3 Ways to Make Sure Kids Get Their Vitamin D
Reader Comments
Vitamin D deficiency
I find it most disturbing that current medical and lay literature sources are bursting at the seams with convincing evidence of the far-reaching benefits of the hormone we call vitamin D, and yet the FDA and NIH have not updated their recommendations for daily vitamin D supplementation since the one they published in 1997. That recommendation was for 200, 400, or 600 i.u. daily, depending on one's age.
In fact, the NIH held a conference of experts in August of this summer, but won't share the decisions made at that meeting until next spring. In the meanwhile, an uninformed public will likely pay the consequences of their "thumb-twiddling".
After a good bit of study on this topic during the past 2 years, it's my opinion that an adult should receive a MINIMUM of 2000 i.u. vitamin D daily, and 4000 to 5000 i.u. is probably closer to their real need for optimal health outcomes.
One blog entry asked about the absence of sunshine-derived vitamin D in the winter. Vitamin D synthesis in our skin is a result of the ultaviolet B-wave in the sun's spectrum. The angle of the sun to the earth's surface is too low in the winter for any UVB to penetrate the atmosphere in the northern hemisphere.
viagra aust
ZRYubn It is the coolest site, keep so!
online overnight didrex phentermine tenuate
OHFJYc Great. Now i can say thank you!
Northern Climates
I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains most of the fall, winter and spring. My brother in-law was recently tested and found to be severely deficient in D. His doctor told him that we do not get anywhere close to the amount of D here that we need. My neighbor just told me that she, too, has recently been tested and was deficient in D. We have a higher incidence of MS and diabetes up here, as well as autism and adhd. More research needs to be made available on this subject, and word needs to get out! I, myself, have started my whole family on D drops; we take 2,000iu per day. After one month of this, I really can see a difference in my mood. I used to get Seasonal Affect Disorder in the winter. It is mid February now, and I feel great!
Why 'The Sunshine Vitamin' Isn't Just Another Vitamin
While skepticism is healthy, Greer's comparison of vitamin D to other vitamin fads falls short because:
1) Vitamin D is not truly a vitamin -- it is a hormone. Unlike every other vitamin it is not obtained naturally through dietary sources. It is obtained naturally through sun exposure to the skin. And the amount of vitamin D our skin makes when it is allowed to do its job naturally is 100 times greater than the amount present in an 8-ounce glass of milk. Not coincidentally, the functions that we now know "The Sunshine Vitamin" performs only happen at levels that are naturally consistent with getting regular sunshine.
Here are the numbers:
- 10,000-20,000 IU - Vitamin D made from a full-body tan in the sun.
- 100 IU - Amount of vitamin D fortified into an 8-ounce glass of whole milk.
Sunshine exposure is the body's only natural source of vitamin D - why else would our bodies have such high capacity to make so much vitamin D, and also have the ability to de-metabolize any extra so that toxicity through natural, UV-induced vitamin D is not possible. In contrast, dietary overdose of vitamin D IS possible (albeit at very high doses) - because our bodies aren't designed to get it that way naturally.
2) The research connecting vitamin D with positive health outcomes is now overwhelming -- hundreds of studies have now established both the mechanism for and the power of the relationship between vitamin D and lower risk of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis and many other conditions.
3) Greer is wrong to minimize vitamin D by comparing it to other vitamins. Whereas EVERY other vitamin is essentially a supplement, D is really more analogous to water, air and food -- things to which our bodies naturally are attracted and need.
An excellent source for further information is www.GrassRootsHealth.org -- an independent non-profit group that started the world's "D-Action" campaign, supported by the world's leading vitamin D researchers.
The vitamin D community now supports the following:
- Vitamin D blood levels of 40-60 ng/ml -- natural vitamin D levels.
- Daily total vitamin D intake of 2,000 IU to maintain those natural levels.
You can get a vitamin D blood test -- called a calcidiol test -- to measure your levels. GrassrootsHealth.org offers an accurate, simple test for $30 that you can take at home and mail in as simple as measuring your insulin levels.
Milk is a "Bad News" Substance
Dairy is a bad source for nutrition and for Vitamin D. Vit. D is only in dairy products because it is an additive -- "Fortified with Vit. D." Go to www.notmilk.com to learn more. Also, Dr. John McDougall has many articles on the harms from dairy. Go to www.drmcdougall.com and "Hot Topics," and read the April and May 2003 archives. http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_calcium.html
What about moms?
Speaking from experience, it can be very hard to get a small baby to swallow a liquid vitamin supplement. The stuff tastes terrible. is messy and stains everything. I don't see any mention of addressing the breastfeeding mothers' Vit D deficiency through continuation of prenatal vitamins or other supplements.
Liquid Vitamins
Liquid vitamins for infants taste terrible. My children are 100 percent breastfed and we tried vitamins for the first but he rejected them. It's not as easy as saying "give a vitamin." What's needed is liquid vitamins that won't be rejected. (I guess, according to the pharmaceutical companies, that "vitamin" would be formula - lol) I agree with Dacia - we have to be very careful about even hinting that formula might be better for babies than breastmilk. I took fish oil supplements throughout my pregnancy and continue to take them. Now I wonder if cod oil should also be taken (in the winter months). Would that increase my breastfed baby's access to vitamin D?
400 I.U. not enough
A recent Star Tribune article:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/28701254.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUvDE7aL_V_BD77:DiiUiacyKUnciatkEP7DhU
Dr. Greg Plotnikoff indicates that we need to be getting far more than the 400 I.U. recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
any thoughts?
