Recently the American Academy of Pediatricians has concluded that babies, children and teens are not getting enough vitamin D in their system and they are recommending double the dosage children were getting until now. The newly recommended dosage is 400 international units of vitamin D, as studies show that this amount is totally safe and that it will prevent rickets.

Insufficient vitamin D in the body is a serious fact and is most common in infants and children. Vitamin D helps metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in the body and vitamin D deficient children usually experience symptoms like bone disease, restlessness or slow growth.

The new recommendations of 400 IU are especially targeted at infants who are still breastfed. The milk in their mothers’ breasts doesn’t have the necessary amount of vitamin D and pediatricians recommend supplements from which the baby to get the necessary amount of the vitamin in their system. Some research link the lack of vitamin D in adults with chronic diseases such as diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. Even so there isn’t any proof that vitamin D alone could actually prevent these diseases.

Most of the time vitamin D is absorbed in the body through sun rays and this caused a real problem in the 18th century America as smoke from factories was affecting how much sun exposure people got. As always, it all comes down to what you eat and what you eat. A healthy meal can provide one with most of the vitamins and, most of all, with more vitality and energy.