Did you know that the official ‘flu season’ runs from the first of November through the end of January? There are several interesting facts to look at in that time frame. I was told growing up that this was the flu season because it was colder outside and people spend more time inside in groups. This would cause the more rapid spread of germs and disease. There is some fact in this, but it doesn’t look like it is the whole story. If this were the whole reason then people in warmer climates wouldn’t be affected by the flu season, because they continue their lifestyles the same almost year round, if you look at the maps on the news that isn’t happening. If it was connected with the school year it should start earlier, like at the beginning of the year, instead of two months later.

Another piece of the puzzle does fit a little bit better. That is that in the winter there is less sunlight, therefore people get less sunshine, and less vitamin D. Several well known sources have written volumes on this connection, and there seems to be a lot of truth in it. The problem with this is again the warmer climates. People in states like Texas do not get a great reduction in the amount of sunlight they get. During the hot summer months the people that can stay inside do so. I grew up in Central Texas, and there are times when even the small children refuse to go outside and play because it is so hot. Granted, because of the school year they are forced to stay inside many hours, but most of the schools have a period of time every day where the children are outside in the sunshine. So, there is a correlation here, but I still don’t think it is the whole story.

When we think of dietary needs for osteoporosis the first thing that comes to mind is calcium. This is the stuff bones are made of, so it is an obvious place to start. What does strike me as a large piece of the puzzle is the correlation with the calendar months and the holidays. If the flu season officially starts the first of November, what has occurred just days before? Halloween! Halloween has become the celebration of sugar. Even my two year old grandson caught on very quickly that if you went up to a house, stuck out your bag and grinned real big that people would give you candy. He thought that was great! His parents got a wonderful workout chasing him down as he made a beeline from house to house. And do the children and adults just look at that shiny candy and put it away? No! Given the opportunity children of all ages will stuff as much of that candy into their mouths as possible. The ‘older children’ will just be more subtle about it.

Why am I belaboring Halloween and vilifying candy? Because study after study has shown that the sugar found in abundance in candy lowers your immune system. If you have a strong immune system and you eat the occasional after dinner mint or birthday cake it is not going to hurt you. If you have a compromised immune system even that small amount might be harmful. The problem comes when you eat large amounts of sugar on a daily basis for an extended period of time. Isn’t this what happens after Halloween? Am I saying to ban Halloween? No, just be aware of what it is doing and take steps to counteract it.

About the time we finish up the Halloween candy Thanksgiving rolls around. The traditional Thanksgiving meal is one of excess and abuse of our bodies. Frankly I’m not real sure I how I am going to handle it this year. The turkey or ham is traditionally the protein, though some substitute other proteins. This in itself isn’t bad, except that excess protein does put a strain on the body, and any strain lowers the immune system. Then there are the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, candied yams, etc. Growing up there were very little vegetables in the meal, maybe a green bean casserole if we got lucky. There were also plenty of white rolls and of course the desserts. Sometimes the dessert portion of the meal rivaled in quantity the main portion of the meal. Each dish in and of itself is not bad. It is the excess we indulge in, and the overwhelming majority of processed foods in the mix. White sugar, white flour, preservatives, they all combine to lower the immune system.

What starts right after Thanksgiving? The Christmas goodies! This was not a tradition in our home growing up, but it has been since I have been married. My mother-in-law sees to that. When she would arrive for Thanksgiving she would have a trunk full of Christmas cookies that she had already baked. She would leave them with us to tide us over until Christmas, and then supply us more. The boys loved it! They had ready made sweets in the house and short of locking them away I couldn’t do anything about it. Rather than hurting their grandmother’s feelings I usually left them out and indulged as much as they did. This was a tradition that she had brought from her childhood. Growing up this was the only time of the year when they had sweets in their home. If that were true today it probably wouldn’t be a problem, but for most of us it is abundance on top of the abundance we normally get. Christmas is then a repeat of Thanksgiving, and then some, for most American families.

Am I saying we need to ‘Bah Humbug’ all of the holidays? No way! We just need to be aware of what we are doing to our bodies and take steps to counteract them. One way to do that is to make sure that all non-celebration meals are wholesome and balanced, leaning heavily on fresh organic produce. The other thing we can do is to make sure we take our supplements.

New studies show that we need up to 2000iu of Vitamin D a day. If we eat the standard American diet I can guarantee we are not getting that amount from our foods. Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus has 400iu of Vitamin D. It does not have more because D-3, which is the recommended type of D can be found easily in any drugstore. It is one of the few vitamins that you can purchase a more inexpensive source and not worry that you are compromising your health. Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus also contains many of the other nutrients our bodies need, but are not getting from our commercially grown and over processed diets.

During times of high consumption our Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes become much more important. The more you eat at one time the bigger the burden you put on your digestive system. Our bodies are only designed to provide about 40% of the enzymes we need, at best. The rest are supposed to come from our foods. I am sorry to say that the traditional turkey dressing carries no enzymes. Not only are we eating too much, but we are eating very processed foods at this time of year. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just the types of meals where a couple of extra capsules of Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes are called for. When our digestive system can’t handle all the food it calls on our immune system to help. That pulls the immune system away from the task of keeping us healthy, just at the time of year we need it to be at its best. Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes can help take some of that stress off the immune system.

Our H1N1 Pack also includes Enriching Gifts Sterol-Max. This is because Enriching Gifts Sterol-Max builds up your immune system. You could say it feeds the immune system. At this time of year, when we are putting so much stress on our bodies it is a good idea to pamper the workers that are working the hardest. Enriching Gifts Sterol-Max does that for our immune system. It makes the existing cells stronger, and actually encourages the production of new T-Cells. Keeping your immune system strong is the key to staying well when everyone around you is sick.

The last product in our H1N1 Pack is the Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver . I have always referred to this as ‘Nature’s Antibiotic’. I recently read an article; unfortunately I don’t remember where so I can’t quote it that said that Colloidal Silver was better than anti-biotics. Their reasoning was that bacteria can grow immune to anti-biotics, and that anti-biotics have side effects that silver doesn’t. They did not mention that Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver has also been shown effective against viruses and fungus. The H1N1 flu is a virus. Because the flu season is so long Ron Schneider, the founder of Enriching Gifts International, has come up with a new protocol for using the Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver. He suggests mixing 3 capfuls of the Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver with a gallon of purified water. This can then be used as a surface cleaner, skin cleaner, and gargle. It is not to be swallowed. You want to leave intact the good bacteria in your body. This is a much more diluted usage of the Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver than has been recommended before, but his studies are showing that for the long term use of the flu season this is the best bang for your buck. I know I keep a small spray bottle of the silver in my purse to use where others would use the commercial hand sanitizers. Enriching Gifts Lightning Colloidal Silver is much gentler on your hands than most of them. If you like a little fragrance you can add a drop or two of essential oils.

I hope you enjoyed this recap of why I think these three months are the designated ‘Flu Season’. Next week I will go back to researching issues we face every day. If you have one you would like me to research please contact me.