According to the findings from a 2010 study that didn't get any widespread attention, vitamin D is a highly effective way to avoid influenza.

(Mercola.com) -- In fact, children taking low doses of Vitamin D3 were shown to be 42 percent less likely to come down with the flu.

The randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study included 430 children aged 6-15, who were followed between December 2008 and March 2009.

Half were given 1,200 IU's of vitamin D3 daily, while the other half received a placebo.

Influenza strains were determined through lab testing of nose and throat swabs.

Eighteen of the children taking vitamin D contracted influenza Type A, compared to 31 children in the placebo group.

Type B influenza rates were unaffected by vitamin D use, however, the illness resulting from Type B influenza strains is typically milder than Type A.

Considering the fact that influenza was reduced by 42 percent at a dose of just 1,200 IU's a day, it's possible that even better results might be obtained with higher dosages—depending on just how deficient you are to begin with, of course, because it's not really the dosage that matters; it's the amount of vitamin D in your blood.