Many Children Are Deficient in Vitamin D
Vitamin D builds your bones and keeps your gut sealed, among many other essential functions − but many children are deficient
You’ve likely heard about vitamin D’s important role in maintaining strong bones and teeth. But it also plays several other important roles to keep your body healthy – including the function of your gut.
As part of our research on how a dietary fiber supplement affects bone mass in children and adolescents, the MetA-Bone Trial, we are also studying gut health.
For this study, we recruited 213 children and adolescents from South Florida, primarily Hispanics, though some were Black. Before having them start taking the fiber supplement, we measured their vitamin D levels to ensure they had adequate amounts. Surprisingly, we found that 68% of these children had suboptimal vitamin D levels.
Considering South Florida is an area with plenty of sunshine year-round, this was both startling and concerning. While vitamin D can be obtained from foods, most people in the U.S. get this vitamin primarily from skin exposure to sunlight. For youth approaching or experiencing puberty – a period of profound physiological changes, including rapid changes in bone mass – vitamin D deficiency could lead to several health issues.
