Vitamin D can protect against colds, flu: study

How sad that we got a pharmacy/drugs pic I.o natural foods rich in vitamin d such as fish, dairy prods etc. Food supplements are a waste of money.

Get outside more!

How much? The dosage wasn't mentioned in the article. In the American market, the available strengths range from 100IU to over 5,000IU. I've seen prescriptions for 50,000IU per week. So, what is the dose used in this test?

30 min outdoors in the sun with arms exposed to sunlight is all most people need, every few days.

If that isn't possible or you live at a higher latitude, nobody has ever overdosed on D without taking mega-doses (50,000 IU), daily, for months http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108 , so taking 2000 IU every day or 2 isn't risky. For many people, low D is also tied to depression. Cheap insurance in the pills, especially during winter.

Taking Vitamin D to prevent a cold is indirect, only marginally effective, and for poorly educated, lazy people. There is a much more direct and failsafe way to avoid catching a cold, but it requires education and discipline, which unfortunately is in short supply. All one has to do is not touch his or her eyes or nose without first washing the hands. You can’t catch a cold through the air, and not ordinarily through the mouth, but only through direct contact with mucous membranes in the eyes and nose. It takes discipline not to itch an eye or pass one’s finger under the nose, but that’s what and all one has to practice in order to ensure not getting a cold. I haven’t caught a cold in many years; and, in the Northeastern USA, I am surrounded by people with colds.

Food supplements are a waste of money.

On the contrary. Your fish and dairy are supplemented by industry, or they have very low level of the type of vitamin you can assimilate. In Nordic country where the diet is based on wild fish, they get the worst deficiency...as they lack sunshine.

30 min outdoors in the sun with arms exposed to sunlight is all most people need, every few days.

Exactly, and that depends where you live. In Kansai, that was not an issue, sun was there year round. In Hokkaido, that's very different. In Paris, we have weeks and weeks of darkness (OK not today, I'm in t-shirt on my balcony) . In average from November to April, you'd need to be outside during the 8 hours of "day" to get your fix. It's much worse if you're in Scotland. Up to 90% of population has unsufficient levels half of the year. If you're rich, you go skiing or to the beach a couple of weeks to restock. Special lamps are expensive and the effect is not yet proven. Otherwise, you are glat to get supplements.

Taking Vitamin D to prevent a cold is indirect, only marginally effective, and for poorly educated, lazy people.

Getting less colds is a perk. Lack of education and laziness are a better illness than MS. I have people that get it around me. It's a hell and there is no cure. Low levels of D vitamin may not cause MS, but it allows it. There are nearly no cases in places with plenty of sunshine. Idem for depression, there is clearly a map...

Cheap insurance in the pills, especially during winter.

I agree. I am not a supplement person, but in this case, that's all what we have to reduce incidence of terrible diseases.

How much? The dosage wasn't mentioned in the article.

Depends for who. Babys ? Adults ? Elderly ? Depends if you supplement everyday or get a monthly/weekly injection. Take a test and ask advice to your doctor not to the internets.

Here's some advice:

Eat a variety of foods; don't eat too much; be active; avoid risky activities; get fresh air; avoid getting a sunburn; get your vaccines; sleep; use common sense.

You shouldn't need to supplement your lifestyle, unless, of course, you lack common sense.