A recent Australian study found that the risk for multiple sclerosis risk was 30% higher in kids whose first trimester occurred during winter months. Why? Scientists suspect it had to do with the mothers’ lack of vitamin D during the colder months.
Another earlier study discovered that young children who took vitamin D pills were 29 percent less likely to develop childhood (type I) diabetes. This new study from Australia showed that lack of vitamin D either causes MS directly, or promotes it in people who are genetically predisposed to developing the disease
Scientists aren’t exactly sure why vitamin D during pregnancy protects the fetus, but research shows that it may induce healthy nerve growth and reduce the inflammation response in mothers who suffer an infection, which can damage the fetal nervous system.
It takes 2 to 3 hours of sunlight exposure per week on your face, hands, and arms to get enough vitamin D. The current recommended dose for infants, children, and adolescents is 400 IU per day. But most experts say that the minimum daily allowance from adolescence on – and probably much earlier – should be 1,000 to 2,000 IU per day. Most Australians and Americans get only 200 IU.
A daily supplement of vitamin D is a good idea for everyone, especially expectant mothers.
