Battle flu and cold with this supplement - Read

New Delhi: A study says that intake of vitamin D supplements on a regular basis can help in giving a tough competition to the regular cold and flu.

The `sunshine vitamin` as it known, not just improves bone and muscle health but also protects against respiratory infections by boosting levels of antimicrobial peptides -- natural antibiotic-like substances -- in the lungs.

Acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia are a major cause of global morbidity and mortality.

"Most people understand that Vitamin D is critical for bone and muscle health. Our analysis has found that it helps the body fight acute respiratory infection," said Carlos Camargo from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

The findings showed that daily or weekly supplementation halved the risk of acute respiratory infection in people with most significant Vitamin D deficiency -- below 25 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L).

Administering occasional high doses of Vitamin D did not produce significant benefits.

People with higher baseline Vitamin D levels also benefited, although the effect was more modest (10 per cent risk reduction), the researchers noted, in the paper published in the journal BMJ.

(With IANS inputs)