Yesterday the newspaper El País published a somewhat worrisome article regarding breastfeeding and rickets.
The report tells the story of an African-American girl named Aleanie diagnosed of Rickets due to lack of vitamin D being a girl fed with exclusive breastfeeding until 6-7 months.
The girl's mother even makes the following comment regarding breast milk: "Breast milk is supposed to be a complete meal, with dessert and drink included. I thought it was the perfect cocktail."
The article continues along the lines of treating breast milk as a vitamin D deficiency food. Professionals comment that "the solution is not to stop breastfeeding, but give babies who feed on breast milk drops of vitamins as a supplement. "
I have been interested (and missed) by the article and I have looked for information about it in the AEPED. According to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics vitamin D "breastfed infants show no signs of deficit despite the low amounts present in milk."
They also comment that the amount of vitamin D in milk could be increased by supplementing the mother's diet.
Since the main source of vitamin D is sunlight and not diet, "Only premature infants, children of strict vegetarian mothers, who restrict the intake of vitamin D-rich foods and dark-skinned babies will need supplements (the synthesis of vitamin D is lower) that live in areas of low sunshine. "
With this information the conclusion seems to be that the problem is not the lack of vitamin D in milk, but that Aleanie, the girl in the article, is dark skinned and lives in an American state of little sunshine. This does not synthesize the necessary vitamin D.
Explained in another way. Nature provided that some humans had very clear skin in areas of the planet with little sun, so that they would absorb as much as possible of ultraviolet rays and that others had it dark for protect yourself from the sun in areas where there is an excess of radiation.
At the moment that people with dark skin, with reduced absorption capacity, live in areas with little sun (immigration) there is a probable deficit of vitamin D.
