When your baby was discharged from the maternity ward, the paediatrician prescribed vitamin D, and you may be wondering: What is it for? How long will you have to give it to your child? And in what amounts? What are the possible consequences of a vitamin D deficiency? Or is there a risk of overdosing? All the answers to these questions are in this article!
How do we get vitamin D into our bodies?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, i.e. it is found in the fat of food. It is essential for the growth and mineralisation of bones. It also plays a role in the quality of muscle tissue and in strengthening the immune system. This vitamin also facilitates the absorption of calcium with the help of phosphorus.
There are three ways to get vitamin D into our bodies:
- Food: Vitamin D is mainly found in foods of animal origin, such as fish liver oil, offal, oily fish like salmon, herring, anchovies, trout, sardines, mackerel, but also in milk, especially whole milk, butter, egg yolk and some mushrooms like shiitake! You can also find vitamin D in some commercial products fortified with vitamin D, the most common of which are milk, dairy products and oils
- Sunlight: when it comes into contact with our skin, it allows our body to synthesise vitamin D
- The drug supplementation mentioned in the introduction
How many times a day should you eat it?
But how much should you take in each day? According to the new recommendations of the French Paediatric Society, a minimum of 400 IU (= International Unit) per day from birth to 2 years of age, then 400 to 800 IU per day from 2 to 18 years of age in healthy children with no risk factors. Finally, 800 to 1600 IU per day from 0 to 18 years of age for children with risk factors. Breastfeeding women, pregnant women and people on special diets such as some forms of vegetarianism should also be particularly vigilant about their vitamin D intake.
What does this mean? 200 IU of vitamin D correspond to 30g of salmon, sardines, herring or anchovies. But also 50g of trout, 70g of mackerel, 5 eggs, 250g of chanterelles or 500g of meat or offal! In order to meet the needs of young children, it is recommended to eat 2 fish per week, including 1 fatty fish.
These intakes should not be taken lightly, as vitamin D deficiency is common and under-diagnosed and can lead to muscle disorders, bone disorders (rickets) that can cause bone deformities, but also a decrease in bone mass and thus an increased risk of fracture. Conversely, an excess of vitamin D intake can cause hypercalcaemia, i.e. an excessively high level of calcium in the blood, leading to calcification of certain tissues, with cardiological and renal consequences.
This is why your child is prescribed a supplement as soon as he leaves the maternity ward and throughout his bone mineralisation growth, i.e. until he is 18 years old. Most of the time, this medicinal supplementation will be found under the name: Adrigyl, Deltius and Zyma D. It is preferable to use medicines rather than food supplements. The latter are not tested in pharmaceutical laboratories. Moreover, cases of overdose have recently been reported in young children following the use of these supplements. For this reason, it is important to count the number of drops you give your child, respecting the prescription of the paediatrician or general practitioner.
Now you know a lot about this vitamin! As usual, don 't hesitate to ask your child's paediatrician or general practitioner for advice as soon as necessary. I will end, as usual, with recipes rich in vitamin D such as: salmon and spinach pie, omelette with chanterelles, pancakes or sardine rillettes!
See you soon for a new article!
Dietician - Nutritionist specialising in paediatrics
Sources
- Supplementary opinion to the information point of 27 January 2021 "Vitamin D in children: use medicines not supplements to prevent the risk of overdose"
- SFP. Supplementation recommendations. New definitions. Guidelines 2021
- ANSES. "Vitamin D: why and how to ensure adequate intake". 18 January 2021
- HAS. "Note de cadrage Clinical utility of vitamin D testing. January 2013