Vitamin D for Young, Old and Everyone in Between
Vitamin D is a hot topic in today’s healthcare world, which makes it astounding to us when our friends and family are unaware of the countless benefits vitamin D has to offer- particularly since it has such a rich history.
In the 1920’s the government mandated milk be fortified with vitamin D to avoid rickets. Rickets is the softening of bones in children that can potentially lead to fractures or deformity. To simply ensure the prevention of rickets, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 400 IUs of vitamin D for children.1
Children aren’t the only ones who need to be mindful of vitamin D levels, a new study shows vitamin D plays an important role in cognitive function in older people. Additionally, results link low vitamin D levels to higher heart risks; the new analysis was conducted by a team of doctors and statisticians from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston University, and the USDA Aging Research Center at Tufts University (Wang TJ et al. 2008).
Armed with new knowledge, you’re likely wondering how you can ensure vitamin D is present in your daily diet. Vitamin D comes from three main sources – exposure to sunlight, foods (such as mushrooms) and foods that are fortified with vitamin D (such as milk and cereals). So the good news is that it’s not a lot of effort to keep such an important nutrient in your system as there are many ways to approach it.
It’s a good idea to get your vitamin D levels checked as part of a routine check-up from your physician.
1. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;122/5/1142.pdf (Referenced February 6, 2009)
