TORONTO – Children who drink non-dairy milk products such as rice, almond or soy milk may have lower levels of vitamin D in their blood than those who drink cow’s milk, a study suggests.
The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that kids who drank only non-dairy milk were more than twice as likely as children who drank only cow’s milk to be vitamin D-deficient.
Vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin, plays a critical role in bone development. Low levels of vitamin D can cause bone weakness and, in severe cases, rickets — a condition that causes bones to become soft and can potentially lead to skeletal deformities.
In Canada, cow’s milk and margarine are required by law to be fortified with vitamin D, which is also found naturally in fish, liver and egg yolks. Most of the body’s vitamin D stores arise from exposure to sunlight, which converts cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3. But from late fall through to spring, there is not enough sunlight in Canada for the body to make vitamin D, so dietary sources are critical to maintain bones and to optimize health.
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