Vitamin D, The Brain & Behaviour
& 5 Tips to Increase Your Child’s Vitamin D INTAKE
A warm dose of sunshine and fresh air after a long day works wonders for uplifting the mood. Not just for mom and dad, but the little ones too! Did you ever ask yourself what it is about going outdoors and soaking up the sun that unleashes the angels in your kids? Well we’re here to investigate just that. Hold on tight and bring out your deckchairs as we work our way through the wonders of the sunshine vitamin.
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which provides immense support to a growing child’s body. When we think of vitamin D, we think of bones and teeth. Yes, vitamin D plays a chief role in growing those strong pearly whites and bones (1). But vitamin D helps with many other functions of the body as well, like maintaining the muscles, heart health, and the immune system (1).
On top of all these responsibilities, this expert multitasker of a vitamin also overlooks and supports the brain’s activities. Nourishing our children’s body with enough vitamin D during early childhood and adolescence is a smart investment plan that definitely pays off when they’re older and not as efficient at storing it.
Vitamin D & Childhood Behaviour
Within the folds and creases of a baby’s brain, vitamin D helps the brain grow in size, makes brain chemicals, and strengthens the brain’s shield against oxidative stress (2). Dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are examples of some brain chemicals that vitamin D helps produce and regulate (2). These brain chemicals are involved in maintaining a child’s memory, emotions, motivation, attention, sleep cycle, concentration, and cognition (3). Vitamin D can also interact with the brain and impact areas which are involved in learning, social behaviour, language, temperament, and adaptability (4).
A deficiency in vitamin D can create obstacles for the brain and delay development (2). This is not an ideal situation, especially for a young child whose brain grows rapidly for at least 2 years after birth and needs to be nurtured properly. Vitamin D deficiency can cause irritability, tiredness, depression, language delays, and issues with memory function and learning (5).
Some neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, schizophrenia, and the risk for ADHD have also been linked to a mother’s low vitamin D stores during pregnancy (5-7). One study found that when younger children are deficient in vitamin D, they tend to be more aggressive and defiant as adolescents (8). Hyperactive behaviour and anxiety levels can also be affected by a lack of vitamin D (9).
Where Can I find Vitamin D?
If you thought food and supplements are the only sources of nutrients for a child’s body, we’re here to bust that myth. Sun rays hold incredible potential for boosting the mind and spirit. While your child is busy playing hopscotch, sun rays can sneak in through their skin and activate vitamin D. Once activated, vitamin D swims right through a child’s body and participates in many functions the body needs to perform, including nourishing and building the brain.
While the sun is pretty efficient at making vitamin D in a child’s body, it’s not too reliable of a source. Long winter months, pollution, the use of sunscreen, and darker skin pigments are some factors that can decrease its absorption in your child’s body (1).
Enter the edible offerings of the ocean: fish. Fatty fish like salmon and trout and fish oils like cod liver oil are the best natural sources of vitamin D (1). Egg yolks, cheese, fortified milk, yogurt, breakfast cereals, juice, margarine, beef liver, and mushrooms, which have been exposed to sunlight, also contain varying levels of vitamin D, albeit not as high as seafood (1).
How much vitamin D does my child need?
Research regarding vitamin D recommendations is always evolving as we learn more and more about how useful this nutrient is. Currently:
infants aged 0-12 months are recommended to have a daily intake of at least 400 IU (1)
Children and adolescents between 1-18 years are recommended to consume 600 IU of vitamin D daily (1)
* These are basic recommendations. There are cases where children may need more than this. Consult with a pediatric dietitian to determine what is right for your child.
For reference, 1 cup of vitamin D-fortified milk provides around 120 IU (1). Unless your child absolutely adores milk, making them have 4 cups a day could be pushing their buttons a little too much and not recommended. Instead, you can try incorporating a variety of vitamin D-rich foods into their day.
5 Tips to Increase Your Child’s Vitamin D Intake
Vitamin D deficiency is very common, even amongst adults. But considering the variety of jobs this busy bee performs, we definitely can’t afford depriving our kids of the sunshine vitamin.
Vitamin D-fortified dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese are very versatile and can easily be added to or used to make many foods. Milk and cheese also happen to be universally approved by most kids. If you are struggling to hit your child’s daily vitamin D goals, here are 5 tips you can incorporate in their day:
Try to keep an eye out for vitamin D-fortified brands of milk, cereal, juice, margarine, yogurt, and cheese at the grocery store.
Pair different sources of vitamin D together to maximize your child’s intake at different meals, like vitamin D-fortified cereal with milk for breakfast or an egg and grilled cheese sandwich with margarine for lunch.
Get creative with vitamin D-fortified yogurt and whip up some easy but fun desserts like yogurt parfait, frozen fruit pops, Greek yogurt granola bars, froyo, popsicles, and more!
Substitute milk for other liquids while cooking whenever possible.
Introduce your child to our fatty, finned friends like salmon and trout. Here’s a bonus tip to keep in mind when experimenting with seafood: repeatedly exposing your child to a food will increase the likelihood of them eating it.
Even after including fortified foods into your child’s meals, it can be difficult to meet their vitamin D requirements. If you are still concerned about whether your child is receiving the amount of vitamin D they need, a supplement in the form of gummies or drops might be necessary. Consult a pediatrician or pediatric dietitian for the right supplement for your child.
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References
National Institutes of Health [Internet]. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; [updated 2020 Mar; cited 2020 Aug 14]. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals; [about 15 screens]. Available from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/.
Humble MB. Vitamin D, light and mental health. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2010;101(2):142-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2010.08.003.
Moret C, Briley M. The importance of norepinephrine in depression. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2011;7 (Supp 1):9-13. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S19619.
Hemamy M, Heidari-Beni M, Askari G, Karahmadi M, Maracy M. Effect of vitamin D and magnesium supplementation on behavior problems in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Int J Prev Med. 2020;11:4. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_546_17.
Anjum I, Jaffery SS, Fayyaz M, Samoo Z, Anjum S. The role of vitamin D in brain health: A mini literature review. Cureus. 2018; 10(7): e2960. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.2960.
Chawla D, Fuemmeler B, Benjamin-Neelon SE, Hoyo C, Murphy S, Daneils JL. Early prenatal vitamin D concentrations and social-emotional development in infants. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019;32(9):1441-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2017.1408065.
Tofail F, Islam MM, Mahfuz M, Alam MD, Alam A, Aktar S, et al. Association of vitamin D nutrition with neuro-developmental outcomes of infants of slums in Bangladesh. PLoS One. 2019;14(9):e0221805. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221805.
Robinson SL, Marin C, Oliveros H, Mora-Plazas M, Lozoff B, Villamor E. Vitamin D deficiency in middle childhood is related to behavior problems in adolescence. J Nutr. 2020;150(1):140-8. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz185.
Wang X, Jiao X, Xu M, Wang B, Li J, Yang F, et al. Effects of circulating vitamin D concentrations on emotion, behavior and attention: A cross-sectional study in preschool children with follow-up behavior experiments in juvenile mice. J Affect Disord. 2020;275:290-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.043.
