Study shows vitamin D deficient pregnant women more likely to give birth to children with cavities

Tuesday, May 06, 2014 by: Antonia
Tags: vitamin D, childhood cavities, pregnancy

(NaturalNews) Babies born to mothers who consume low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy are more likely to have cavities, according to the latest research conducted by the University of Manitoba's dental school in Winnipeg, Canada.

Published in the journal Pediatrics, the study assessed expectant mothers, all of whom took blood tests to determine their vitamin D levels. The results showed that approximately one-third of the women were vitamin D deficient. When their children were about 16 months old and had their first dental exam, it was discovered that 22 percent of children had thinning enamel and 23 percent had cavities.

The finding led researchers to conclude that the lower the prenatal vitamin D level in the mother, the higher the number of cavities in the child.

While senior author of the study and University of Manitoba associate professor Dr. Robert J. Schroth says that the "association is not overly strong," he makes it clear that it's important for people to pay attention to the benefits of getting vitamin D. "[T]his may be the first step in prevention -- making sure that prenatal nutrition and vitamin D levels are right," he says.

Ongoing studies show the importance of vitamin D in maintaining good oral and overall health

Several other studies demonstrate the importance for children to obtain proper amounts of vitamin D. In fact, ongoing studies as far back as the 1920s have shown a correlation between low vitamin D levels in children and spikes in the amounts of cavities they have.

As for non-teeth-related issues, research has shown that pregnant women who had high vitamin D levels gave birth to children who had high muscle mass and grip strength when they were four years old. This particular study demonstrated that having such good strength at an early age was a likely precursor to not having strength-related problems into adulthood, such as frequent falls and fractures.

Vitamin D can be obtained by getting it naturally from sunlight as well as by eating vitamin D-rich foods including apples, grapes, cherries, figs and shiitake mushrooms.

Sources for this article include:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com

http://www.livestrong.com

http://www.reuters.com

http://science.naturalnews.com

About the author:
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. >>> Click here to see more by Antonia