New research shows that pregnant mothers with inadequate vitamin D levels may negatively influence the long-term bone health of their children. Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy influences childhood bone mass Vitamin D status is often poor in women of childbearing age, and evidence suggests that the risk of bone fracture (due to osteoporosis) in adulthood could be determined partly by environmental factors during pregnancy and early childhood. A recent study investigated the effect of maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy on childhood skeletal growth. In a longitudinal study, researchers studied 198 children born in 1991 and 1992. Body build, nutrition, and vitamin D status of the mothers were examined during pregnancy, and the children were examined at age 9 to correlate the original maternal characteristics to their current body size and bone mass. Forty-nine (31%) mothers had insufficient vitamin D levels, while another 28 (18%) had deficient levels during late pregnancy. Inadequate vitamin D in mothers during late pregnancy was associated with reduced whole-body and lumbar spine bone mineral content in children at age 9. Maternal vitamin D insufficiency is common during pregnancy and now looks to be associated with reduced bone-mineral accumulation in offspring during childhood. Vitamin D supplementation of pregnant women, especially during winter months, could lead to improved bone health and a long-term reduction in the risk of osteoporosis in their …
Osteoporosis or thinning and weakening of bones is now becoming more than a disease of pregnant women and old ladies. Young people AND men are increasingly susceptible to Osteoporosis nowadays.
Some known Osteoporosis factors:
Every 3 minutes someone has a fracture in the UK
People with Osteoporosis are getting younger
1:3 women will get it and 1:12 men, men are really at risk now – the 1:12 figure for men is probably out of date now it is possibly nearer 1:6!!!
There are more deaths following a hip fracture than ovarian cancer
Bone thinning, is now a growing threat to more people than ever.
Not only is the rise in male osteoporosis progressing it is becoming a real problem in our children. NO LONGER is it a problem just for older and pregnant women. It is a silent epidemic that is spreading. In a survey in USA they tested 1000 13yr olds and they ALL had osteoporosis. A lot of this is to do with poor diet and increasing use fizzy drinks and lack of exercise.
Some of the causes of Osteoporosis
Anorexia, Alcohol, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Coeliac disease, Cushings disease, Early menopause, Early Hysterectomy, Hyperthyroidism, Liver disease, Hyperpituitaryism, Lung disease, Steroids, Smoking, Rheumatoid Arthritis…If you are on high blood pressure tablets, you may need treatment for Osteoporosis.
Fizzy drinks, food lacking full nutrient content, lack of sufficient minerals in the CORRECT BALANCE (calcium alone will NOT put it right and could cause more complications), sedentary lives; it’s all out there and happening but generally people will disregard back pain, aches, tiredness etc as “just a hectic lifestyle” and no thought is given to the possible onset of osteoporosis.
Why would we if we don’t really know about it?
Osteoporosis is preventable, NOT normal
There is NO real reason to be seriously ill! Grand statement there, but it is a fact that proper nutrition, exercise and care of the immune system will prevent the majority of illnesses. It is a sad fact that the medical profession, historically, has not been used to including nutrition as part of the teaching supplied. Now – this MAY be changing with some private specialists and practices, but doctors don’t generally have time to get to the bottom of a problem and get to the source due to pressures of work and the large numbers of people needing an appointment.
People take the doctors word as gospel – it saves thinking for themselves and human nature being what it seems to be, they don t seem to care either. Most people will be quite happy to take the line of least resistance and go with the flow….tomorrow is another day – I’ll do something about it then….
Prevention is far better than cure.
Take responsibility for your own health
20 minutes walking per day is a basic excellent way to increase bone mass.
Regular healthy diet is a key to keeping good bone and skeletal health.
There is now more evidence that supplementation is increasing in importance these days, as nearly all our food is low in the vital nutrients especially minerals which have a huge impact on bone structure.
Keep junk food and fizzy drinks to a minimum! It would be crazy to say “don’t ever” these days, but this is an area that needs to be considered seriously, especially if there are health issues in evidence. Again – prevention is better than cure!
Health Issues in Evidence could include:
Constant tiredness
Aches and pains for no particular reason
Fibromyalgia
Digestive Problems
Equipment helps children walk independently
New equipment donated to Adventist Paulson Pediatric Rehabilitation Center is helping children with physical limitations improve their quality of life.
I read Spina Bifida was one, but so far that is all I’ve heard. One of my sisters has Fibro Myalgia and Rheumotoid Arthritis. The other sister has a rare birth defect that keeps her home and in pain. They both have Emphysema. We all have Osteoporosis ( ages 24-36 ), and have bone scans that age us at 65 or older. Our Father hopefully will be dully compensated for his many debilitatating ailments, and is in the process now.
Vigorous exercise strengthens hip bones in young children
Researchers in the UK have presented evidence that vigorous physical activity in young children results in stronger hip bones.
With Juvenile Arthritis, Children Try To Live Full, Pain-Free Lives
By Anne-Louise Munroe Ledger Correspondent Juvenile arthritis affects an estimated 294,000 children in the United States, according to a 2007 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
My 7 year old brother was just diagnosed with Osteoporosis. He has a kidney disease that makes his body produce to much calcium, but it doesn’t absorb any of it. They can’t put him on calcium because then his body makes kidney stones. Has anyone heard of this or know anything about it?
Edit: I know about Osteoporosis I want to know if anyone has heard of it in children and with Kidney problems?
The July, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported the conclusion of researchers at The Children’s Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia that many otherwise healthy children and adolescents have inadequate levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency in youth can lead to rickets, muscle weakness, and defective bone mineralization. Reduced levels of the vitamin have been linked with poor immune function, hypertension, cancer, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and obesity.
Babette Zemel, PhD and her associates measured the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of 382 healthy children between the ages of 6 and 21 living in the northeastern United States. Interviews were conducted to determine dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake. Fat and lean mass were measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.
The team found that 55 percent of the children had inadequate serum vitamin D levels of less than 30 nanograms per milliliter. Sixty-eight percent experienced low wintertime levels. African Americans, children aged 9 and older, and those whose vitamin D intake was low were likeliest to have reduced serum vitamin D levels. Fat and lean body mass were not found to have independent associations with vitamin D status.
“The best indicator of a person’s vitamin D status is the blood level of a vitamin D compound called 25-hydroxyvitamin D,” Dr Zemel noted. “Vitamin D deficiency remains an under-recognized problem overall, and is not well studied in children.”
Health Concern
Osteoporosis
It is common knowledge that calcium and vitamin D work together to help prevent osteoporosis. But what about the many other essential minerals and nutrients needed for bone health? And which kind of calcium is really the best? Many people are surprised to learn it is probably not the kind they are taking on a regular basis.
The human skeleton is the single largest organ system in the body. Composed of a complex mix of organic proteins and inorganic mineral crystals, bones are much more than just structural supports. They are the body’s only reservoir of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which are critical for virtually every other organ system. The bones are also highly sensitive to hormonal changes. During puberty, when hormone levels surge in both boys and girls, bones are stimulated to grow rapidly as teenagers become full-sized adults. Thus, it is not really surprising that in later years, as hormone levels decline, the bones become vulnerable.
Maintaining healthy bones goes far beyond calcium and vitamin D, although these are vital. A healthy bone matrix also relies on vitamins and minerals that are rarely mentioned in the context of osteoporosis, including zinc, boron, copper, magnesium, vitamin K, silicon, folic acid, and others. This information is vital to the 10 million people, including 2 million men, who are known to suffer from osteoporosis in the United States.
Harnessing body’s own natural killer cells to battle cancer in children
Work underway at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital seeks to harnesses the body’s own immune cells known as natural killer, or NK, cells to help children battle cancer. NK cells are the immune system’s warriors. The cells circulate widely in the body, armed with proteins, called enzymes, capable of delivering a deadly one-two punch to viruses and cancer cells.
Gluten Enteropathy, a disease which makes wheat, rye, barley and often oats poisonous to the body, is often unsymptomatic. However, it can lead to osteoporosis, diabetes and dementia. When it does have symptoms, people are often misdiagnosed and suffer for years.
In children, sometimes the only symptom is irritability.
Gluten is found in almost everything, which means that school lunches can be hurting many of our children.