The Importance of Vitamin D for Child Growth

Contents:

Medical Video: Vitamin D Deficiency in Children

Vitamin D is an important nutrient needed for bone health, and to control the amount of calcium in the blood. Recent research reports that vitamin D can prevent a number of other diseases.

Apart from playing an important role in bone development, vitamin D also has several other important functions. Vitamin D helps build an immune system that will protect your child during times of growth, support immune function, and fight infection. Vitamin D which is induced by sun exposure is also beneficial to reduce the risk of allergies.

The main source of vitamin D is UVB rays from sunlight. The use of sunblock is very important to protect the skin of your baby, but also acts as a filter so that your baby still gets enough vitamin D during outdoor activities.

What are the consequences if a child is deficient in vitamin D?

Vitamin D deficiency can cause seizures and cardimiopathy (heart muscle disorders), rickets, and growth problems in children. In addition, vitamin D deficiency can also cause muscle weakness in other age groups.

How much vitamin D does my child need?

Infants up to 12 months old need 400 international units (IU), or 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D per day. Children aged one year and above will need 600 IU, or 15 mcg, every day.

You do not have to fill all the RDA of vitamin D for your child in one day. Alternatively, you can pay attention to the fulfillment of your child's vitamin D intake to fit the average number of recommendations in a few days or per week.

List of food sources of vitamin D

Vitamin D is also called sun vitamin, because vitamin D will be produced naturally by the body when exposed to direct sunlight. However, the production of vitamins will not be optimal if your baby's body is covered by clothes or is using sunblock cream. Other factors that can reduce the production of vitamin D in the body are fog, smoke, cloudy cloudy weather, dark skin pigmentation, and geographical location.

Determining how long it takes for someone to get vitamin D in sufficient quantities is quite difficult. Some researchers recommend sunbathing or doing outdoor activities 5-10 minutes at 10 am - 3 pm, at least 2 times a day to get good vitamin D intake.

However, exposure to direct sunlight is closely related to the risk of skin cancer due to UV radiation. It's hard to be sure that you will get enough vitamin D without increasing the risk of contracting dangerous skin cancer. Experts advise you to consider other ways to get the required vitamin D intake.

Recommendations from experts are to consume vitamin D supplements at a dose of 400 IU daily for your baby. Small children who cannot chew well can be given supplements in liquid form.

Some food sources rich in vitamin D are:

  • 1 ounce of salmon (30 g): 102 IU
  • 6 ounces of yogurt (170 g): 80 IU
  • 1 ounce of canned tuna, with fish oil (29 g): 66 IU
  • 1/2 cup of orange juice enriched by 25% Vitamin D (125 ml): 50 IU
  • 1/2 cup fortified milk (fresh, low fat, skimmed) (125 ml): 49 IU
  • 1/2 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, fortification (20 gr): 19 IU
  • 1 ounce of fish mackerel (28 g): 11.6 IU
  • 1/2 large egg yolks (9.5 g): 10 IU
  • 1/2 tsp margarine fortification (4.5 g): 10 IU

Vitamin D levels contained in food will vary depending on the product brand.

Your child may eat less or exceed the average amount of food mentioned above, judging by his age and appetite. Estimate the nutritional content according to your child's needs.

The Importance of Vitamin D for Child Growth
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