For vitamin D, it is recommended that children under 1 year old consume 400IU per day, and 600IU per day for children over 1 year old. Everyone basically knows this, but at the same time many people ask, at what age should vitamin D be supplemented?
Vitamins are essential substances for maintaining human physiological functions, so everyone needs them regardless of age. There are many kinds of vitamins. Most of them are widely found in food and usually do not require additional supplements. For example, vitamins A, B, C, etc. are contained in large amounts in vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs. They are only available in certain environments or among certain groups of people. Additional supplements are required.
As a vitamin, vitamin D is also needed by people of all ages, so there is no saying that it only needs to be supplemented until a certain age, but the required amount needs to be ensured at all times.
Unlike other vitamins, foods rich in vitamin D are not so common, mainly marine fish, egg yolks, animal livers, etc. Not everyone eats these foods on a daily basis, so vitamin D deficiency is relatively prominent.
Human skin can also synthesize vitamin D. Under the action of sunlight, 7-dehydrocholesterol under the skin of the human body can be converted into vitamin D. In southern areas where the sunlight is relatively strong, people who spend a lot of time outdoors can synthesize vitamin D by themselves. , can also meet people’s own needs.
In the ancient era of hunting and farming, humans spent a lot of time outdoors. Even if they did not supplement their food with enough vitamin D, they did not have to worry about vitamin D deficiency. However, with the development of human society today, great changes have taken place in our lifestyles. , we spend less and less time outdoors, so vitamin D deficiency is relatively common.
Vitamin D is very important for maintaining bone metabolism. In children, a lack of vitamin D during the bone development period will be more harmful, leading to problems such as rickets. For adults, long-term vitamin D deficiency may also lead to an increased risk of fractures and osteomalacia. And other issues.
Therefore, vitamin D is needed by both children and adults, but children’s food is relatively simple, especially in infancy, the problems caused by deficiency are more prominent, so more emphasis is placed on it. Adult food types are also relatively richer, and they spend more time outdoors. , the risk of deficiency is relatively small, so it is less emphasized, but it does not mean that adults do not need it.
So how much vitamin D do adults need? The following is data from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences [1], which is also a data source recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Note: EAR estimated average requirement RDA: recommended daily intake
From the table, we can see that for those aged 1-70 years old, the recommended daily intake is 600IU, and for those over 70 years old, the recommended daily intake is 800IU. Whether it is food supplementation or vitamin D drop supplementation, the total amount is sufficient. If you don’t spend much time outdoors and don’t know if you’re getting enough vitamin D from food, you can naturally take 1-2 pills of vitamin D every day.
In fact, the vitamin D intake of most children is insufficient. A study published in the American Journal of Pediatrics last year [2] showed that survey data in the United States from 2009 to 2016 showed that vitamin D intake reached the recommended amount. Only 27% are children.
References:
[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56056
[2]https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2020/05/14/peds.2019-3574
