3 Ways to Make Sure Kids Get Their Vitamin D

I've written more than a few stories on how Americans are by and large lacking in Vitamin D, but wow, was I unprepared for what I heard when I asked Frank Greer how many babies get enough Vitamin D: "If it's 30 percent, I'd be surprised."

Greer should know; he leads the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on nutrition, which just doubled its recommendation for daily Vitamin D intake in children from 200 to 400 IU a day. The docs were concerned that many children, particularly young babies, aren't getting enough Vitamin D, which is essential for absorbing calcium from food and building bones. New evidence suggests that D also plays a vital role in the immune system, and might help protect against cancer and diabetes.

But how could so many American babies be missing out on this vital nutrient? Here's the deal: Many new mothers are Vitamin D deficient themselves, and can't deliver enough D to their babies while breastfeeding. Formula has enough Vitamin D to meet the pediatricians' goals. But moms who think they are doing the right thing nutritionally be breastfeeding need to give their babies supplemental vitamins, starting right after birth.

I always thought that parents were supposed to try to get vitamins into their kids by emphasizing healthy food, but that gambit doesn't work as well with Vitamin D. Oily fish contain D; hence the old-time winter remedy of cod liver oil. So does fortified milk. But a child would have to drink a liter of milk a day to get 400 IU -- something that lots of kids, including my own, aren't about to do. Human skin synthesizes D, but people who live north of Chicago aren't exposed to enough sunshine from fall through spring to make their quota. People with darker skin, or those who cover themselves up to avoid sun exposure, also can't make enough D. Then there are the kids who spend almost all day either inside at school or inside watching TV. They could live on the Equator, and they still wouldn't get enough sun.

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