For a long time, vitamin D deficiency was associated by pediatricians only with classic childhood rickets and by internists with osteoporosis. Now, on the contrary, it is part of the therapy for many pathologies.
It depends on the diet more than the sun
First, a lack of vitamin D is generally caused by a diet that does not provide a sufficient intake of vitamin D in foods (egg yolk, cod liver oil, liver of fish and birds, caviar, milk, butter). Although there has always been an opinion that during the summer months, our body accumulates enough vitamin D that is enough for the whole year, unfortunately, the geochemical properties of the atmosphere have changed, in particular, the ultraviolet wavelength has become much harsher and shorter. Therefore, the synthesis in the skin, which should occur, and could provide sufficient vitamin saturation from exposure to sunlight for 15 minutes daily, no longer occurs before people get burned. Not to mention the fact that the time from 12 to 3 pm, when there is the most sun and therefore the most ability for one’s body to make vitamin D through the sun, is when people usually try to shelter from the sun, and we definitely don’t leave our children outside in the open sun like people used to do.
In most countries, the sun is only active for 3 months, and the acute shortage of ultraviolet rays lasts from October to April. It is also almost impossible to get enough vitamin D from another source – food – because you have to
- Drink 100 glasses of milk,
- Eat 500 grams of fatty fish daily,
- Eat a few dozen eggs.
What is the daily vitamin D requirement?
The average preventive daily dose of vitamin D for breastfed or mixed-fed infants is 400 IU daily. However, there may be fluctuations in the daily dose of vitamin D. Children who are breastfed by mothers who are deficient in vitamin D may require 600 to 6,000 IU of D daily. If the baby is formula fed, a prophylactic dose of vitamin D is provided when the daily volume of formula reaches 1 liter. Or you can use baby formula that contains an additional dose of the miracle vitamin.
Prophylactic use of vitamin D for premature infants is important with a daily dose of 400-800 IU / day (10-20 mcg/day) from 2 weeks of life with satisfactory absorption of food. After indicators are normalized they should follow the recommendations established for premature infants. Premature infants should be given vitamin D from the first month of life, regardless of the type of feeding, at a dose of 400 IU/day daily.
Foods containing vitamin D:
- Cod liver
- Fish oil
- Egg yolk
- Halibut liver
- Atlantic herring
- Salmon
- Butter
- Cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Acidophilus powder
- Whole milk powder
- Carp
- Eel
- Chum salmon
- Trout
- Mackerel
- Pink salmon
Based on the list of foods that contain vitamin D, the vast majority of foods a young child eats do not contain this essential vitamin, which is why infants need to be assigned preventive doses of vitamin D, which are available on the pharmaceutical market, so you can prevent diseases such as – rickets and prevent pathologies of other organs and systems.
So, always remember that a balanced and vitaminized diet for babies – is the key to their stable growth, normal development, and inherent intelligence.
