A daily vitamin D supplement may help young men enjoy more sick-free days during cold and flu season. The body naturally synthesises vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight.
A daily vitamin D supplement may help young men enjoy more sick-free days during cold and flu season.
Studies have associated low vitamin D levels in the blood to a higher risk of type 1 diabetes and severe asthma attacks in children and, in adults, heart disease, certain cancers and depression. But whether vitamin D is the reason for the higher risk - and whether taking supplements can lower these risks - has not been studied earlier.
The body naturally synthesises vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Because rates of vitamin D insufficiency rise during winters in many parts of the world, researchers have been interested in whether the vitamin might play a role in people's susceptibility to colds, flu and other respiratory infections. Some past research has found that people with relatively lower vitamin D levels in their blood tend to have higher rates of respiratory infections than those with higher levels of the vitamin.
To study the role of vitamin D in protecting the body against respiratory infections, and cold in particular, researchers randomly assigned 164 male Finnish military recruits to take either 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D or inactive placebo pills every day for six months - from October to March, covering the months when people's vitamin D stores typically decline and respiratory infections are more common.
At the end of the study, no clear difference was found between the two groups in the average number of days missed from duty due to a respiratory infection - which included bronchitis, sinus infections, pneumonia, ear infections and sore throat. Overall, over 50 percent remained healthy throughout the six-month study, versus 36 percent of the placebo group.
On average, men who took vitamin D missed about two days from duty because of a respiratory infection, compared with three days in the placebo group. This difference was not significant in statistical terms. However, men in the vitamin D group were more likely to have no days missed from work due to a respiratory illness.
The findings offer some evidence that vitamin D may protect against respiratory infections.
Studies have associated low vitamin D levels in the blood to a higher risk of type 1 diabetes and severe asthma attacks in children and, in adults, heart disease, certain cancers and depression. But whether vitamin D is the reason for the higher risk - and whether taking supplements can lower these risks - has not been studied earlier.
The body naturally synthesises vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Because rates of vitamin D insufficiency rise during winters in many parts of the world, researchers have been interested in whether the vitamin might play a role in people's susceptibility to colds, flu and other respiratory infections. Some past research has found that people with relatively lower vitamin D levels in their blood tend to have higher rates of respiratory infections than those with higher levels of the vitamin.
To study the role of vitamin D in protecting the body against respiratory infections, and cold in particular, researchers randomly assigned 164 male Finnish military recruits to take either 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D or inactive placebo pills every day for six months - from October to March, covering the months when people's vitamin D stores typically decline and respiratory infections are more common.
At the end of the study, no clear difference was found between the two groups in the average number of days missed from duty due to a respiratory infection - which included bronchitis, sinus infections, pneumonia, ear infections and sore throat. Overall, over 50 percent remained healthy throughout the six-month study, versus 36 percent of the placebo group.
On average, men who took vitamin D missed about two days from duty because of a respiratory infection, compared with three days in the placebo group. This difference was not significant in statistical terms. However, men in the vitamin D group were more likely to have no days missed from work due to a respiratory illness.
The findings offer some evidence that vitamin D may protect against respiratory infections.
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