Early childhood is one of the most crucial stages in human development. As such it is important that we receive the correct balance of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Vitamin D is one of the most important, so getting the right amounts of vitamin D into a child’s body during the first stages of development can make a big difference. It can play a critical role in the long-term wellbeing of the child into adulthood.
Of course, it’s common knowledge that exposure to the sun plays an important role in how much vitamin D we have in our bodies. And for a long time it was thought that this was actually the most important factor along with skin colour. However, research published in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine medical journal suggests that taking supplements and drinking cow’s milk could be the main factors in determining levels of vitamin D.
A deficiency in vitamin D can cause a number of health issues in children, including asthma and allergies. A severe deficiency can even cause long-term problems such as rickets and the softening of bones. It was previously thought that children could get enough vitamin D from exposure to the sun and from eating oily fish and cereals. But this research suggests that supplements could actually be very beneficial, along with consuming plenty of fortified dairy products.
Researchers studied the vitamin D blood tests of 1,896 health children under 6 years old. They found that the two factors most strongly associated with higher vitamin D levels in the children were taking a daily vitamin D supplement and drinking two glasses of cow’s milk a day. These factors were more important that establishing whether the children had been exposed to enough sunlight or their skin colour.
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