http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-vitamin-doct13,0,159061.story

Doubling of kids’ vitamin D intake urged

Associated Press
  11:07 PM CDT, October 12, 2008

The nation’s leading pediatricians group says children—from newborns to teens—should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases.

To meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take daily vitamin D supplements, the American Academy of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants—even those who get some formula, too, and many teens who drink little or no milk.

Baby formula contains vitamin D, so infants on formula only generally don’t need supplements. However, the academy recommends breast-feeding for at least the first year of life, and breast milk is sometimes deficient.

Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children and teens don’t drink enough of it—four cups daily would be needed—to meet the new requirement, said Dr. Frank Greer, the report’s co-author and a University of Wisconsin pediatrician.

The new advice is based on mounting research about potential benefits from vitamin D besides keeping bones strong, including suggestions that it might reduce risks for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. But the evidence isn’t conclusive.

The new advice replaces a 2003 academy recommendation for 200 units daily. That’s the amount the government recommends for children and adults up to age 50; 400 units is recommended for adults 51 to 70; and 600 units for those age 71 and up. Vitamin D is sold in drops for children, capsules and tablets.

The recommendations were prepared for release Monday at an academy conference in Boston. They are to be published in the November issue of the academy’s journal Pediatrics.

What about getting it naturally??

The article does state that you can but there are problems with kids consuming what they need:

However, the academy recommends breast-feeding for at least the first year of life, and breast milk is sometimes deficient.

Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children and teens don’t drink enough of it—four cups daily would be needed

Note:  I think but am not sure, that in the case of breast milk it’s possible that the mother doesn’t have enough Vitamin D in her own system.  There can also be other little problems that might prevent enough of the vitamin being formed in the milk too.

I think (possibly) Maegan was referring to kids getting vitamin D from being outside in the sunlight.

Just make every kid drink a bottle of cod liver oil each day.  Problem solved!

Maegan - 13 October 2008 08:45 AM

What about getting it naturally??

Well with PSPs, internet, forums…  , and YM, Im and MMORPGs
Kids have no reason to go out more…

Crafty Dragon - 13 October 2008 05:14 PM

I think (possibly) Maegan was referring to kids getting vitamin D from being outside in the sunlight.

Yes, this is what I meant by natural.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/06/23/time-in-the-sun-how-much-is-needed-for-vitamin-d.html

Time in the Sun: How Much Is Needed for Vitamin D?
With heart deaths linked to low vitamin D levels, an expert offers advice on getting just enough sun

...............n the winter, it’s impossible to produce vitamin D from the sun if you live north of Atlanta because the sun never gets high enough in the sky for its ultraviolet B rays to penetrate the atmosphere. But summer is a great time to stock up on the nutrient. When the sun’s UV-B rays hit the skin, a reaction takes place that enables skin cells to manufacture vitamin D. If you’re fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin. Dark-skinned individuals and the elderly also produce less vitamin D, and many folks don’t get enough of the nutrient from dietary sources like fatty fish and fortified milk…........

ALSO see http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6006566&page=1

there is a video with this article with a lot of information

Cool, we’re well south of Atlanta…so we can can vitamin D all year.

Guess I gotta stock up during the summer.  I wonder how long my stockpile would last??

If you live in an area where you can send your kids outside for a while do so.  Very much so if your child is of darker skin.  In more northern climes darker skin need more exposure to the sun.  Think southern Italy and points south.  For those of us with lighter skin with kids of same. get outside and supplements.  I know some adults who are biracial have had to go to the tanning bed for the extra D during the winter.  Get with a doc or nurse who would be more familar with you personally to set up something that would work for you.

Actually, it takes *very* little solar exposure to get enough D in your body. I think it’s on the order of an hour of indirect sun a week. As long as you’re not a total shut-in you’re probably getting enough during the course of the day. The trick is that kid’s bodies sometimes can’t process vitamins as well as adults, and also benefit from higher amounts of vitamins, not to mention the tendency for kids to veg out in front of the TV rather than play outside. Parental fears of skin cancer, and all.