Vitamin D and your child’s health

Vitamin D and Your Child’s Health

Vitamin D is one of the essential vitamins for your child’s normal growth, in addition to the fact that vitamin D deficiency and the health problems resulting from it are the most common among children. In this article, we will explain to you the importance of vitamin D to your child’s health, the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, and how to prevent vitamin D deficiency in children.

Vitamin D is essential for your child’s health

Children’s bodies need vitamin D primarily to grow healthy and it has a major role in

1- Vitamin D is essential for normal bone and tooth growth, and its deficiency causes rickets, osteomalacia, and bone deformation

2- Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins for brain development and growth, and its deficiency causes a lack of focus and poor problem-solving ability in children.

3- Studies indicate that vitamin D helps to raise the body’s immunity and prevent infections.

Symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency in your child’s health

Your child’s health is negatively affected by vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, they usually have asymptomatic, but in cases of severe deficiency, some signs and symptoms may become apparent:

1- Musculoskeletal and bone pain

2- Difficulty walking or standing up

3- Convulsions

4– Feeling unexplained fatigue and exhaustion

Tips to prevent your child from having a vitamin D deficiency

Given the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and the severity of the symptoms resulting from it, we advise you to take the following steps to protect your child’s health:

1- Encourage your child to spend some time in the sun every day.

2- Provide your child with vitamin-rich meals.

3- Utilize Vitamin D Supplements

4- Make sure to consult with a doctor and perform the necessary tests if your child complains of some symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.

Causes of Vitamin D deficiency

You know from reading this article that vitamin D is very essential for your child’s normal growth, but its deficiency is common for several reasons, including:

1- Children are not exposed enough to sun rays

2- children do not consume nutritious, well-balanced foods.

Foods containing vitamin D

Malnutrition is one of the causes of vitamin D deficiency, so be sure to supplement your child’s diet with foods that contain vitamin D to enhance his physical and mental health, such as: 

• Yolk

• Fatty fish

• Fortified milk and dairy products

• Fortified juices, corn, and grains

• Some veggies (e.g. broccoli, and mushrooms)

The body may not get enough vitamin D from foods alone, because they contain trace amounts that do not come close to meeting the daily requirement of vitamin D.

Exposure to sun rays provides you with vitamin D.

Sun rays are the main source of vitamin D, as the body manufactures it as a result of skin exposure to direct sun rays.

By adhering to the following procedures, you make sure that your child is properly exposed to the sun and gets vitamin D without harm.

1- Wearing clothes that expose a good portion of the body (although exposing the face and hands alone will not cure vitamin D deficiency, it may alleviate it).

2- Avoid sunburn, avoid prolonged exposure to the sun; a 15-30 minutes exposure is sufficient, it varies according to skin color, the darker the skin, the more time it takes

3-  Avoid wearing sunscreen because it prevents vitamin D absorption.

4-  Exposure to direct sun rays rather than through a closed window.

5-  The appropriate time for exposure to the sun varies from region to region and changes with the change of seasons. Where the rays that help in the manufacture of vitamin D are available in the summer and spring, and less in the winter and autumn, these rays are often available between ten in the morning and two at noon.

With best wishes for the continued health and wellness of you and your child, remember that your attention and follow-up on your child’s health will prevent him from having many health problems.

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