Friday, 2 November 2012

sunshine...

Coming from a country where the sun's always shining , I was always bothered about the SPF in my sunscreen and had never cared about the after effects of no sunshine....the absence of steroid vitamin D!

This vitamin is made by our body under the skin in reaction to sunlight ...I knew that in cold countries people are prone to Vitamin D deficiencies..specially in the winter months when there's hardly any sunlight. Babies are the ones who suffer most if not supplied with adequate levels of vitamin D externally.

I was speaking to my baby's pediatrician regarding his cold and was popping my usual questions about his health when the topic came up. I was telling him that baby sweats a lot at night time occasionally...so much that his head is totally drenched in sweat.

Sweating at night can be due to teething or due to lack of vitamin D.

He definitely in teething but his Vitamin D intake is also a doubt? After all he's hardly exposed to sunlight, doesn't eat much and is neither on followon formula milk.

Babies who are fed infant formula do not need vitamin drops until they are receiving less than 500ml of infant formula a day, as these products are fortified with vitamin D.
Breastfed infants may need to receive drops containing vitamin D from one month of age if their mother has not taken vitamin D supplements throughout pregnancy, thankfully not my case :)Breast fed babies fall shot of this vitamin and have to be provided with this vitamin orally in the correct dosage.

Two months back I had started giving him oral multivitamins but the dosage wasn't correct. As per the guidelines , babies need 400 IU of vitamin D per day...and I was giving him less than that.

Lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain while taking too much vitamin D over a long period of time can cause more calcium to be absorbed than can be excreted.
The excess calcium can be deposited in and damage the kidneys. Excessive intakes of vitamin D can also encourage calcium to be removed from bones, which can soften and weaken them gradually.

Apart from sunlight,Vitamin D is naturally present in few food:
oily fish, such as salmon and sardines
eggs
fortified fat spreads
fortified breakfast cereals
powdered milk

But the easiest and best source remains sunshine. And its not just babies , adults need it too..so next time the sun comes out I am gonna bask in it for sometime!


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