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Research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found an association between vitamin D deficiency and higher levels of allergy in children but it does not prove that vitamin D deficiency causes allergy in children. Vitamin D deficiency is defined as less than 15 nanograms of vitamin D per millilitre of blood. Researchers, led by Dr Michal Melamed, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College, looked at the vitamin D levels in blood collected from a nationally representative sample of over 3100 children and 3400 adults. These data were taken in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), designed to assess the health of people in the US. One of the blood tests assessed was sensitivity to 17 different environmental and food allergens. The researchers found no association between vitamin D levels and allergies in adults, but in children and teenagers, low vitamin D levels correlated to with sensitivity to eleven out of the 17 allergens. Even though this is only indicative of an association between vitamin D levels and higher levels of allergy in children, Melamed cautioned that children should certainly be prevented from becoming vitamin D deficient by consuming 600IU of the vitamin daily. Source: Albert Einstein College of MedicineFirst Published in Febury 2011 Click here for LINKS to manufacturers of nutrition and food supplements. |
