Diet & Fitness

The right diet is the key to managing many diseases and to improving general quality of life. For this condition, scientific research has found benefit in the following healthy eating tips.

• Vitamin D

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  Make sure your child eats foods rich in vitamin D—such as eggs, butter, and vitamin D–fortified milk—and calcium—such as dairy products, green leafy vegetables, and tofu.

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  Vitamin D

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  Dietary changes should only be considered if a medical professional has diagnosed rickets and determined the cause to be a simple nutritional deficiency. Rickets is more likely to occur in a child consuming a pure vegan diet (which does not include animal products and thus no vitamin D) than in a child consuming milk or other animal foods. Dark skin and/or a lack of sunlight exposure (which reduces the amount of vitamin D made in the skin) also increase the risk of developing rickets.

  The few foods that contain vitamin D include egg yolks, butter, vitamin D-fortified milk, fish liver oil, breast milk, and infant formula. Calcium, in addition to being present in breast milk and formula, is found in dairy products, sardines, salmon (canned with edible bones), green leafy vegetables, and tofu. Vegans may use supplements instead of eggs and dairy as sources for both calcium and vitamin D.