Chicago ? An abundance of vitamin D seems to help prevent multiple sclerosis, according to a study in more than 7 million people that offers some of the strongest evidence yet of the power of the “sunshine vitamin” against MS.

The research found that white members of the U.S. military with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 62 percent less likely to develop multiple sclerosis than people with low levels.

The new research echoes findings in smaller studies that examined why the nerve-damaging disease historically has been more common in people who live in regions farther from the equator where there is less intense year-round sunlight.

The study appears in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

The findings don’t prove that a lack of vitamin D can cause MS, so its authors say it’s too preliminary to recommend that people take vitamin D pills to avoid the disease.