Taking vitamin D and omega-3 fish oil supplements every day may slash your risk of developing arthritis, research suggests.
Scientists found middle-aged adults who took daily doses of the 'sunshine vitamin' were 22 per cent less likely to be struck down with an autoimmune disease.
This umbrella term includes conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, which are caused by the body's own immune system attacking its own tissue.
The researchers said more studies were needed to work out why the supplements have the protective effect.
Millions of people in the UK and US have an autoimmune disease and there is no know way of reducing the risk of developing them.
But researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston say their new findings suggest their is a way to cut their risk.
Experts undertook a five-year long trial of nearly 26,000 people over the age of 50. Results were published in the British Medical Journal.
A long-term trial of nearly 26,000 Americans over the age of 50 found taking a vitamin D supplement reduced autoimmune disease rates by 22 per cent compared to a placebo group. Most people get the vitamin D they need from sunlight but in Winter can get it from oily fish and egg yolks or pill supplements
Volunteers were randomly split into