RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is doubling its recommended daily dose of Vitamin D for infants, children, and adolescents.
The new guidelines, announced at the 2008 national conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Boston, suggest that children should get 400 IU of the vitamin, not 200 IU, the standard that’s been in place since 2003. Because they don’t get the vitamin through fortified formula and milk products, breastfed or partially breastfed infants should begin receiving supplemental vitamin D when they are just a few days old.
Researchers believe the new suggested level of vitamin D will prevent cases of childhood rickets (a bone-softening disease) and osteoporosis later in life. And the vitamin may provide other benefits, too. There’s evidence that vitamin D may ward off autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and cancer.
THE DETAILS: After reviewing clinical trials, safety data, and data on the time today’s kids spend indoors and out of the sun (sunlight helps the body make vitamin D), the AAP decided to bump up the recommended dosage. It’s long been known that vitamin D helps your body break down calcium, but newer studies suggest the vitamin may be something of a miracle worker, with the power to slash the risk of developing breast, colon, and esophageal cancers by 30 to 50%. “We are doubling the recommended amount of vitamin D children need each day because evidence has shown this could have lifelong health benefits,” says Frank Greer, MD, fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and lead author of the report.
WHAT IT MEANS: Our bodies produce vitamin D naturally when sunlight of sufficient strength hits our skin. In optimal conditions, just a few minutes in the sun can produce upwards of 4,000 IU. But many people take precautions against sun exposure, since it raises the risk of skin cancer and causes wrinkles. Other factors, such as skin pigmentation, air pollution, weather, and latitude can make it tricky to get a perfect daily dose of D from the sun. Since it’s hard to get enough of the vitamin from food sources, supplementation is an effective way to give your body the vitamin D it may not be getting from sunlight.
Here’s what you need to know to give yourself and your family a healthy dose of D:
• There are two types of vitamin D supplements, D2 and D3. Researchers recommend D3 because it lasts longer in the body and produces better benefits.
• Breastfed and partially breastfed infants should get supplements with 400 IU of vitamin D a day.
• All non-breastfed infants and older children who drink less than 1 quart of vitamin D–fortified formula or milk a day should receive a supplement of 400 IU daily.
• Adolescents who don’t get 400 IU of vitamin D a day in their diet should take a supplement with that amount.
• If you’re pregnant, ask your doctor to test your vitamin D blood level, and discuss proper supplementation if you are deficient. Being low on D isn’t uncommon—an estimated half of the U.S. population is D-deficient.
• All adults should make sure they’re getting enough D, says Michael Holick, PhD, MD, professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics, and director of the General Clinical Research Center at Boston University Medical Center. He recommends that adults spend about 10 minutes in the sun, wearing sunscreen only on their faces, two or three times a week during the summer months. Beyond that, he says all adults should take a multivitamin that contains 400 IU of vitamin D and a 1000 IU vitamin D3 supplement every day.
• Pick a safe sunscreen. Earlier this ear, Environmental Working Group rated sun-protection products on their effectiveness and safety to humans and the environment. Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic Sunblock, SPF 30, topped the list. (You may have to order online or convince your local drugstore to carry lesser-known but safer brands.)