Flu season is upon us and once again you are faced with the dilemma: should you get a flu vaccine or not? Are there other flu prevention strategies that may work just as well or better?

Recent studies have called into question the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in certain age groups and populations. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 90 percent of flu deaths occur among the elderly.

However, in spite of widespread flu vaccination in adults older than 65 years of age, which increased from 15 percent before 1980 to 65 percent in 2001, the number of flu-related deaths in this group did not decline.¹

A new study in The Lancet showed that in adults older than 65, the protection offered by the flu vaccine may weaken or disappear entirely during a season.

In contrast, the live attenuated flu vaccine, a.k.a. Flumist®, provided the best protection to children ages 6 months to 7 years, but not beyond.²

If you are obese, meaning your BMI (Body Mass Index) is greater than 30, you are less likely to develop and maintain an effective immune response to flu vaccination compared to healthy weight adults.³

This may be the reason why people who were overweight were more susceptible to complications from H1N1 influenza two years ago.

More than one in ten of the world’s population is obese and that means that 700 million people worldwide do not respond well to flu vaccination. In other words, if you are obese, you are more likely to get the flu and suffer a complication than a healthy weight adult.

Right now, if you are in one of these groups, you are concerned. What do you do?

Flu Prevention Guidelines to help stay healthy during flu season:

• Eat plenty of organic fruits and vegetables for their higher vitamin and anti-oxidant content
• Avoid excess sugar in your diet
• Make time for rest and sleep, especially when you feel run-down
• Exercise regularly
• If you are overweight, get on a plan to lose those excess pounds
• Stay well-hydrated, especially as the central heating kicks in
• Do not smoke
• Use a hand sanitizer, which can kill up to 99 percent of viruses and bacteria
• Manage stress with positive activities

When this is not enough, certain natural remedies have a proven track record for helping to stave off or shorten the duration of the flu.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays an important role in the body’s “immune fitness.” Naturally, vitamin D levels drop during the winter months, especially in the northern latitudes. Vitamin D was looked at as the possible “unknown factor” that British researcher, Dr. Edgar Hope-Simpson, postulated was the cause for the seasonal rise in influenza cases in the winter.⁴

Adults with minimal sun exposure and in northern latitudes should get 5,000 IU daily of vitamin D3 during the winter months as a preventive.^{5 6}

Black Elderberry Extract

A number of studies have shown the effectiveness of black elderberry extract in shortening the duration of the flu.^{7 8} For treating influenza, take 15 mL every four hours while awake until symptoms subside.

You can also take Black Elderberry Extract daily as a preventive remedy – Only 1 tablespoon per day.

Zinc

If you are deficient in zinc, your immune system will have a diminished ability to fight off infections.^{9 10} Zinc also offers protection from the spreading of influenza from infected cells to ones that have not been infected.¹¹

Take 25mg of zinc lozenges every two to four hours while awake, beginning with the earliest sign of symptoms until they improve.

Oscillococcinum®

At the first sign of flu symptoms, start taking oscillococcinum® every 6 hours to help reduce the duration and severity of symptoms.

Vincent Pedre, M.D. is an integrative, Holistic General Practitioner and Board-Certified Internist in private practice in New York City. Follow Dr. Pedre on Facebook and Twitter.

¹ Simonsen L, Reichert TA, Viboud C, et al.  Impact of influenza vaccination on seasonal mortality in the US elderly population.  Arch Intern Med 2005;165:265-272.

² Osterholm, M, PhD, et al.  Efficacy and Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccines: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.  The Lancet Infectious Disease, Early Online Publication, 26 October 2011; doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(11)70295-X

³ Sheridan, PA, et al.  Obesity is associated with impaired immune response to influenza vaccination in humans.  International Journal of Obesity advance online publication 25 October 2011; doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.208

⁴Cannell, et al: Epidemic influenza and vitamin D.  Review Article. Epidemiology and Infection (2006), 134 : 1129-1140. Cambridge University Press.

⁵Smith SM. Vitamin D supplementation during Antartic Winter. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr;89(4):1092-8. Epub 2009 Feb 18.

⁶Weaver CM. Vitamin D requirements: current and future. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6 Suppl):1735S-9S

⁷Zakay-Rones et al. Inhibition of several strains of influenza virus in vitro and reduction of symptoms by an elderberry extract (Sambucus nigra L.) during an outbreak of influenza B Panama. J Altern Complement Med. 1995 Winter;1(4):361-9.

⁸ Zakay-Rones et al. Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections. J Int Med Res. 2004 Mar-Apr;32(2):132-40.

⁹Klaus-Helge Ibs & Lothar Rink. Zinc Altered Immune Function. The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 133:1452S-1456S, May 2003.

¹⁰ Shankar, A. H. & Prasad, A. S. (1998) Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infections. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 68 (suppl. 2): 447S–463S.

¹¹Srivastava V, et al. Influenza A virus induced apoptosis: inhibition of DNA laddering & caspase-3 activity by zinc supplementation in cultured HeLa cells. Indian J Med Res. 2009 May;129(5):579-86.