Vitamin D – the missing link in the exclusively breastfed child
Breast milk is said to contain all the essential nutrients necessary for the baby and also helps protect a new baby from illness by providing antibodies that fight diseases. This is very true and mothers as much as possible are encouraged to breastfeed their babies. What a lot of people do not realize is that breast milk does not contain adequate levels of Vitamin D. When children lack Vitamin D, they could likely develop a disease called rickets (which affects the child’s bones). Some people believe that babies get adequate Vitamin D from sunlight. However, the truth is that a lot of babies are not exposed to adequate sunlight or a large part of their bodies are covered up when they are out in the sun. Moreover, people with dark skin are not really able to absorb much Vitamin D from the sun; therefore blacks generally do not absorb much vitamin D from the sun because of their natural skin colour. For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other bodies, re