70% of US children have insufficient Vitamin D levels

[Sillygirl]

New study released in Pediatrics this month. This is an observational study pulled form a big database, so interpretation is somewhat limited. Still, no surprises here. It's clear that huge portions of the US population have insufficient Vitamin D levels.

Here's a summary of the findings:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/15359

[maestramommy]

400 IUD is the current RDA, right?

[BabyMine]

Kids are spending to many hours inside and not in the sun.

[brittone2]

400 IUD is the current RDA, right?

Many experts in the field feel the RDA is far too low for kids and adults.

[DrSally]

Many experts in the field feel the RDA is far too low for kids and adults.

Isn't there talk of increasing it to 600 IU's?
I was just reading an article on babycenter (the original study I believe was pub in Pediatrics) that low vit D levels are linked to heart problems in kids.

[randomkid]

I've asked this before and don't know if anyone has an answer, but will ask again. I'm pretty sure my ped will say don't worry about it because he tends to be that way. Anyway, we live in FL and have sunshine year round here. DD is outside a lot, although it's so hot that often it's for short periods, and some days it is raining. So, do we need to do supplemental Vitamin D? FWIW, she drinks milk about 4 days a week.

[DrSally]

I've asked this before and don't know if anyone has an answer, but will ask again. I'm pretty sure my ped will say don't worry about it because he tends to be that way. Anyway, we live in FL and have sunshine year round here. DD is outside a lot, although it's so hot that often it's for short periods, and some days it is raining. So, do we need to do supplemental Vitamin D? FWIW, she drinks milk about 4 days a week.

Do you put sunscreen on him every day?

We have a more clear cut case, I believe, b/c we're at a pretty northern lattitude, have dark skin, and looong winters. Whever it's sunny the kids wear sunscreen, and for the first year of life I don't really have them sitting in the sun anyway. Literally, in the cold winter, we shuttle in and out of the car/house and may not even see the sun at all.

[randomkid]

Do you put sunscreen on him every day?.

I should, but no I don't :bag DD is really fair and I definitely see that she has more color now. I only put sunscreen on her if they are having water day at school or if we are going to be out all day or at a pool/beach.

[salsah]

i recently reduced the amount of sunscreen that i use on the girls. dh has some calcium and vit. D issues that we are trying to resolve, so just in case it is heredity, and since the girls do not drink milk, i figure a little sun should help them w/o doing too much harm. now i only use sunscreen on them when they will be in outside in direct sunlight for 30 minutes or more. i realize that i am taking a chance but I know that the sun is good for them too. i, on the other hand, probably have a vit. D deficiency because I always use sun screen and do not drink much milk.

[randomkid]

OK, so I did a little Google search and came up with conflicting info and nothing scientific. Some say a few minutes each week is enough, but one I read said that even with sun exposure, you still need supplemental vitamin D. Of course, that was someone who works for a company that produces it. So, take that with a grain of salt. Then, I read something about taking a multivitamin and I thought, "Aha! I do that! I give DD a daily multivitamin". Just checked it - has 400IU. So, I think with that, the amount of milk she drinks and the (almost) daily sun exposure, she will be fine. Now, I need to think about myself!

[shawnandangel]

This was on GMA yesterday. The doc on the show said that 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times a week would equal enough vitamin D (without sunscreen). If you do not want to do that then to get enough vitamin D you would need to drink 4 glasses of milk per day. You can also get Vitamin D from fatty fish.

Here is the link: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/story?id=8234947&page=1

[kijip]

We had T checked for this since I seemingly can't keep Vit D in my system- I am deficient despite sun and high does supplements and he was fine. For him, he drinks a fair bit of milk and gets some outdoor time without sunscreen. Never enough to burn but a little. My pediatrician says that he asks all his kid patients what they drink during the day besides water and that way more kids say juice than milk. One of the benefits of milk is that it is supplemented with vitamin D. Vitamin fortified dairy is pretty much what led to the drastic reduction of rickets in the US 70 odd years ago. T also gets a multivitamin each day.

[maestramommy]

Do you put sunscreen on him every day?

We have a more clear cut case, I believe, b/c we're at a pretty northern lattitude, have dark skin, and looong winters. Whever it's sunny the kids wear sunscreen, and for the first year of life I don't really have them sitting in the sun anyway. Literally, in the cold winter, we shuttle in and out of the car/house and may not even see the sun at all.

We're in the same boat. In fact, so far this summer has seen so much rain it'd be a laugh to try and get sunshine 3 times a week. Both girls are on a multi vitamin since Dora stopped drinking milk. Arwyn still drinks it, but not 4 glasses (8 oz each I assume?).

[o_mom]

There was a related story in our paper Sunday about looking at increasing the RDA. Here's the same article from another paper: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-vitamind1-2009aug01,0,5791404.story

[kristac]

Interesting. I've read low vitamin D may have an autism link.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health/autism/vit-D-theory-autism.shtml

[brittone2]

For those into pastured meat, dairy, eggs, etc:

Pastured eggs are also known to contain quite a bit of D.
http://www.eatwild.com/news.html

[DrSally]

OK, so I did a little Google search and came up with conflicting info and nothing scientific. Some say a few minutes each week is enough, but one I read said that even with sun exposure, you still need supplemental vitamin D. Of course, that was someone who works for a company that produces it. So, take that with a grain of salt. Then, I read something about taking a multivitamin and I thought, "Aha! I do that! I give DD a daily multivitamin". Just checked it - has 400IU. So, I think with that, the amount of milk she drinks and the (almost) daily sun exposure, she will be fine. Now, I need to think about myself!

I give DS a multi with 400 IU's (he doesn't drink milk either) and DD gets trivisol. I take 2000 mg, as I read you should get 2000-3000 IUs while nursing. I think when talking about the "number of minutes in the sun", that it really depends on a number of factors: your latitude, your skin tone, whether you're covered up or use sunscreen, etc. The recommendation might be different for a fair-skinned person in Florida vs. a darker-skinned person in Northern Minnesota, for instance.

[brittone2]

I supplement myself as PCOS/insulin resistance and diabetes are often associated w/ low D. I have pcos (lucky me ;) )

There have been a few small studies saying women w/ PCOS supplemented w/ higher doses of D ovulated more often.

My kids take Rainbow Light D Sunny Gummies. We alternate that w/ CLO.

Our diet has some good sources of D, and we also get some sun outside without sunscreen most days here in the Southeast.

[egoldber]

Sarah drinks at least 12-16 ounces of milk a day (still her preferred beverage) so I don't worry about her so much. Also, I never put sunscreen on her unless we are at the beach or the pool. :o

Amy however, is very fair. She is outside a lot at preschool though (more than 2 hours a day I would guess) but they put sunscreen on them and they wear hats. Also, she does not drink cow's milk, but soymilk. The soymilk is fortified with Vitamin D though. Wondering if I should worry about her?

The soymilk claims to have 30% of the (adult) RDA and she drinks about 18 ounces a day.

[mommylamb]

Many experts in the field feel the RDA is far too low for kids and adults.

I thought they just increased it from 200 to 400 because of this and that 400 should be enough. Is that right?

DS gets a calcium/Vit D vitamin every day, but I think it's only 200 of vit D. But he drinks a lot of milk too.

[mommylamb]

I should, but no I don't :bag DD is really fair and I definitely see that she has more color now. I only put sunscreen on her if they are having water day at school or if we are going to be out all day or at a pool/beach.

:yeahthat: I feel like a bad mommy these days because DS has a tan line on his neck...

[egoldber]

Amy has a definite tan line and they do put sunscreen on them at school. They are just outside a lot.

[brittone2]

I thought they just increased it from 200 to 400 because of this and that 400 should be enough. Is that right?

IMO, it depends on who you ask. There are so many factors that go into how an individual metabolizes vitamin D, kwim?

[Andi98989]

Very interesting! It isn't just a problem with kids, though.

My DH started seeing a new doctor in February this year, and as part of his new patient work-up, they checked his Vitamin D levels. They came back really low. He was already taking a multi-vitamin with Vitamin D in it, but they had him add another 1,000 IU of Vitamin D to it for a few months until the sun came back out here (they said the exposure he'd get while going to/from work, doing yard work in the evening would be sufficient). Now he's testing in the low end of normal so they said to still do the additional Vitamin D supplement.

[daniele_ut]

Amy has a definite tan line and they do put sunscreen on them at school. They are just outside a lot.

Both of my kids have a tan line from being outside at school. They do use sunscreen, but there are days that DS is outside for 3-4 hours total. They play area is mixed shade and sun.

Both kids drink a reasonable amount of milk as well, though DS a little less lately because I usually send water in his cup to school.

[tnrnchick74]

So what is the best way to get mroe Vit D in my DS...

He's 14 months old - not cleared to eat fish yet; allergic to milk; drinks soymilk; and is outside about 30-60 min/day (minimal sunscreen unless in the water).

His ped said NOT to give a multivit, as he doesn't need the rest of the stuff...just the vit d. But the DHA/omega 3 supps with vit D are all processed fish products!

So what do I do? I'm thinking of asking for a vit D test...

[brittone2]

So what is the best way to get mroe Vit D in my DS...

He's 14 months old - not cleared to eat fish yet; allergic to milk; drinks soymilk; and is outside about 30-60 min/day (minimal sunscreen unless in the water).

His ped said NOT to give a multivit, as he doesn't need the rest of the stuff...just the vit d. But the DHA/omega 3 supps with vit D are all processed fish products!

So what do I do? I'm thinking of asking for a vit D test...

Have you/could you check on the ingredients with a product like this?
http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=14069

(eta: no idea if there is any fish derived ingredients in there?)

Can he eat eggs? If you can find good pastured ones (as in "real" free range chickens that roam outside a LOT...usually from a small farm) they are not inexpensive, but give great nutritional bang for the buck. The eatwild link has the amount of vit D in 2 pastured eggs listed. Pretty substantial.

edited to add links:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Health-Benefits-Free-Range-Eggs.aspx

from http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
This latest good news about eggs comes from a study just released by Mother Earth News (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Health-Benefits-Free-Range-Eggs.aspx), a magazine that plays a leading role in promoting health-enhancing, natural foods. The editors found that eating just two eggs will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.

One resource for finding good eggs from pastured hens:
http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html

[brittone2]

Also found this:

Not sure if it would work because I'm not sure you'd want a 14 month old chewing a gummy vit (choking?). But I would think maybe you could cut it up with kitchen scissors or something into small pieces? Maybe?

http://www.newsguide.us/health-medical/alternative-medicine/Hero-Nutritionals-Introduces-New-Fish-Free-Omega-3-6-9-Essential-Fatty-Acids-Formula-for-Yummi-Bears/

Eta: hang on, that one doesn't have vit D does it?

[jenny]

dumb question, but can you get Vitamin D when it's cloudy outside or if you're in the shade or only when you're under direct sunlight???

[egoldber]

OK, so that was probably the nudge I needed to make a more conscious effort to encourage Amy to eat eggs from our CSA.

[tnrnchick74]

Have you/could you check on the ingredients with a product like this?
http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=14069

(eta: no idea if there is any fish derived ingredients in there?)

Can he eat eggs? If you can find good pastured ones (as in "real" free range chickens that roam outside a LOT...usually from a small farm) they are not inexpensive, but give great nutritional bang for the buck. The eatwild link has the amount of vit D in 2 pastured eggs listed. Pretty substantial.

edited to add links:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Health-Benefits-Free-Range-Eggs.aspx

from http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
This latest good news about eggs comes from a study just released by Mother Earth News (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Health-Benefits-Free-Range-Eggs.aspx), a magazine that plays a leading role in promoting health-enhancing, natural foods. The editors found that eating just two eggs will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.

One resource for finding good eggs from pastured hens:
http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html

I will check out the vit d drops...didn't see those at our local health food store!

Ho can eat eggs, but doesn't like them. It's a struggle to get him to eat them!!!

[BabyMine]

dumb question, but can you get Vitamin D when it's cloudy outside or if you're in the shade or only when you're under direct sunlight???

It isn't a dumb question. Yes you can get Vit D when it is cloudy outside. You can also get sunburned. It depends on what kind of shade. If it totally blocks out the sun then no.

[brittone2]

I will check out the vit d drops...didn't see those at our local health food store!

Ho can eat eggs, but doesn't like them. It's a struggle to get him to eat them!!!

I think I've seen the drops locally at Vitamin Shoppe stores. I haven't used them yet...my kids do the Rainbow Light kids' D.

I don't want to misdirect you in case the D is fish-derived...maybe you can call the company and ask. But at least it is in drop form.

I found a form of D that supposedly doesn't have fish or other common allergens, but it is an adult version from TwinLab so that won't help you.

[DrSally]

So what is the best way to get mroe Vit D in my DS...

He's 14 months old - not cleared to eat fish yet; allergic to milk; drinks soymilk; and is outside about 30-60 min/day (minimal sunscreen unless in the water).

His ped said NOT to give a multivit, as he doesn't need the rest of the stuff...just the vit d. But the DHA/omega 3 supps with vit D are all processed fish products!

So what do I do? I'm thinking of asking for a vit D test...


"Just D" vitamins (liquid) are only vit D and canola oil. Carlson's vit D drops are just vit D and coconut oil. I give DD trivisol b/c it's easier to obtain and it only has A and C as well.