Utopia Holistic Health and Holidays Utopia Holistic Health & Holidays Issue 8 August 2 | Page 8

HOW TO
REDUCE THE
RISK OF
GETTING THE
FLU THIS
SEASON.
Words by Dr Elen ApThomas
Holistic Doctor MBBS (Adel) and DRANZOG
The weather is cooling down and the risks increase for
getting a cold or more seriously the flu. This not only
makes us feel terrible and can have serious health
outcomes especially in the very young and the very old
but also causes loss of income when we need to take
time of work or to look after sick relatives.
In these circumstances the old saying of an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure is very accurate.
There are lots of proactive steps we can take to
strengthen our innate immune system so that if we are
exposed to an infection we can mount a more effective
response and help reduce its severity.
Once of the best simple things you can do is take daily
Vitamin C. An adult dose is 500 to 1,000 mg daily. I
have found with my patients that the trick is to take the
Vit C before you are exposed to the infection.
Especially for example taking it before you go on a
plane flight to reduce the risk of catching any virus
present from any passenger due to the lovely recycled
air.
If you already have a cold or flu starting to take Vitamin
C then doesn’t seem to reduce the duration or severity
of the infection.