If you’re like me, you’re sick of hearing the incredible, never-ending hype about the swine flu and vaccines.  The only reason I’m writing about it now is because something as simple as vitamin D is apparently key to avoiding and coping with the flu.

Did you know the flu doesn't necessarily pass from a sick person to a well person?  Byron Richards writes in a recent NewsWithViews article that scientists can't prove conclusively that the flu passes the way we're told it does.  Rather, people who are deficient in vitamin D are generally more likely to get the flu.  View the article here.

There's no guarantee you won't get the flu even when you take vitamin D, but think about this.  Why is the flu seasonal?  It occurs when people get less vitamin D than any other time of the year.  If avoiding the flu is so simple, don’t you think vitamin D should be getting serious attention?  Of course, that would fly in the face of the big pharmaceutical companies, wouldn’t it?  The sale of vitamin D isn’t so profitable.

Have you heard that many nurses and other health care workers are resisting the H1N1 flu shot?  They don’t want getting the shots to be mandatory.  They prefer good hygiene instead as their main protection against the flu.  Do you think just maybe they know a little something about this?

That reminds me that the other day I heard a medical official or hospital administrator, or some such person, chide health workers for not getting the vaccine.  She snidely asked if you and I would like to be treated by a surgeon who hadn’t scrubbed before surgery.  How ridiculous!

If many health workers are around sick people all the time and don’t get the flu all that often, I’d rather put my trust in their judgment than the medical administrator’s.  I’m insulted and offended by her alleged concern for me.  What do you think?

You may be interested to know that an article in the November “Atlantic Monthly” asks whether the flu vaccine matters.  It's asserted that, generally speaking, healthy people are more inclined to get flu vaccines than those who aren't as healthy, which skews results of the vaccine's effectiveness.  What's more, vaccine studies are often flawed, but discussing such things is forbidden among medical officials.  You can read the somewhat lengthy article when you click here.

            As for vitamin D, I know you can pick it up about any place vitamins are sold.  But if you’d like to buy it online, you can do so right here by clicking on the Puritan’s Pride logo, which takes you to their Web site.  Type vitamin D in the search box, and you’ll see a page with several offerings.

Byron Richards recommends 2000-5000 IU of vitamin D per day during the months when sickness is going around.  With that in mind, you can decide what size of a bottle you and your family need and which is most economical for you.  Why not get some for your survival med kit as well?

Isn’t it wonderful when something so simple and straightforward can make such a big difference, and maybe even save your life?