The First Supplement for Your Baby – Now VEGAN!
Dr. Juliana Rosario Yeung
ND, BScAgr, BSc
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that has major roles in a developing baby. A major deficiency in vitamin D can lead to rickets, a condition where bones are weak and soft, causing development delays to skeletal deformities.
Babies need 400 IU per day of vitamin D. This dosage starts from the day they are born. Vitamin D comes from three sources: sunlight, food and supplementation.
Sunlight
Everybody naturally makes vitamin D in the skin when exposed to sunlight. In the northern latitudes, due to seasonality and location, the amount of sunlight available may lead to suboptimal quantities. Prolonged exposure to sunlight also carries the risk of sunburn and skin cancer. Individuals with darker skin tone need more exposure to get adequate vitamin D amounts.
Food
For a baby, food sources are breastmilk and/or formula. Breast milk naturally contains vitamin D from mama, but it is unlikely to meet a baby’s needs. Formula has vitamin D, but caretakers need to make sure baby drinks the right amount of formula to reach the recommended 400 IU of vitamin D per day.
Supplementation
Baby vitamin D products have a unique dosing and format than ones for adults. Most baby products are dosed at 400IU per drop in a liquid format to match babies’ daily requirements and swallowing abilities.
You can find this vitamin in a D2 or a D3 form. D2 is found in plants while most D3 is found in animals. For that reason, vegetarians and vegans take D2. D2 is unfortunately less effective at improving vitamin D status in the human body and it may be more sensitive to environmental changes such as humidity and temperature.
allKiDz® has come up with the solution: their new Vegan Vitamin D3 uses lichen, a natural vegan source, in the right form, with the convenience of a dropper with every bottle.
Did you know? Lichens are well known to be indicators of air pollution. Due to this, some species have since been extinct. Any extracts from lichens are therefore minimal in impurities.
allKiDz® all-new Vegan Vitamin D3 Drops is a great first supplement for your baby. It is in the right form, dose, with no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners. It has no dairy, eggs, fish, lactose, mustard, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, sugar, sunflower, sulphites, tree nuts, wheat, yeast or preservatives. It is also gluten-free. Dispensing the appropriate amount with the included dropper has never been quicker and easier.
This post is meant for informational and educational purposes only. The contents are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your healthcare professional for personalized medical advice.
References:
Nair, R., & Maseeh, A. (2012). Vitamin D: The “sunshine” vitamin. Journal of pharmacology & pharmacotherapeutics, 3(2), 118–126. doi:10.4103/0976-500X.95506
Nash T.H., Gries C. (1991) Lichens as Indicators of Air Pollution. In: Air Pollution. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 4 / 4C. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-47343-5_1