Another natural health expert penned a column this week promoting sunlight and vitamin D as the best way to fight off wintertime flu. Dr. Steven Joyal, vice president of Science and Medical Affairs for the Life Extension Foundation, wrote a syndicated column this week picked up in the mass media explaining why vitamin D helps the body fight flu.

“As soon as flu and cold viruses invade our bodies, the immune system releases virus-killing compounds called antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Our lungs and bronchial passages are especially rich in AMP-producing cells. These cells require vitamin D to function effectively,” Joyal wrote.

He continued, “Vitamin D also balances inflammatory cytokine release. Cytokines are chemicals that are in part responsible for the fever and congestion associated with colds and flu. A hyper-reactive immune response, called ‘cytokine storm,’ has been linked to several fatal cases of influenza. Vitamin D not only enhances our ability to produce AMP molecules, but the ‘sunshine vitamin’ also simultaneously balances the cytokine response that causes most of the misery during a bout of influenza.”

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To see the Life Extension foundation’s web site click here.