Vitamin D and the Flu

A reader pointed me to this new paper, which discusses the relationship between Vitamin D and the flu.  The idea is that people low in Vitamin D will be more susceptible to the flu.  Vitamin D comes primarily from sunlight, but it is also found in high doses in seafood.

What's great about this paper is that backs up people's intuitive thoughts about colds.  Most people would guess that colds are more prevalent in the winter than in the summer, and this is indeed true.  Some might think the cause of this is due to people spending more time indoors, and hence being exposed to more germs.  The researchers instead believe that is the lack of time spent outdoors in the sun, and hence the lower intake of Vitaimin D that leads to more colds in the winter.

And remember all those old stories about the benefits of cod liver oil (which I take)?  The researchers believe it is the large dose of Vitamin D in cod liver oil that increases resistance to colds.

This research is still in the early stages and there are other factors that affect flu resistance besides Vitamin D.  Yet getting lots of sunlight and drinking some cod liver oil this winter may just reduce your risks of the flu.