Vitamin D Deficiency Health Article

Prevention

Food fortification has almost completely eliminated rickets in the United States. Vitamin D deficiency can be prevented by acquiring the RDA through drinking fortified milk and eating fortified cereals. For those who cannot drink milk, supplements of pills might be considered. In some older people, a 400 IU supplement may not be enough to result in the normal absorption of calcium; therefore, daily doses of 10,000 IU per day may be needed. For infants who are fed only breast milk (and rarely exposed to sunshine), a daily supplement of 200-300 IU is recommended.

Rickets continues to be a problem in Africans and Asian Indians who migrate to Canada or Great Britain, especially where these immigrants do not drink fortified milk. Prevention of rickets in these populations is attempted through educational programs sponsored by the government.

BOOKS

Brody, Tom. "Vitamin D." In Nutritional Biochemistry. San Diego: Academic Press, 1994.

Collins, E. D., and Anthony Norman. "Vitamin D." In Handbook of Vitamins, ed. Lawrence Machlin. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1991.

Feldman, D. Vitamin D. San Diego: Academic Press, 1997.

Food and Nutrition Board. "Vitamin D." In Recommended Dietary Allowances. 10th ed. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1989.

PERIODICALS

Binet, A., and S.W. Kooh. "Persistence of Vitamin D-Deficiency Rickets in Toronto in the 1990s." Cancer Journal of Public Health (July/Aug. 1996): 227-230.

El-Sonbaty, M. R., and N. Abdul-Ghaffar."Vitamin D Deficiency in Veiled Kuwaiti Women." European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50 (1996): 315-318.

Kinyamu, H., et al. "Serum Vitamin D Metabolites and Calcium Absorption in Normal Young and Elderly Free-Living Women and in Women Living in Nursing Homes." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 65 (1997): 790-797.

Tom Brody, PhD

KEY TERMS

25-hydroxy-vitamin D—This is the form of vitamin D that is measured in order to assess vitamin D deficiency.

Cholesterol—A fat-soluble steroid alcohol (sterol) found in animal fats and oils, and in egg yolks. The human body needs cholesterol to produce vitamin D.

Fat-soluble vitamin—A vitamin that dissolves easily in fat or oil, but not in water. The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins D, E, A, and K.

International unit (IU)—A measurement of biological activity in which one IU is equal to one mg (milligram).

Osteomalacia—Osteomalacia is a bone disease that occurs in adults and is caused by a prolonged period of vitamin D deficiency.

Rachitic rosary—Beadlike bumps present at the junction of the ribs with their cartilages—often seen in children with rickets.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)—The amount of nutrients, including vitamins, that should be supplied by foods on a daily basis to maintain normal health. Recommendations are based on data obtained from different population groups and ages.

Rickets—Rickets is a bone disease that occurs in infants and growing children and is caused by a prolonged period of vitamin D deficiency.