no flu vax for us -- so...

[Grivas]

we have decided to opt out of the flu vaccine, but have a question. how can we best protect our 6 mo dd from getting the flu? dh seems to bring bugs home from the office and colds are no big deal, but is there a good way to boost her immune system before it's time to fight the virus off? she is breastfed and just started solids. thanks!

[CookAMH]

I'd dose up on Vit C and Vit D now through the winter months. DD will receive benefit from bf. I plan to buy Cod Liver Oil next week, a natural source of Vit D.

[Grivas]

wow, thanks for the quick response! good suggestions.

[runes]

Seriously, proper HAND WASHING is key. Yes, the immune boosting supplements are important (and you should be taking them too, nursing mama!) but WASH YOUR HANDS!!

Proper hand washing with soap and water
Follow these instructions for washing with soap and water:

• Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid soap or use clean bar soap. Lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
• Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
• Use a towel to turn off the faucet.

[Mom2MNM]

Originally Posted by CookAMH

I'd dose up on Vit C and Vit D now through the winter months. DD will receive benefit from bf. I plan to buy Cod Liver Oil next week, a natural source of Vit D.

But it is important to note that Cod liver oil also contain Vitamin A which interferes with the absorption of D so for Vitamin D the best to take is Vitamin D3 drops which is what started giving my 6 month old. And vitamin D is fat soluble so make sure there is plenty of fat taken with it. I have never had a flu shot and I have never had the flu but DH is in the military and required to have the flumist nasal vaccine and EVERY STINKING TIME he has to get it he gets sick!

[Sileree]

Originally Posted by Mom2MNM

Vitamin A which interferes with the absorption of D

Do you have a source for that? I've never heard that before.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Mom2MNM

But it is important to note that Cod liver oil also contain Vitamin A which interferes with the absorption of D so for Vitamin D the best to take is Vitamin D3 drops which is what started giving my 6 month old. And vitamin D is fat soluble so make sure there is plenty of fat taken with it. I have never had a flu shot and I have never had the flu but DH is in the military and required to have the flumist nasal vaccine and EVERY STINKING TIME he has to get it he gets sick!

Actually, the best way to get vitamin D is from the sun....

-Angela

[Mom2MNM]

Originally Posted by Sileree

Do you have a source for that? I've never heard that before.

Just a mom of an autistic child told me when I asked her if Cod liver oil is the way to go for Vit D. definitely the sun is the best way to get it but if you go the supplement route I am told its best to use Vitd3 drops for toddlers.

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by alegna

Actually, the best way to get vitamin D is from the sun....

-Angela

While that is true hardly anybody gets enough that way.

~20 mintues of FULL body exposure in the summer time will get you about 20,000 IU in your body over the next 48 hours

~If you are dark skinned, older, obese, vegetarian, using sunscreen, sun block or cholesterol lowering drugs you will get far less than the 20,000 IU

~ if you use sunscreen with a SPF rating of 8 you will reduce your D production by 95%

~If you live above the 38 degree north latitude the sun is too weak from mid-fall to mid-spring to to stimulate D production in any significant quantity.

My info is from Alternatives April 2007

One needs to take D3 about 800IU a day minimum.

Dr Williams doesn't mention anything about D and A not being compatible.

[Grivas]

I think it's easy to get enought vitamin d from the sun if you live in the south. Up here in New England, the winter (or late fall or early spring) sun won't do it. I know our bodies can store vitamin d, so it does help to get a lot in the summer, while we can. But, aside from improving our mood I don't think sitting in the December sun in MA will help much!

[2boyzmama]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

While that is true harly anybody gets enough that way.

My research has told me otherwise. I found a website once...gosh I"ll have to look it up again...that told you exactly how much sun exposure you needed based on the latitude you lived at. For me, in Dayton Ohio, even in the winter time we only need about 15 minutes a few times a week, if I remember correctly. We get HOURS of sun exposure in the summer time, and the body can hold stores for short periods of time, so we have never found it necessary to supplement.

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

My research has told me otherwise. I found a website once...gosh I"ll have to look it up again...that told you exactly how much sun exposure you needed based on the latitude you lived at. For me, in Dayton Ohio, even in the winter time we only need about 15 minutes a few times a week, if I remember correctly. We get HOURS of sun exposure in the summer time, and the body can hold stores for short periods of time, so we have never found it necessary to supplement.

I doubt 15 minutes in the winter in your location would be enough if a person need 20 minutes full body in the summer. The sun is too week mid-winter to mid spring to to simulate D production in any significant quantity.

So says Dr William who does a lot or research for his articles.

[momto l&a]

Dr Ames suggest 1000 to 3,000 IU of D a day.

[momto l&a]

Dr Holick says

Anywhere above about 35 or 37 degrees latitude, that is, anywhere north of Atlanta, Georgia, you basically cannot make vitamin D in your skin during the wintertime.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

My research has told me otherwise. I found a website once...gosh I"ll have to look it up again...that told you exactly how much sun exposure you needed based on the latitude you lived at. For me, in Dayton Ohio, even in the winter time we only need about 15 minutes a few times a week, if I remember correctly. We get HOURS of sun exposure in the summer time, and the body can hold stores for short periods of time, so we have never found it necessary to supplement.

I think the difference is based on the definition of how much is needed.

http://nadir.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD_quartMED.html

This requires inputs of latitude, longitude, altitude, skin type, etc and it also asks how much vitD you're looking to make, and then gives the timeframe required (it's designed for an adult's surface area, for kids it would need to be scaled).

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by Mom2MNM

Just a mom of an autistic child told me when I asked her if Cod liver oil is the way to go for Vit D. definitely the sun is the best way to get it but if you go the supplement route I am told its best to use Vitd3 drops for toddlers.

The vitamin D council is big on D alone, not with A, but the Weston Price folks like them together. They apparently write letters back and forth discussing the issue.

[wallacesmum]

This is just my thought, but it would seem to me that fish oil, being more of a whole food source, would be preferable. So, if fish oil contains A & D, then I would think they go together. I think of oily-fish heavy diets as being most common in places with little sunlight in the winter.

[CanidFL]

Proper handwashing is the way to go

As for the vitamin D....I researched this a few years back and I found that 10-15 min without sunscreen a few times a week was just fine. I don't have references since it's been so long. Your body does store it. Now I live in FL so not sure if that applies to the northern parts of the world.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by CanidFL

As for the vitamin D....I researched this a few years back and I found that 10-15 min without sunscreen a few times a week was just fine. Your body does store it.

I agree. European moms take their kids out EVERY SINGLE DAY for a walk in the stroller and they are all bundled up in winter. The vitamin is absorbed through the eyes mostly. So don't put kids sunglasses on them. I have stopped wearing my prescription glasses when I go for my daily walk to give myself more of a chance of absorbing Vita D.

And CLO (cod liver oil) is the way to go for the fall/winter/spring months.

As for washing hands - well, it won't hurt, I doubt that it does much good. We get germs all over ...there is no way around them. Best is to rely on your immune system. So eat healthy, get plenty of sleep, be happy.

And for the baby, she'll get everything she needs through your bm. So make that her main diet throughout the winter months. Even if she does eat some solids, bm is still best for her. When she is sick, that will be the only nourishment she'll accept. Kids are just so intuitve.

We do have some healing aids ready but we don't treat anything BEFORE hand. As soon as we notice any sings of a cold or flu, we bring out our SA and echinacea etc. and take it.

Especially the SA (sodium ascorbate) seems to work for us. And you can take it and pass it on to your child via bm. Although she is old enough to take it for herself.

[japonica]

Keep breastfeeding, adequate vit D, handwashing--my preschooler is trained now to wash her hands as soon as she comes home, and as a nursing mama, to eat as healthy a diet as possible so the goodness is passed along in your milk...also probiotics/yogurt once baby is old enough...

Oh and no refined sugar! I know at 6 months they basically don't eat it anyway, still it starts to show up in prepared baby foods and snacks these days...