Breast Milk is a perfect food Almost
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Vitamin D3 is a crucial nutrient and needed for bone growth. I would have thought that breast milk was the perfect food until I read some special reports of ricketts in exclusively breast fed babies.
Breastfeeding is an excellent thing to do. But, if the mother is Vitamin D3 deficient herself, her baby may be also. What would cause this condition?
If Mom is dark skinned, if it is winter with limited sun, if Mom’s diet is deficient then so will a breast fed baby. Twenty minutes of sun light on the arms, legs and face is enough if obtained regularly. Dark skinned people need 30 % more time in the sun to get the same result as lighter skinned people. The body will manufacture sufficient amounts of vitamin D3 with adequate sun light. If Mom is unable to get adequate sun, supplementation for with Vit. D3 is needed for Mom and baby.
In the USA, with our modern lifestyle, many of us including many Mothers are deficient in Vitamin D3. If you have any doubts, consult your Doctor about having a 25 hydroxy vitamin d level done. It is a simple blood test that can detect the level of Vit. D3 in your blood.
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Getting enough sunlight is also important. 20 minutes or so in the bright sun and the body will absorb all of the vitamin D it needs w/o the need for supplements
I agree that sunlight is the perfect way to get vitamin D3 into your system. You don’t absorb it from the light, the light plus cholesterol and some hocus pocus in your body and you manufacture D3 and convert it in the liver. The problem is in the northern latitudes in winter, in darker skinned people and in people who don’t get outside during prime time. Those people need to supplement. The supplement should not contain vitamin A and should say no vitamin A or made from lanolin on the label.