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free tools for patients, expert nutrition advice and information on updated
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Educate your patients on the importance of 3-A-Day of Dairy: Here's
a great
tool (PDF: 618k) to show families how to get their 3-A-Day of Dairy
every day for stronger bones.
Developed in conjunction with The American Academy of Family
Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dietetic
Association, and The National Medical Association.
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Dairy Council Digest Archives
A NEW APPRECIATION FOR VITAMIN D
Volume 78, Number 2 March/April 2007
Summary
In the last decade, vitamin D has become a focus of renewed interest. This attention stems from the unexpected finding of widespread vitamin D deficiency in children and adults, emerging evidence of an expanding beneficial role for vitamin D in health, and growing support for increasing dietary recommendations for this fat-soluble vitamin.
Vitamin D is unique because, given adequate exposure to sunlight, the body can synthesize all the vitamin D it needs. However, because people have variable and in many cases limited exposure to sunlight, vitamin D is considered an essential nutrient. In the body, vitamin D is metabolized to a specific circulating form called calcidiol and to a physiologically active hormonal form called calcitriol. Vitamin D not only regulates blood calcium levels, but identification of vitamin D receptors in most cells and tissues of the body suggests other regulatory functions.
In addition to exposure to sunlight, vitamin D is obtained from foods (unfortified and fortified) and dietary supplements. Only a few foods such as oily marine fish (e.g., salmon) naturally contain vitamin D. In the U.S., milk and some other dairy foods (e.g., some yogurts, cheese), as well as some breakfast cereals among other foods, are fortified with vitamin D. While optional, nearly all cow’s milk sold in the U.S. is fortified with vitamin D to obtain a standardized amount of 400 IU/quart.
Dietary recommendations for vitamin D, published in 1997 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), are 200 IU/day for children, adolescents, and adults up to 50 years of age, 400 IU/day for adults 51 through 70 years, and 600 IU/day for adults over 70 years. Calcidiol, the major circulating form of vitamin D, is used to assess vitamin D status. Accumulating scientific evidence suggests that higher levels of serum calcidiol (i.e., ~ 80 nmol/L) than previously indicated are associated with multiple health benefits. Recognizing the need for high-risk groups (e.g., the elderly, those with dark skin) to consume higher amounts of vitamin D than recommended by the IOM, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends a vitamin D intake of 1000 IU/day for these groups.
Vitamin D deficiency is described as an unrecognized epidemic affecting all age groups, and especially African Americans and persons who cover most of their bodies with clothing for religious or cultural reasons. Poor vitamin D status is attributed to factors interfering with the cutaneous production of vitamin D (e.g., deep skin pigmentation, clothing, sunscreen use, aging, winter season, northern latitudes, etc.) and low dietary intake of vitamin D.
Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in infants and young children, poor bone health with the inability to attain genetically determined peak bone mass in children and adolescents, and osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults. Emerging scientific evidence also indicates that poor vitamin D status may increase the risk of non-skeletal chronic diseases such as certain cancers, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and autoimmune disorders. Moreover, vitamin D intakes in excess of current dietary recommendations are associated with reduced risk of these diseases. Based on recent findings, momentum is growing for increasing dietary recommendations for vitamin D to support overall health.
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