Health Benefits of Vitamin D

Getting enough Vitamin D in your diet is essential to having a healthy body. It is recommended to get 200 to 600 IU of vitamin D each day from foods, such as fish and low fat fortified dairy products. It is also recommended to get 10 to 15 minutes of direct sunlight each day and to take vitamin supplements.

Getting enough vitamin D can be very beneficial health wise. It can help- to relieve backaches, reduce the risk of cancer, and reduce the risk of diabetes. The vitamin is very important when it comes to calcium absorption in the body and is needed for bone growth and to maintain healthy bones.

Pediatricians Double Vitamin D Recommendation

The American Academy of Pediatrics has doubled its recommendation for the daily dose of vitamin D that children should take to try to prevent diseases, such as rickets, and they say that this decision could have life-long benefits. It is now recommended that children receive 400 international units of vitamin D per day, starting in the few days of their life.

Not getting enough vitamin D can result in the disease rickets, which causes bone-softening, stunted growth, and skeletal deformities if it is not corrected while the child is young. Babies that are breast-fed have a big risk of being vitamin D deficient but these babies can be given supplements of the vitamin.

Good sources of vitamin D include exposure to sunlight, vitamin D fortified milk, fortified cereals, tuna, mackerel, and sardines.