Breastfeeding your baby? Take Vitamin D3 every day or get daily sun exposure.

Until recently scientists haven’t appreciated the fact that breastfeeding mothers need daily Vitamin D3. Nursing mums could have 50-60 ng/ml of measurable 25(OH)D (a metabolite of Vitamin D3) in their blood but no measurable Vitamin D3 in their breast milk. Why? After Vitamin D3 has been turned to 25(OH)D it cannot enter the breast milk. Vitamin D3 has a half life in the autocrine system of roughly 24 hours, so in order for it to have a meaningful impact on cellular functions, you need a new supply of it every day. The only way to get Vitamin D3 in breast milk is by dosing daily - either by sun, diet or supplementation. The latest research of Grassrootshealth and Dr. Bruce Hollis, Professor of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina indicates that 6,400 IU/day is necessary for breast feeding mothers to attain sufficient vitamin D (to the value of 400 IU/day for the infant) in their breast milk. More on appropriate daily sun exposure in Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby and Healthy Parents, Healthy Toddler.

One third of the world's population needs more sunshine!

New data from a systematic review of almost 200 population-based studies shows that more than a third of populations worldwide may suffer from low levels of vitamin D. Gee, and to think that this particular vitamin is manufactured in the skin by sunlight, it depends on no particular type of food intake and also comes free of charge! 

Yet, researchers from Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Heidelberg University, Germany publishing their findings in the British Journal of Nutrition, stated that of 168,000 people, in 195 studies conducted in 44 countries, 37.3% of the studies reported mean serum vitamin D levels of less than 50nmol/litre. This is a level considered to be inadequate by health authorities. If you’ve missed my vitamin D blog posts in the past, here’s a recap on the recommendations for ensuring vitamin D adequacy.

As a public health measure, universally restoring vitamin D status would not only have a massively beneficial impact on the health status of entire populations, but could be implemented quickly, safely and cheaply. So let the sun shine on - every day. For a continuing appropriate relationship between your skin and the sun...

• Ensure it’s a clear day without pollution
• Minimize UVA while allowing UVB
• 10-15 minutes exposure/day between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm
• Expose 40 percent of skin area
• If this isn’t possible, use oral supplements of D3 to achieve 40-60ng/ml (100-150nMols/L)

RULE OF THUMB: For every 100IU ingested, there is increase of 1ng/ml

PREGNANCY DOSE: 4,000IU/day

BREASTFEEDING DOSE: 6,000IU/day