Study Shows Vitamin D Reduces Risk of the Flu by up to 50%

by DailyHealthPost Editorial

vitamin d flu

“The Sunshine Vitamin”

Vitamin D has become known as “the sunshine vitamin” because the best place to get it is from sunlight. When sunshine directly touches the skin, a chemical reaction takes place that creates vitamin D3.

This is partially why colds and flu are less common in the spring and summer: because there is more sunshine available for our skin to absorb. Our immune systems are then more robust (thanks to vitamin D) to eradicate invading micro-organisms.

Additionally, flu viruses find it easier to spread in cooler weather when people are more likely to gather indoors than outdoors. (1)

Vitamin D and Colds, Flu, and Respiratory Infections

A large clinical meta-analysis published in The British Medical Journal in 2016 found that vitamin D supplementation (daily and weekly) safely and effectively reduced the risk of respiratory infection by half, including colds and flu.

The improvement of risk was most significant in those with the greatest deficiency in vitamin D at the start of each included study. Regular supplementation was more effective than one dose every now and then. (3)

Compare the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation with that of the annual flu vaccine—it’s much more effective and without the risks that come with vaccination.

Vitamin D Dosage

The current recommended daily intake for vitamin D is 600 IU (International Units) for people over the age of two and 800 IU for people over seventy.

Yet there is a worldwide epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. (4)

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