Nutritional Supplements

Has your doctor recommended giving your child a vitamin D supplement?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled their previous vitamin D recommendations for infants, children and adolescents from 200 IU per day to 400 IU. Their report on this topic indicates that children older than one year of age should consume vitamin D fortified foods like milk and if necessary, take a supplement under the guidance of a physician.

Children need three servings of vitamin D fortified milk or fortified soy milk or almond milk to meet their vitamin D needs. Unfortunately, many children are not getting that amount. If you find that you are having a hard time getting your child to consume enough vitamin D fortified foods, talk to your pediatrician to determine if your little one needs a supplement.

If your baby is exclusively breastfed, it may be necessary to give your baby vitamin D drops. Or you, the nursing mother, should be taking at least 2000 IU of a vitamin D supplement per day especially if you are not getting a lot of sun exposure. This helps to ensure that some vitamin D is being passed to the baby in the breast milk. Vitamin D deficiency is common across populations and particularly among people with darker skin. Nutritional rickets among nursing infants whose mothers have insufficient levels of vitamin D is an increasingly common, yet preventable disorder.

Always check with the child's doctor before giving them any supplements. Liquid nutritional supplements such as a liquid vitamin D supplement are perfect for children since they are easy to swallow and taste great.