Is Your Family Getting Enough Vitamin D?

A study conducted by Greg Plotnikoff, medical director of the Institute for Health and Healing medical clinic at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, and published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings showed that 93 percent of patients treated at the University of Minnesota's community health clinic were vitamin D deficient! The analysis found that "vitamin D deficiency is particularly common among the elderly, obese, and dark-skinned people living in the North."

So if milk and salmon aren't regularly on your menu, moms and dads, a multivitamin should be. Many brands such as One A Day and Centrum contain the recommended 400 IU of vitamin D.

Some people may need a different dose, however. If you fall into one of the high-risk groups, either because of race or region, a quick blood test will reveal if you're getting enough vitamin D, and your doctor can tailor a supplement plan according to a your individual needs.

While only nine out of every million babies was hospitalized for rickets in the last decade, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) physicians estimate that there are dozens more cases that were treated without hospitalization, and they were concerned enough to issue the vitamin D supplement recommendation for breastfeeding infants in response to the possible increase of rickets cases. While the effects of rickets are generally reversible, small stature and bone deformities can be permanent, so make sure you and your children get enough vitamin D each day to wipe out rickets and prevent a host of other deadly diseases.