Did you know that over 85% of Canadian children, 75% of Canadian teens and 80% of Canadian Adults do not get enough vitamin D? Now that we are in the midst of Canadian winter our exposure to daylight drops which can cause our vitamin D levels to drop. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and together they help you maintain healthy bones and teeth. When Calcium levels drop our bodies borrow the needed calcium from our bones which can cause rickets in children or osteoporosis in adults.
Dietary vitamin D can be found in both natural and fortified sources. Some examples of natural sources of vitamin D include fatty fish like salmon and sardines, egg yolks. Fortified yogourts, milk, orange juice and margarine are also good sources. During the spring and summer in Canada it is possibly to maintain healthy vitamin D levels from exposure to sunlight, unfortunately though come fall and winter you cannot rely solely on the sun for Vitamin D.
To help Canadians get the right amount of Vitamin D, Kellogg’s Canada has fortified 13 of its cereals with 20% of Health Canada’s recommended daily intake of Vitamin D. You can now find Vitamin D in Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Kellogg’s Special K, Kellogg’s Froot Loops, Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Little Bites, Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Kellogg’s Cinnamon Pops, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Kellogg’s Crispix Krispies, and Kellogg’s Krave.
This means that when you add a half cup of milk to a serving of Kellogg’s cereal with Vitamin D, a single bowl provides up to 45% of the recommended daily intake. This is great news for Canadian parents, it really couldn’t get any easier to ensure your children are getting adequate amounts of vitamin D all year round.
How much Vitamin D do you need?
The amount of vitamin D you need depends on your age.
| Age group | Aim for an intake of international units (IU)/day | Stay below IU/day* |
| Infants 0-6 months old | 400 | 1000 |
| Infants 7-12 months old | 400 | 1500 |
| Children 1-3 years old | 600 | 2500 |
| Children 4-8 years old | 600 | 3000 |
| Children and Adults 9-70 years old | 600 | 4000 |
| Adults over 71 years old | 800 | 4000 |
| Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women | 600 | 4000 |
| *This includes vitamin D from both food and supplements | ||
Elizabeth Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys travelling, developing easy recipes, crafting, taking on diy projects, travelling and saving money!
Victoria Ess
Sunday 12th of January 2014
Although we don't have Kelloggs cereals in our house very often, this is good information on Vitamin D!
Stephanie LaPlante
Friday 10th of January 2014
Vitamin D is important for people with my disease. Luckily I love all those cereals!.
Bcteagirl
Saturday 4th of January 2014
Elizabeth: That is the minimum dose. In some research studies they give 10X that dose or more over prolonged periods with no harmful effects. It is less like some of the b vitamins where you can get too much, and more like C vitamins where unless they eat an entire jar of vitamins on a dare, you don't need to worry about it.
loriag
Thursday 2nd of January 2014
I found out I was one of those who did not get enough Vitamin D. A little supplement took care of it.
Elizabeth Matthiesen
Wednesday 1st of January 2014
so if I eat 3 bowls of cereal or 2 bowls then lots of milk separately then I'm over-dosing on Vit D, what happens then??