Arthritis: Two daily pills shown to help target inflammation to reduce symptoms

Doctor Louisa Jeffrey from the University of Birmingham said: “Research indicates that maintaining sufficient vitamin D may help to prevent the onset of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

“However, for patients who already have rheumatoid arthritis, simply providing vitamin D might not be enough.

“Instead, much higher doses of vitamin D may be needed, or possibly a new treatment that bypasses or corrects the vitamin D insensitivity of immune cells within the joint.”

According to the NHS, in the spring and summer months, most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from natural sunlight exposure but taking a daily supplement of 10mcg of vitamin D is recommended during the autumn and winter months.