Vitamin D has long been known to protect our bones, but the idea of taking the vitamin supplements has always been controversial. A recently published analysis shows that vitamin D from sunshine aids in reducing the risk of respiratory infections.

The research obtained its data 25 studies that included over 10,000 participants. The studies examined the effect of vitamin D supplements on reducing infections. Leading the research team was Dr. Adrian Martineau, a clinical professor of respiratory infection and immunity at Queen Mary University of London.

He stated "We found that overall there was a modest protective effect." In a nutshell, vitamin D supplements appeared to reduce the risk of infection by almost 10 percent. The findings suggested that individuals who lacked vitamin D upon enrolling in the studies saw more benefit and their risk of infection was reduced to cut in half.

Carlos Camargo, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School as well as a senior author of the study, says that the findings support the idea of fortifying more foods with vitamin D. Although the US has fortified food with vitamin D since a long time, the body also retains the ability to produce its own vitamin D upon exposure to sunlight.

This is precisely the reason why not a lot of individuals are convinced that the study should lead everyone to purchase the supplement. The Institute of Medicine's recommended dosage of vitamin D for the average adult is about 600 IU (international units) per day. Adults 70-years-old and above require to increase their intake to 800 IUs per day.

In the past decade, a number of studies suggested that sunshine vitamin can aid in disease prevention. That led people to believe that higher doses of supplements are favored. But Steven Abrams, a professor of pediatrics at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin says further studies need to be done to confirm any benefits to taking a supplement for those who are not deficient.