Only children given the equivalent of 2,000 IUs a day of vitamin D3 increased their blood levels of the vitamin to the level considered optimal for adults, according to results of a placebo-controlled study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Both the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommend an adequate daily intake of 200 IUs of vitamin D for children.
Reports in prestigious journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have called for raises to the recommendations.
Because of the low dietary amounts, and lack of sunshine in northern climates, some estimates claim that as much as 60 per cent of northern populations may be vitamin D deficient.
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Vitamin D deficiency in childhood can show up later as broken bones or a weakened immune system prone to disease. Two out of five U.S. children aged 8 months to 2 years who took part in a 380-patient study at Children's Hospital Boston had less-than-optimal blood levels of vitamin D.
The main risk factors were not drinking enough fortified milk, not taking vitamins and being overweight, said the report published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
Lead researcher Catherine Gordon of Children's Hospital Boston said the 40 percent deficiency rate "is higher than expected in a country that has vitamin D fortified milk."
The study also found that 6 percent of the children fed fortified formula were vitamin D deficient. The researchers said this raised questions about whether the fortification was sufficient.
Bonnie - this is why we often recommend a multi with vitamin D and Cod Liver Oil in prenatal/pregnant women, nursing mothers, and in young children to enhance what is already in the fortified milk, milk substitutes, and fish.
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