Mothers, infants are ‘D’ Deficient

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 | posted in: Headline Story
SMART TAN INTERNATIONAL

A new study has added to the piles of research showing that mothers and infants are vitamin D deficient – adding further evidence to the case that a generation of sun-deprived mothers are delivering vitamin D deficient children.

“Roughly 9 out of 10 breast-fed babies receive less vitamin D than experts recommend, according to the study, which was conducted by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among formula-fed babies, fewer than 37 percent consume the recommended amount. It is well-known that breast-fed infants are at risk for vitamin D deficiency. But the study findings suggest that most babies will require a supplement regardless of how they’re fed,” CNN reported on its web site, CNN.com.

The study was published this week in the journal Pediatrics. It comes on the heels of a peer-reviewed random-controlled trial showing that mothers with high vitamin D levels naturally consistent only with regular UV exposure are significantly less likely to deliver children with birth defects. Other research has shown that mothers need 6,000 IU of vitamin D daily in order to pass vitamin D on to infants in breast milk.

That level is certainly only naturally consistent with regular sunlight, as it represents 60 glasses of vitamin D fortified whole milk. A full-body suntan makes 10,000-20,000 IU of vitamin D naturally.

“We’re realizing that with the combination of more women breast-feeding and how we slather kids with sunscreen and don’t let them run in the sun anymore, [kids] aren’t getting the vitamin D exposure that they used to, or that they need,” researcher Carrie Drazba, M.D., a pediatrician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, told CNN.com.

To read the CNN story click here.