Published on September 2, 2015
September 2, 2015
There has been a lot written about the decrease in the incidence of colds and flu (see our own chart below) and, the evidence is strong for prevention. But, what happens when you do get a cold or flu? Does it deplete the stores of vitamin D? If so, would that imply that during the course of our illness that we should take more vitamin D? If so, how much more?
This week we want to share your data with respect to cold and flu prevention. Does a higher vitamin D serum level decrease the likelihood of getting a cold or flu? Let’s see what your D*action data has to show about this.
In the GrassrootsHealth questionnaire that accompanies each vitamin D test, participants are asked whether they had a cold or flu in the previous 6 months. This graph shows:
- 33% of D*action participants experienced a cold and 10% experienced a flu during the 6 months before their most recent test.
- Participants with vitamin D levels ≥ 40 ng/ml reported 41% fewer cases of the flu and 15% fewer colds than participants with levels <20 ng/ml.
What have some of our panel scientists found?