Vitamin D and Our Kids

Vitamin D is important for health because it helps to fortify our skeletal structure, reduce the risk of certain cancers, improve brain function, and keep our immunity high. A simple blood test can determine if a person is deficient. Many adults have a Vitamin D deficiency and after a diagnosis are put on supplementation. Most of our deficiency issues stem from our lifestyle. This would include actually being exposed to that terrible thing called the sun. Sun exposure does naturally produce Vitamin D in the skin. So even with supplementation to get Vitamin D levels back to optimal, it’s important to change lifestyle factors.  A prolific researcher of Vitamin D, Dr. Harald Dobnig of the Medical University of Graz in Austria has stated:

It has been estimated that at least 50 percent of older adults worldwide have low vitamin D levels, and the problem is also thought to affect substantial numbers of younger people. Possible reasons include decreased outdoor activities, air pollution and, as people age, a decline in the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D from ultraviolet rays.

Some doctors believe overuse of sunscreen lotions has contributed, and say just 10 to 15 minutes daily in the sun without sunscreen is safe and enough to ensure adequate vitamin D, although there’s no consensus on that. Diet sources include milk, which contains 100 international units of vitamin D per cup, and fatty fish.

As Dr. Dobnig stated above, the problem now is not just an adult issue. A study, by Children’s Hospital Boston, indicated that 12% of infant and toddlers were deficient and 40% were below optimal levels. ABC News reported last month, in their article Kids’ Low Vitamin D Level Worries Doctors, about this problem. While the problem is agreed upon, how to resolve it is not. Some have speculated that we should supplement all kids to keep levels at the optimal. Others respond that because Vitamin D is fat soluble and can get to toxic levels that is not the best option. To learn more about Vitamin D and it’s how it can become toxic, visit the Vitamin D Council website.

One thing I found interesting about the article, and another study it reported on, is that children breastfeed were found to be more at risk than children feed enriched formula. Catherine Gordon, director of the Bone Health Program at Children’s Hospital Boston and one of the study’s co-authors was quoted as saying:

Breast milk is the perfect food. It’s the healthiest way to feed an infant, but it has been shown to be deficient in vitamin D.

Now maybe it’s just me, but if so many adults are deficient, maybe this breast milk is coming from mothers that also have low levels. Just a thought! Maybe I’m just udderly ridiculous …weigh in and let me know what you think!!!