you are mineral defient, imbalanced or suffering from the toxic effects of exposure to heavy metals like mercury and lead.

Once we have the results in just a matter of days, we will know exactly what we are dealing with. Better still, we will have specific recommendations pertaining to modifying your diet and any supplementation needs to improve or maintain health.

Hair tissue mineral analysis is accurate, more so than a blood test, it is scientifically robust, and repeatable. If you are currently under the care of a health professional, the information gained is clinically valuable and should be shared with your healthcare provider.

For detailed information about this exciting and valuable new service, please go here.

Or else, get hold of me direct and I will send you an information pack immediately.

Read more!

Link

Exercise and cancer - is too much exercise bad for you?

"She won the New York City Marathon from 1978-80, 1982-86 and 1988, the London Marathon twice (1983, 1986), was world marathon champion in 1983, a five-time world cross-country champion and won silver in the marathon at the 1984 Olympics.
So now Waitz has been diagnosed with cancer. Not too different than Lance Armstrong, one of the most talented endurance athletes of all time who came down with testicular cancer.
Exercise is absolutely necessary for high-level wellness, but if you exercise too much it is clearly harmful and cancer seems to be a possible adverse outcome. My guess is that one's antioxidant threshold is exceeded or micronutrients are consumed at a level that cannot be easily replaced. Either way, they both add up to a major problem."

Quoted from an article by Dr J Mercola in response to the news that runner, Grete Waitz, is undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.
_____________________________
Gary Moller comments:
While much disease is still "luck of the draw", there is still a lot that we can do to reduce controllable risk factors so that the odds of the draw are more in our favour. Too much exercise is not good for us. Having spent most of my life in sporting circles I have been well aware that exercise does not necessarily make one healthier.

Longterm studies such as the Framingham Study, show that moderate exercise improves life expectancy; whereas excessive exercise reduces it. Excessive, exhaustive exercise can deplete immune function and increase the risk of colds (This can be countered to some extent by taking additional antioxidants, principally vitamin C) Please refer to my earlier article about this.

The first defense against disease, including cancer, is a strong immune system that is bolstered by dietary antioxidants derived from foods such as berries and brightly coloured fruit and vegetables. Adequate vitamin D derived mostly from sunlight is essential for a robust immune system.

We need to reduce exposure to toxins such as environmental pollutants and numerous chemicals in products like cleaners; burned, stale and rancid foods, food additives and even excess alcohol and various medications. As sports people we should not ignore the cancer risks of anabolic steroid abuse which is popularised by high profile athletes and celebrities (Refer my article about Arnold Schwarzeneggar).

One of the best predictors of future ill-health is stress and that includes events like getting married, divorced, changing jobs, a promotion/demotion, travel and running a marathon. We sure can do a lot about exercise; but what about the people who overdo it and do so year after year?

As many doctors know, an obsessive-compulsive addiction to exercise is one of the most difficult sports medicine problems to deal with. There are numerous examples of compulsive exercisers who continue to exercise to excess, despite badly worn joints. A doctor's advice to "rest up" is seldom heeded. Refer to my earlier article about excessive exercise here. In such cases, a combination of referral to counselling services and being placed under the caring wing of a knowledgeable sports coach may be the best course of action.

While exercise is good for you, too much of a good thing is not. Maintaining good health is all about balance in life and moderation of all things good while minimising all things bad.

Read more!

Link

Can incidental exposure to sunlight produce optimum levels of vitamin D?

"During the summer months most people should be able to achieve adequate vitamin D (blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D) levels through incidental outdoor UV exposure outside peak UV times (2). As an example, someone who burns easily in the sun (skin type 1 or 2 - see Appendix 2) may only need 5 minutes of daily summer sun exposure before 11am and after 4pm (to the face, hands and forearms) to achieve adequate vitamin D levels whereas someone who tans more easily or has darker skin (skin type 5 or 6) will need more time e.g., up to 20 minutes."

Quoted from Cancer Society Position Statement: The Risks and Benefits of Sun Exposure in New ZealandSeptember 2005

Photo: Alama and Jamine Moller: sun exposure according to skin type

_______________________________________

Gary Moller Comments:
These guidelines are misleading and have no relationship with reality. They are instrumental in creating an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency-related ailments that are beginning to swamp our health system.

I have been running a campaign since 2001 to highlight the importance of Vitamin D for optimum health and a long and productive life span. I can tell readers that I have not yet had a single person who has consulted me about health or injury problems who has optimum vitamin D levels. Every single person has been either deficient or not far off it. Clinical deficiency begins at 50, optimum is 120-150nmol/l. The lowest level by a client has been 8. Needless to say, she was not feeling well.

Can you obtain optimum levels of vitamin D by "incidental exposure" as advised by the Cancer Society? My answer is a definite "NO!" Take compeititive cyclists for example: They spend long hours out in the sun, but only expose their arms and legs at the most (Usually when sipping lattes outside a cafe!). This exposure can be over several hours and often during peak UV periods of the day. So far, the highest summer time vitamin D levels I have seen produced by a cyclist is just 75.

Sunlight is our only practical source of vitamin D, unless we consume large amount of seal blubber and various animal organs. Normal dietary sources such as eggs and liver and varous supplements like cod liver oil are not sufficient to significantly increase vitamin D levels. They serve only to slow the attrition that normally occurs over winter months. Cod liver oil, for example, can safely deliver only 200-800 iu of vitamin D, per day whereas full body exposure to sunlight can deliver from 10-20,000 iu in a single day.

It is time that the cancer authorities reviewed the latest evidence and altered their sun exposure guidelines accordingly.

Read more!

Link

How much vitamin C should an athlete take to avoid colds?

It is the common experience of many athletes to finish an exhausting event like a marathon or iron man triathlon and feel surprisingly good; only to crash several days later going down with a virus an injury like tendonitis or feeling very depressed and tired or all of the latter. This may be fully or partially due to the delayed effects of the extreme oxidative stress suffered during the exhausting exercise (This can be either from competition or heavy training). In many cases, such as multiday events there is the added stress of sleep deprivation which hammers one's immune system.

"A practical way to reason is that, if a person carrying out heavy exercise feels that he or she has colds too often, he or she could (should?) try vitamin C.

The doses have been about 0.5 to 2 grams per day in the controlled trials and that kind of doses are safe for ordinary people (and cheap). In the US nutritional recommendations they consider that safe range goes to some 2 g/day. That is a conservative limit in my opinion, but with the current knowledge, I do not think it makes much sense to use substantially larger doses even though I consider them safe.

If we assume that the oxidative stress caused by the marathon would b protected against by higher vitamin C levels in the body, I think that the time scale would be initiation a few days before and continuing a few days after the marathon (one or two times per day I would think)". Harri

(Excerpt from correspondence between Gary Moller and Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD,Department of Public Health,University of Helsinki, Finland. Dr Hemilä is one of the world's leading researchers into the benefits or otherwide of substances like vitamin C and vitamin E).

Dr Hemilä's impressive work in this area makes fascinating reading. Here is an E-pub that summarises some of his work and contains links to substantive work by him and others on this matter.

With what we know about free radicals and how they are generated during exhasting or intense exercise, it would make good sense to anticipate excessive oxidative stress to your body and take preventive measures, if you are doing heavy training or have an exhausting competition coming up. This migh also apply to work and personal situations that may be emotionally as well as physically exhausting.

Using Dr Hemilä's advice as our guide, here is my guidance:

• If you are doing exhausting training take 1-2,000mg of vitamin C per day
• If you have a history of frequent colds, take towards the upper level (2,000mg)
• Take 2,000mg per day over the 2 days before an exhausting competition and for 2 days afterwards
• If you are taking Wagner Ester C, then you could reduce these guidelines to 50% and you will probably get the same protection or still better.
• Regardless of vitamin C supplementation, take a daily Super Smoothie that has red berries and whey protein added and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Go to sleep before 11pm every night and be out of bed by 7am
• Get plenty of sunlight on your body to boost your vitamin D levels. Get a blood test of your levels.
• An athlete requires more minerals and B group vitamins than most
• Other antioxidant food extracts like high potency garlic extracts could be added to the diet
  
• Have recovery days within your training schedule and take 3-5 days rest after an exhausting competition like a marathon.

I will be posting some guidelines about use of vitamin E which is currently a confused and controversial matter.
Your vitamin C needs can be met by purchasing from http://www.myotec.co.nz/

Read more!

How to interpret your vitamin D results

Over the last year, I have had many people obtain blood tests through their doctor or specialist for vitamin D levels. This test is often not easy to obtain with some doctors refusing outright to order the test, or charging the patient extra to get it done which is outrageous.

What I can tell you is every test result - without exception - has come back as either clinically deficient, or not far off. Nobody, including me, has produced a result anywhere near optimum. If a person is suffering ill health such as depression, low energy, viral infection, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, muscle and joint pain and so on and so on, then nothing less than optimum is acceptable as far as vitamin D is concerned.

Whenever you are addressing a health issue: "Normal" is not necessarily "Healthy". Always find out what is "Optimal" and go for that and settle for nothing less

When interpreting Lab test results for Vitamin D:

Optimal 25-hydroxy vitamin D values are:

45-50 ng/ml or 115-128 nmol/l

Normal 25-hydroxy vitamin D lab values are:

20-56 ng/ml 50-140 nmol/l

Your vitamin D levels should NEVER be below 32 ng/ml, or the equivalent in nmol/l. Any levels below 20 ng/ml are considered serious defiency states and will increase your risk of breast and prostate cancer, osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases like MS and rheumatoid arthritis - to name a few.

(Reference: Holick MF. Calcium and Vitamin D. Diagnostics and Therapeutics. Clin Lab Med. 2000 Sep;20(3):569-90)

Read more!

Take a cold shower!

"Dear Gary,
Cold therapy. Hey I was amazed you kept up the cold shower routine for all of TWO days!
(Refer my earlier article about cold therapy)
I'll tell you a story.

When I was at school I read a book. I think it was "A stone for Danny Fisher" by Harold Robbins. It was about a young boxer who, on advice from his coach, finished each shower with an icy cold one.

I was impressed so started to do the same. Normal shower, then turn the water up to slightly more you can bear for a minute, then turn off the hot and spend two or three minutes under the cold water only.

Believe it or not I still do this every morning to this very day! No bullshit! I did it in Dunedin in the winter and was pleased to find out that when you step of of the cold shower your pores have snapped shut and you don't feel cold while you are drying off! Step out of a hot shower on a Dunedin winter's morn and see how you feel!

Result: Apart occasional sniffles for a day or two i can honestly say I have never had the flu or a bad cold in my entire life! I still piss people off every winter when the cold bugs are doing the rounds, watch them suffer and here them say "You'll be next" and never have it happen."
Dave
________________________________

Gary Moller comments:
Staying fit and healthy is not rocket science and can be as simple as a cold shower and a few other simple dietary and lifestyle measures. As Dave illustrates, even a rather trashy novelist can be a source of excellent health advice. The same can be said of Grandma with her cod liver oil for the children. Scientific evidence often lags decades behind experience and intuition. Dave has so ably demonstrated that the key to health is to consistently apply these simple practices year after year.

Read more!

Freezing your body is good for you!

"Cryotherapy could be the key to keeping joints, muscles and tissues healthy over time. It works by shrinking the molecules in the body, so that when you emerge from the cold, the molecules expand, increasing the blood flow and easing pain, swelling and inflammation.
Cryotherapy involves exposing yourself to extremely cold, dry air in a sealed room for up to three minutes at a time. In Poland, cryotherapy has become a popular treatment for rejuvenating and revitalizing the body and it is also widely used by eastern European athletes instead of an "ice bath" to aid post-training recovery. ...."
_____________________________
Gary Moller Comments:
I think the theory of shrinking and expanding moleclues is speculative bunkum.

The better explanation is that acute exposure to cold, such as an ice bath, gives a shock to the body's immune system. Done regularly, like the little old lady who takes a daily dip in the ocean, this keeps the immune system stimulated on high alert.

This is why people who adhere to these kinds of daily practices have robust immune systems and appear to be resistant to immune related ailments that are referred to in this report.

As a matter of interest; about 10 years ago I was so convinced of the health benefits of the early morning dip, I began taking cold showers first thing in the morning. I managed to keep this routine going for all of two days!

Read more!

Link

Cell phones reduce sperm counts

A study debuted in New Orleans has suggested that electromagnetic radiation from cell phones may have an effect on a man's sperm count.
The researchers, whose findings were presented at the 62nd annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said the sperm may also be affected by the heat generated by the phones, RxPG News reported Tuesday. Researchers from Cleveland, Mumbai and New Orleans said the effect on a man's sperm count depends on the number of hours he spends using his cell phone every day. They said data from 364 men being treated for infertility revealed that men who do not use cell phones averaged sperm counts of 86 million per milliliter with 40 percent normal forms and 68 percent motility, while men who used their phones for more than four hours per day averaged sperm counts of 66 million per milliliter with 21 percent normal forms and 48 percent motility. The researchers said further studies are needed to accurately identify the reason for reduced sperm counts in cell phone users.

___________________________________

Gary Moller comments:

The radiation exposure from cell phones is an uncontrolled experiment being conducted on the human population. A scandal of massive proportions is possibly in the making.

If you value the Family Jewels, as well as your brains, why wait for the researchers decide what's up? Here's a few obvious safety measures for cell phone use that don't compromise their utility:

• Don't hang your phone on your belt right next to your crutch, or store it in your pocket where it snuggles up to to the dangly bits. The same should apply with more importance to women with regards to avoiding exposure of their ovaries because their eggs are one-off gems that tend to degrade with time, so it makes sense not to risk anything that might hasten this natural process.
• Use a hands free device whenever possible. The radiation is strongest when the phone is in active use, so it makes sense to keep it away from the brain.
• Do not sleep with the phone on standby, tucked under your pillow (a common practice with teenagers exchanging txt day and night.

This advice is probably more important for younger people who have more rapidly dividing cells and who stand to have longer lifetime exposures.

Read more!

Link

Low vitamin D, depression, high blood pressure and the rest

"M" has been suffering excessively high blood pressure, a racing heart, poor energy and depression. In her early 80's she has been consulting her doctor. Other than blood pressure medicine, there has been little else her doctor can do for her.

At my urging over some months, she finally persuaded her doctor to test her vitamin D levels. The results have come back: her levels were just 15 - as good as zero - which means she is seriously deficient and at real risk of numerous ailments including osteoporosis, heart failure and various cancers and nervous conditions!
Optimum vitamin D levels are in excess of 100, so "M" has a lot of work to do. Her Dr has prescribed cholecalcitrol (vit D) and I am encouraging her to get outdoors into the sunshine (If only there was some in Wellington!).

So far, every person that I have had tested for vitamin D who are suffering health problems, such as chronic pain have come back with levels less than 60.

Why on earth don't doctors test for this critical vitamin more often? I just can not understand why not.

I will keep readers posted as to "M's" progress. In the meantime, go get your own levels tested.

Read more!

I got a cold the day after running a race

"Hi Gary – I had a 10km race yesterday morning and woke up today with a bit of a cold – could the 2 be linked or is it more likely to be a coincidence?

Apart from the obvious (i.e. wear warmer clothing) do you have any tips for training / racing on really cold mornings or evenings?"

________________________________

Gary Moller responds:

It is probably more than a coincidence.

First of all, you might have already been coming down with a bug before the race; but were symptom free. Running hard out is a significant stress and would not have helped if your immune system was already struggling. Unaccustomed running hard in cold air may have added to the problem by the irritating your airway linings, making them more vulnerable to invasion by the virus.

The best prevention is ensuring that your immune system is given every bit of support possible. This is a year-round challenge because what you do several months earlier can impact on today. This means doing the following:

• Ensure that you have a balanced lifestyle that does not have you stressed and being run ragged all the time. A life of rush, bother and constant worry will eventually tear you down, so make life changes today before a severe crash.
• Get 7-8 hours sleep at exactly the same time daily. Sleep deprivation is a guaranteed way to cause immune breakdown.
• Ensure that you eat a nutrient rich diet including fresh fruit and leafy and coloured vegetables.
• Consider adding a quality multivitamin that includes plenty of vitamin C; a multi mineral and add some daily omega 3 oil.
• Get vitamin D from sunlight. This does not mean tanning – it means only several minutes of midday sun 3-4 times a week with plenty of skin exposed; preferably the torso. Pale skin works best in winter; brown skin needs much more sunlight.
• You might consider taking an herbal formulation that is designed to support the immune system. Consider taking Oliviral or Rhodiola over winter months. You can get these from www.myotec.co.nz
• Keep away from infected people and wash your hands frequently.
• If you are training hard, including doing any kind of racing, you must be extra vigilant to ensure that you are eating well, spacing recovery days and getting adequate sleep and relaxation.
• When exercising in cold wear several layers of clothing that you can easily take on and off as body heat demands.
• Your lungs will adapt to running in cold air, if you do it often enough and so long as you are not talking about severe sub-zero conditions which require special safety measures. Have a long, hot bath afterwards.

What these measures will do in combination is help reduce the number and severity of any colds or flu’s that you might pick up over the year and you should get over them much quicker. As an aside, I don't think people need to have a flu vaccine, if they nurture their immune system in these ways.

If you do catch a cold while undertaking intense athletic training or competition, this is your body telling you that it needs a break. Take 3-5 days off everything other than short and easy stuff, eat really well, top up the vitamins and minerals and then gradually ease back into normal training.

If the infection is below the neck, then cut out the training altogether until recovered. Read my newsletter on sudden death.

Read more!

Why do we mostly get ill with flus and colds in winter?

Dr. Liu and colleagues at UCLA, publishing in this March's edition of the prestigious journal Science, showed that vitamin D might be, in effect, a potent antibiotic. Vitamin D increases the body's production of naturally occurring antibiotics: antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial peptides are produced in numerous cells in the human body where they directly and rapidly destroy the cell walls of viruses and bacteria, including tuberculosis. Furthermore, Liu showed that adding vitamin D to African American serum (African Americans have higher rates of TB) dramatically increased production of these naturally occurring antibiotics.
Science. 2006 Mar 24;311(5768):1770-3.

_____________________________

Gary Moller comments:

Why is it that dark-skinned populations tend to be less healthy when:

• They shift further North or South?
• They move into cities?

If we get colds and flu due to getting cold, then why is it that people who work the skifields, including pro skiers always seem to be very healthy?

Why is it that flus and colds are worst during winter, despite the fact that these bugs are present in populations year round?

Why is it that flu outbreaks in the tropics are worst during the rainy season?

The answer may be due to my pet topic for some years now: Vitmain D deficiency which is present in populations and worst during winter. We are learning all the time just why the body produces massive amounts of this vitamin when the skin is exposed to sunlight. The latest finding is that it may exert a powerful antibiotic effect on both bacteria and viruses.

When people move North or South and into cities, they tend to get much less year-round sunlight and dark-skinned people are poorly adapted for low sunlight. During the rainy season in the tropics, there may be no sunlight for weeks on end. This is exacerbated nowadays in many lands by air pollution that blocks UV. People who work on skifields get constant exposure to high levels of UV radiation, thus producing vitamin D despite the cold.

Commonsense tells us that the human body must be making Vitamin D for very good reasons. The list of good reasons grows longer by the day.

Read more!