Where’s the sunshine vitamin?
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Things may be fine in the summer, but a study indicates breastfed babies in northern areas can run low on bone-building vitamin D in the winter. Our bodies produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. But Ekhard Ziegler of the University of Iowa says babies make little vitamin D in winter's short days and weakened sunlight. And he says moms do not pass along as much vitamin D in their milk as during summer. The study in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health. "During summer, we only found an occasional baby being mildly vitamin D deficient – whereas, during wintertime, 78 percent of those who didn't receive vitamin D supplements in one form or another were vitamin D deficient." (12 seconds) Ziegler encourages breastfeeding – with vitamin supplements in the winter. Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: August, 15 2006 | 
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