Go 'D' for healthy babies
Your growing child needs plenty of Vitamin D to keep his or her
bones strong and healthy. A deficiency could lead to rickets, a bone-softening disorder
where bones become soft and weak, leading to bone deformities and short stature.
What’s more, Vitamin D is essential for helping to regulate the immune system. That’s
why you need to make sure your child is taking at least 5 micrograms of Vitamin
D daily – That’s roughly three cups of milk or a tablespoon of cod liver oil or
85 grams of oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring or tuna!
To boost Vitamin D levels in your child’s body, you could expose your child to the
sun for about 20 minutes a day. But if your child is sensitive to the sun, you could
give your child supplements instead.
Try these foods for a Vitamin D boost!
• Dairy products such as cheese, milk and yoghurt
• Liver
• Cod liver oil
• Oily fish such as salmon, sardines, tuna and mackerel
• Tofu
• Chickpeas
• Almonds and sesame seeds
• Oats