1. Eat Foods High in Vitamin D
The primary cause of rickets is a vitamin D deficiency. Historically, rickets was a common disorder affecting many children. Poor diet and pollution during the industrial revolution helped to increase the incidence of rickets. But the discovery of vitamin D led doctors to understand that this is a condition that is simple to prevent by eating foods rich in vitamin D.
However, vitamin D only appears naturally in only a few foods. Cod liver oil was traditionally used as a good source of the vitamin. Fatty fish continue to be the best food source for vitamin D. Today, milk is fortified with the vitamin to help prevent deficiencies even among those who don't eat much fish. Many milk substitutes, such as soy milk, are fortified as well.
2. Get Out in the Sun
Exposure to sunlight is another way of getting vitamin D. Sunlight does not contain vitamin D, but rather it allows the body to metabolize the vitamin. The problem with getting vitamin D from sunlight is that to get the vitamin D benefits your skin has to be exposed to UV rays. Wearing sunscreen means that your body will not be able to use the sunlight as a means of producing vitamin D. Being out in the sun without sunscreen though, exposes your body to harmful radiation, allowing your skin to burn and increasing your risk of developing skin cancer.
It is a fine balance between getting enough exposure to UV rays and protecting your skin from the sun. It is generally recommended that you spend 10 to 20 minutes in the sun without sunscreen. Those with fair skin require less time in the sun to produce vitamin D than those with darker skin do.
3. Take a Vitamin D Supplement
Because your diet may not provide adequate levels of vitamin D and because you may have difficulty getting enough sunlight, you might want to consider taking a vitamin D supplement. This is particularly true if you live in a northern climate where it can be difficult to get enough sunlight for the majority of the year.
Breastfed babies also need vitamin D supplementation. Rickets is a disorder that affects growing children and young babies who are being exclusively breastfed generally do not get enough vitamin D. This vitamin is not found in sufficient quantities in breast milk, and babies often do not get enough sun exposure to make up the difference. Your baby needs to take a vitamin D supplement from birth until the point that enough vitamin D can be available through his diet.
4. Get Adequate Amounts of Calcium
Vitamin D is not the only vitamin or mineral required for proper bone growth. Calcium and phosphorus are also important. Breast milk is rich in calcium, and most commercial formulas contain calcium as well. However, as children get older and are no longer breastfeeding, drinking formula or having large quantities of milk, calcium intake often decreases. This mineral continues to be necessary throughout life. You can help your child get enough calcium by serving dairy products, green leafy vegetables, salmon and other fatty fish, fortified breakfast cereal and fortified orange juice.
