Recent research has proven that the past recommendation for vitamin D was insufficient, showing that consuming higher intakes is safe and that increased levels of Vitamin D has numerous health benefits. Therefore, the case for adequate amounts of Vitamin D continues to grow and the American Academy of Pediatrics is now doubling its recommendation that kids should get of this vitamin.
Justification for this increase is due to the numerous health issues resulting from inadequate consumption. Complications due to poor Vitamin D intake include: Rickets in kids (a bone-softening disease), which increases the child’s chances of having osteomalacia (soften of bones) and osteoporosis (loss of calcium from bone, therefore increasing your chances of easily fracturing bones) in their adult years. Benefits of consuming more Vitamin D include: preventing heart disease, cancer, and mortality risks. The new recommendation is bumped up from its previous 200 IU/day to 400 IU/day beginning within the first few days after birth.
Sources of vitamin D include:
– The body is able to synthesize Vitamin D from the sun; therefore it’s recommended to get 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight (however, sunscreen SPF above 8 will completely block the synthesis)
– Any Vitamin D fortified product, including milk and soy milk
– Veal, beef, egg yolks, liver, fatty fish (salmon, sardines)
– Or supplementation through taking a daily vitamin