Vitamin D Deficiency In Children - Ways To Manage It!

Before explaining how you can reverse the deficiency, it is important to know how vitamin D plays a pivotal role in the body of a child or an adult. Well, this very vitamin is responsible for balancing the hormonal levels and ensuring the perfect functioning of bones and brain. Also, vitamin D is indispensable for the proper functioning of central nervous system. This is why people who are deficient display signs of anxiety, depression and, in severe cases, even suffer from bipolar disorder.

Apart from the neurological symptoms that the deficiency of vitamin D indicates, there are some physical symptoms as well that should not be overlooked either:

• Arthritis
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Adrenal fatigue
• Chronic fatigue
• Osteoporosis
• Muscle soreness
• Autoimmune disease

So, What Are The Causes Of Vitamin D Deficiency?

There are various reasons that lead to vitamin D deficiency. The most common ones are as follows:

1. It happens when the child is being given a vegan diet and doesn't consume any animal-based products, as it is common in foods like fish, egg yolks, beef liver, and fortified milk.
2. The child has limited exposure to sunlight. In such a case, his/her body fails to make required vitamin D.
3. If the child spends a lot of time indoors or live in the northern latitudes, or wear robes, he/she may become vitamin D deficient.
4. In case the child has dark skin, it reduces his/her skin’s ability to make vitamin D based on exposure to sunlight. Aged adults having a dark skin tone are more likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency.

How To Overcome Vitamin D Deficiency?

1. Get More Sun: 20-30 minutes of sunlight is all it takes for our bodies to produce enough Vitamin D to last for a week, not everybody is able to enjoy the sun. 
2. Eat More Food Rich In Vitamin D: Just increase the intake of foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D, such as salmon, raw cheese, yogurt and egg yolk. And if the kid is vegetarian, he/she go for mushrooms as they are also an excellent source of vitamin D.
3. Vitamin D Supplements: This is the fastest way to boost the vitamin D levels in the bloodstream of the child, but it is advisable to consult a doctor before giving any supplement to your kid.