Kids need ample vitamin D
Vitamin D is going through an awkward transition period right now. You know you need it, but how much do you need? And what about kids? When they’re not running around the summertime pool, soaking up sunshine, how much do they need during non-summer months?
According to the Food and Nutrition Board, 200 IU of vitamin D daily is an adequate intake (AI) from birth to age 50 in order to maintain optimal bone health. After your 50th birthday, your AI doubles to 400 IU, and jumps to 600 IU after age 71.
Okay, that’s adequate. But when it comes to all the health benefits of vitamin D, we don’t want adequate, we want generous.
In the e-Alert “Sunny Side of the Street” (12/22/03), I told you about this vitamin D recommendation from Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.: Between 1,600 and 2,000 IU of D3 daily, and as much as 4,000 IU for those over the age of 40. Dr. Wright also recommends a consistent intake of dietary sources that contain vitamin D, including salmon, sardines, and cod liver oil – in addition, of course, to moderate daily exposure to direct sunlight.
But what about children?
Two new studies from the American University of Beirut-Medical Center in Lebanon show that kids of all ages may need quite a bit more than 20 IU per day.
In a short-term study (eight weeks), 25 kids, aged 10 to 17, took 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 each day or a placebo. In a long-term study (one year), more than 300 kids of the same age group took 200 IU daily, 2,000 IU daily, or a placebo.
Blood tests showed that subjects who took 2,000 IU daily maintained vitamin D levels considered optimal in adults. Those in the 200 IU and placebo groups did not reach those same D levels. None of the subjects in either trial reported adverse reactions.
Writing in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, the authors state that their study establishes “the long-term safety of weekly high doses of vitamin D at a critical time for bone mass accretion.”
Talk to your child’s pediatrician before starting a high-dose supplement regimen.
Source:
“Short-Term and Long-Term Safety of Weekly High-Dose Vitamin D3 Supplementation in School Children” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Published online 4/29/08, jcem.endojournals.org
