Medical problems 15 year old son

fiona12

Hi All,

I have been informed by our GP that my 15year old son is suffering from Vitamin D deficiency and also elevated insulin levels.

Was out shopping today to get some Vitamin D enriched foods and found it very hard to get something. It will be a while yet before we get to see a dietician to deal with both issues and he has been given a 6 month prescription for Vitamin D supplements.

Any advice welcome

RedXIV

Kellogs Special K used to have a little panel on the side of the boxes saying it was fortified with Vitamin D, sorry OP but thats the only food I know that has it.

I vaguely remember reading elsewhere that exposure to sunlight also helps vitamin D although unless he spends all his time indoors this probably won't help

Morag

http://www.algaecal.com/vitamin-d/vitamin-d-sources.html

Might be helpful and getting him out in the sun for 15 mins each day.

January

I think this might get better answers here

EileenG

Sunlight (bare skin, no sunscreen) is the best source of vitamin D. Food sources include oily fish, egg yolks, liver, cheese, butter and to a lesser extent, mushrooms. The good news is that these are all foods which will not raise his insulin levels.

Cod Liver Oil (rather than fish oil) has a lot of vitamin D. Sardines are a handy snack with D.

Some foods are fortified with extra Vitamin D, mostly low fat milk (high fat has it naturally), cereals, some juices. However, with elevated insulin levels, box breakfast cereals are something he would eat in small portions.

There are a lot of good Vitamin D supplements out there, and as he has been tested, you know you are safe to take the full RDA every day.

fiona12

Sharrow wrote: »

Might be helpful and getting him out in the sun for 15 mins each day.

What sun?:rolleyes: Just joking - yeah have been waiting to drag him outside all day, but it is very grey here this morning

Thanks for all the replies guys!:)

Ms Potter

fiona12 wrote: »

Hi All,

I have been informed by our GP that my 15year old son is suffering from Vitamin D deficiency and also elevated insulin levels.

Was out shopping today to get some Vitamin D enriched foods and found it very hard to get something. It will be a while yet before we get to see a dietician to deal with both issues and he has been given a 6 month prescription for Vitamin D supplements.

Any advice welcome

is he addicted to those ybox thinggies games - very violent and wont leave the room?

Mars Bar

fiona12 wrote: »

What sun?:rolleyes: Just joking - yeah have been waiting to drag him outside all day, but it is very grey here this morning

Thanks for all the replies guys!:)

If there was ever a reason to justify a sun holiday, I think this is it!

fiona12

Ms Potter wrote: »

is he addicted to those ybox thinggies games - very violent and wont leave the room?

Yep, that's it! But he understands now that he needs to get out

fiona12

mars bar wrote: »

If there was ever a reason to justify a sun holiday, I think this is it!

If only.................:(

El_Dangeroso

How was the insulin measured OP, ie was it a fasting blood test? I've never heard of a doctor ordering a test for insulin unless maybe if diabetes was being tested for?

In any case, mood disorders are known to be associated with low blood sugar, especially violent ones.

Might want to consider giving him a chromium supplement and krill oil along with the D, that has been proven to help with moods too.

fiona12

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

How was the insulin measured OP, ie was it a fasting blood test? I've never heard of a doctor ordering a test for insulin unless maybe if diabetes was being tested for?

In any case, mood disorders are known to be associated with low blood sugar, especially violent ones.

Might want to consider giving him a chromium supplement and krill oil along with the D, that has been proven to help with moods too.

Yes, it was a fasting blood test, just took him in because I suspected he was suffering from depression.

I am really not sure if I should give him any other supplements untill we see the nutritionist - I just wanted to know what foods are high in Vit D for the meantime as I found very few (eggs, fish, flora pro-v, multivitamin juice, Danone) I was looking at cans of tuna and salmon, but it doesn't state Vit content.

El_Dangeroso

fiona12 wrote: »

Yes, it was a fasting blood test, just took him in because I suspected he was suffering from depression.

I am really not sure if I should give him any other supplements untill we see the nutritionist - I just wanted to know what foods are high in Vit D for the meantime as I found very few (eggs, fish, flora pro-v, multivitamin juice, Danone) I was looking at cans of tuna and salmon, but it doesn't state Vit content.

In that case herring has far more than any other food. You can buy pickled herring in the supermarket and it's delicious, has an almost bacon-y flavour.

All the processed foods you mentioned are fortified with the cheapest form of D. You're better off taking a high quality supplement than feeding him highly processed food.

rubadub

EileenG wrote: »

Sunlight (bare skin, no sunscreen) is the best source of vitamin D.

I have heard of old folks homes having low level UV supplemental light in living areas, I am not sure if you can just buy lights for this purpose. I have one but it is only used for 2mins at a time.

http://www.lookingfit.com/news/2011/01/study-uv-light-beats-vit-d-deficiency.aspx