petitio principii

I spent yesterday and today thinking about one of the swine flu stories I caught while watching yesterday's broadcast of Good Morning America. This particular story talked of Jim Shrode who nearly died of the swine flue (http://a.abcnews.com/GMA/surving-swine-flu/story?id=8777207). Please, allow me to state unequivocally that I do not wish to minimize Mr. Shrode's ordeal. I firmly believe every life is precious. I am positive Mr. Shrode's family would agree. Also, since I am not a physician, this entire post is simply speculation.

I have one question about this story which I did not notice mentioned at any time: Did at any point Mr. Shrode's doctor consider testing his vitamin D levels? Based on the latest research I firmly believe that for a doctor not test a patient's 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level is tantamount to malpractice.

I give reserved approval to Dr. John Cannell and his Vitamin D Council for their pioneering work in furthering our understanding of the hormone. I say reserved for two reasons: 1. I am disturbed by his anti-vitamin A policy (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2008-december.shtml). I believe that vitamin A has a important place in our health (http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/CLOUpdateDec2008.pdf). 2. I have not done enough research into the Vitamin D Council and therefore do not know what entities sponsor it. I believe that the sponsor for an organization will slant the advice an organization provides.

Despite my reservations, Dr. Cannell is doing important work bringing attention to vitamin D even in the face of several government agencies ignoring the importance of it. Keep in mind that the Food and Nutrition Board has set the Dietary Reference Intake of vitamin D between 200 IU and 600 IU (http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/7/296/webtablevitamins.pdf). This is a far cry from the 5000 IU recommended by the Vitamin D Council (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health/deficiency/am-i-vitamin-d-deficient.shtml) or even the 2000 UI recommended by WAPF (http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/cod-liver-oil-menu.html). Dr. Cannell has even researched the relationship between the H1N1 influenza and vitamin D, http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/vitamin-d-and-h1n1-swine-flu.shtml.

Again, this is all speculation, but maybe Mr. Shrode's ordeal could have been prevented if only he had adequate intake of vitamin D. I know I am taking a middle of the road recommendation. Personally, I have been taking fermented cod liver oil in a dose that provides roughly 3000 IU of vitamin D (which incidentally also has about 20 000 IU of vitamin A). I have been doing that about a year, and during that time I have not had anything more than a case of the sniffles. I am sure my diet (explained in previous posts) as a lot to do with my health, but the research I read says all of the factors go hand-in-hand.

Therefore, I have no expectations or plans to get sick this flu season. I cannot predict the future, so I cannot say I will not get sick. I just know I would rather take my chances with the flu instead of the government backed solution. While Jim Shrode's experience may have turned him into a vaccine believer, I am not so convinced.