"Sunshine vitamin" or vitamin D has been known to have a lot of benefits, often associated with bone health. Now, a new study includes another benefit in the immune system of newborn babies, particularly in combating childhood asthma and other respiratory infections.

Researchers have discovered that taking high doses of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy improves the immune system of the newborn. The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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The majority of asthma cases are detected during childhood which indicates that such conditions begins in fetal life, says Catherine Hawrylowicz, the lead researcher of the study.

In the study, the research team gave pregnant participants either low or high dose of vitamin D supplements during 10-18 weeks of pregnancy. After that, the team collected umbilical cord blood to observe the innate immune system of the newborn. In their finding, mothers who received high doses of vitamin D had responsive and improved innate immune systems.

Hawrylowicz explains that the link between immunity of babies and vitamin D has long been investigated. For the first time, the study revealed that taking high doses of vitamin D during pregnancy could alter the immune system of the newborn baby, particularly in combating childhood asthma.

Hawrylowicz also noted that future studies will now look at the impact of vitamin D in long-term to prove whether vitamin D decreases the risk of asthma later in life.

According to the World Health Organization, pregnant women often have vitamin D deficiency. Several studies have also linked the lack of the vitamin to tissue-related and pre-term birth conditions. Insufficient vitamin D in the body also leads to fractures, abnormal bone growth, as well as rickets in newborns.

Vitamin D could be acquired through supplements, but it can also be found naturally especially in some foods like beef liver, tuna, egg yolk, cheese, and several brands of orange juice and yogurt. Additionally, vitamin D could be boost by spending time in the sun, about three times every week for 10-15 minutes, MedlinePlus reported.

However, too much vitamin D is never good either since the intestine could absorb excessive calcium that spiked levels in the blood. The extra calcium could be deposited in the lungs, heart, and kidney.