Particularly for infants and toddlers, milk alternatives should be chosen carefully by parents, especially since they may be the sole source of nutrients for the child. Generally, rickets is overlooked in early stages because the condition has become so rare. In the Georgia cases, infants had normal language and social interaction skills, but showed decreased growth rate and decreased ability to crawl, roll over and sit up. Children are not the only ones prone to this deficiency. Older adults who seldom go outside also are vulnerable, at a time when vitamin D is important to preventing osteoporosis.
Vitamin D is always important, but especially in the dawn and dusk of life.
Health Events Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a food and nutrition consultant and owner of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm. She is also responsible for the nutritional analyses indicated by an asterisk in this section. Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a sports nutritionist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Science, University of Hawaii-Manoa.