Health Briefs
Comments
0
Published: October 13, 2008
Pediatricians double vitamin D suggestion
The nation’s leading pediatricians group said children from newborns to teens should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases.
Advertisement
the benefits
Reduced risks: Research has shown potential benefits from vitamin D besides keeping bones strong, including suggestions that it might reduce risks for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
More protein: Adrian Gombart, a vitamin D researcher at Oregon State University, said vitamin D helps increase levels of a protein that kills bacteria. He said many experts believe that between 800 and 1,000 units daily would be more effective at helping fight disease.
How to get it
Milk: Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children and teens don’t drink enough of it. Four cups daily would be needed to meet the new requirement, experts say.
Fish: Vitamin D is found in oily fish including tuna, mackerel and sardines.
Sunshine: It’s hard to get enough through diet; the best source is sunlight because the body makes vitamin D when sunshine hits the skin.
From Wire Services
Toolbar sponsored by: David Stanley Ford


Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.