Vitamin D in the Winter Months!

Calcium and Vitamin D are two main nutrients we all need in our diet for healthy growth and development, especially in children. Calcium helps us build and maintain strong bones and teeth, very important for growing children attending our clubs!  What many people don’t realize is that one of the main roles of vitamin D is to help absorb the calcium in our bodies from the foods we eat.  In turn, eating calcium rich foods can be of no benefit if your body does not have the vitamin D it requires to help you absorb it.  Since vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” and we live in a climate that we get limited sun exposure throughout the year, we may have to consume a little bit extra of those foods that are a good source of vitamin D.

We encourage all of our KES Clubs to serve milk daily but here are some other ideas to help ensure we are getting enough Calcium and Vitamin D rich foods in our KES Clubs, and at home.

Calcium:

• milk, cheese, yogurt
• fortified orange juice (labels will say this)
• spinach, turnip greens
• salmon, beans, almonds

Vitamin D:

• milk, yogurt, eggs (specifically the yolk)
• margarine
• fortified 100% orange juice
• pork, salmon, trout, tuna

Information sourced from: http://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Vitamins-and-Minerals/What-you-need-to-know-about-Vitamin-D.aspx 

Kristin Hedges is a Registered Dietitian with Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL.