The deficiency of vitamin D during childhood and adolescence has outcomes later in life like the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and risk of developing cancer disease, osteoporosis, and multiple sclerosis. Previous studies have linked low levels of vitamin D with high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, which can contribute to heart disease.

Millions of children will need to take vitamin D supplements each day to meet the new recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians are recommending that children receive double the usually suggested amount of vitamin D. This means infants, children and teenagers will need to get 400 units IU a day, beginning in the first few days of life because it may help reduce the risk of serious diseases.

Vitamin D might lower blood pressure, reduce calcification of coronary arteries, regulate inflammation, affect the heart muscle, or reduce respiratory infections during the winter time.

Vitamin D, also known as “sunshine vitamin,” helps the body absorb calcium and is considered important for bone health. On a sunny day, just 10 minutes of exposure to sun will generate enough vitamin D to reach the higher levels found protective in studies.

On the other hand, too much sun, as we all know, is a risk factor for skin cancer.

Actually, vitamin D is a generic name for a group of prohormones (precursors to hormones). Of interest are especially vitamin D2 (or ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (or cholecalciferol). The latter is the actual “sunshine vitamin” which is produced in skin exposed to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B radiation. Improper diet and lack of sun contribute to vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is also found in many dietary sources such as fish, eggs, fortified milk and cod liver oil. The type of vitamin D added to milk is ergocalcifernol, known as D2. Vitamin D2 has to be converted to vitamin D3 that protects the bones and works like a natural anti-cancer agent.

It is estimated that 50 to 60 percent of people do not have the satisfactory vitamin-D status. Earlier this year, researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston found “suboptimal” levels of vitamin D in 40 percent of 380 otherwise healthy infants and toddlers.

Researchers at Harvard University concluded that neither milk nor calcium is enough to maintain bone health and that taking vitamin D supplements is a good idea. A Harvard study of 72,337 women over 18 years found that women who consumed about 500 IU units a day in food and supplements had a greatly lowered risk of broken hips. But the real amount of vitamin D needed to prevent bone loss is even higher, probably closer to 1000 IU per day.

The amount the academy recommended in 2003 was 200 units daily for people up to age 50, 400 units for adults ages 51 to 70 and 600 units for those 71 and older. People older than 50 need a higher dose, because the body’s ability to convert the vitamin into its active form begins to decline at age 50.

The new recommendations will be published in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.