According to researchers, to safeguard children from colds and flu in chilly weather conditions, it is advisable to give them vitamin D supplements daily. This will keep them away from all kinds of respiratory infections.

Vitamin D is naturally produced by the body in response to sunlight. Therefore in winters, when the sunlight is very rarely seen, it becomes quite difficult to maintain adequate levels of it in human body. In such times supplementation is required.

For conducting this study, an international research team reviewed few Mongolian schoolchildren who had low blood levels of vitamin D. By the end of this study they found, by offering these children vitamin D supplementation daily, there was a great reduction in risk of catching respiratory infections among them.

As told by Carlos Camargo, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the study's corresponding author, "Our randomized controlled trial shows that vitamin D has important effects on infection risk".

In addition to this study, several other investigations have been carried out to know the beneficial effects of vitamin D and as the results show, this ingredient plays a vital role in the overall development of a child as it helps in building strong bones and muscles and also improves the immunity to a great extent.