“Are food sources not enough?”

Like many vegan parents, Gina (name changed for privacy) had the same question about Vitamin D. When we began working together, she felt concerned about her toddler’s nutrition. She wasn’t sure if she was providing everything her toddler needed and it worried her given they were showing signs of picky eating and recently diagnosed with rickets (soft and weakening of bones in children due to lack of Vitamin D in diet).

Gina just didn’t know much about Vitamin D because it was something that wasn’t mentioned at her toddler’s well-child visits with their pediatrician. How could she know this was an important nutrient? 

In this article, I want to share with you why Vitamin D is important for growing vegan kids and teens and what you can do to ensure they’re meeting their nutrient needs.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient for supporting strong bones and teeth. As children and teens grow, together with calcium, they need Vitamin D to support overall growth. It also plays an important role in making sure your child's immune system is supported. 

Often called the “sunshine vitamin”, Vitamin D is unique because it can be made by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight. However, depending on skin tone, use of sunscreen, season of the year, and altitude of where a child lives, most children don’t often get enough with sunshine alone. This places an emphasis on making sure it’s obtained elsewhere—either from their diet and/or a supplement. 

Why is Vitamin D important?

Some vegan parents believe that all nutrient needs can be met with diet alone. And while that’s true for some nutrients on a plant-based diet, Vitamin D isn’t one of them. Vitamin D is found in very few foods and it’s a vitamin that’s not naturally present in plant-based foods, unless that food is fortified. Because there are limited vegan sources that provide Vitamin D, it’s important to pay special attention to this nutrient to ensure the daily needs of vegan kids and teens are met. 

Vitamin D is also important during infancy. Vitamin D is not a reliable nutrient in breastmilk. For a vegan baby that is exclusively breastfed, no matter how much the breastfeeding parent is supplementing themselves, it’s very challenging for a vegan baby to meet their Vitamin D needs from breastmilk alone. You can read more about Vitamin D needs for a vegan baby in this blog post.  

So, because Vitamin D is limited in vegan food sources and breastmilk, does that make a vegan diet inadequate for growing kids? Not necessarily. 

Even if a child or teen follows a vegetarian or omnivore diet, their need for Vitamin D is still important as kids don’t often meet their daily requirements. In fact, across all dietary patterns, studies show that children and teens have concentration levels of Vitamin D below what’s considered a normal range. With low Vitamin D status, this increases the risk of rickets, osteomalacia, and osteoporosis—conditions that impact bone health and structure. 

Overall, research shows us that Vitamin D insufficiency is present regardless of a child and teen’s diet. What this means is that no matter what dietary lifestyle a child follows—whether that be vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore—children and teens aren’t getting enough Vitamin D. This makes Vitamin D an important nutrient to focus on when meal planning for your family to ensure that they’re meeting their Vitamin D needs to support growth and strong bones and teeth.

Plant-based foods that provide Vitamin D

At this point, you’re probably wondering what plant-based foods provide Vitamin D. While the list is limited, there are a few that you can incorporate in your vegan family’s diet: 

• Fortified plant milks (typically Vitamin D is listed as ergocalciferol on the list of ingredients)

• Fortified plant-based yogurts (ensure Vitamin D2 is listed on the ingredients. Most fortified products will provide anywhere between 120 - 180 IU per 6oz serving)

• Ready-to-eat-cereals (ensure Vitamin D2 is listed or ergocalciferol to ensure it’s a vegan product)

How to meet Vitamin D in Vegan Kids and Vegan Teens

• Infants (below 12 months)
  
  If you’re exclusively breastfeeding your vegan baby, the most reliable way to meet their Vitamin D needs is by having their own supplement soon after birth. No matter how much you or your partner may be supplementing, breastmilk isn’t reliable at providing Vitamin D to your baby.
  
  For infant formula fed vegan babies, all formulas provide Vitamin D so there shouldn’t be a need to supplement their diet until they begin consuming less than 32oz of formula per day.
  
  Once your vegan baby starts solids, typically around 6 months of age for most families, you can offer fortified plant yogurts.
  
  Learn more about Vitamin D for vegan babies in this article.

• Toddlers (ages 1 - 3 years old)
  
  Vegan toddlers can meet their Vitamin D needs through a daily supplement and fortified foods. For this age group, I like to encourage vegan parents to consider both so that their child has the most opportunity to meet their daily needs, especially since their intake can vary from meal to meal. This can be through a 400 IU supplement + fortified foods or 600 IU daily from a supplement.
  
  One of the most practical ways to help meet a vegan toddler their Vitamin D needs is through a fortified plant milk, such as soy milk or pea-based milk. They can take it with a meal and/or snack or with other prepared foods like chia pudding.
  
  If you’re interested in learning about what the best milk alternative is for a vegan toddler, take a look at this article.

  
  
  

• School-Aged Children (4 - 12 years old)
  
  Some school-aged children at this age don’t often drink fortified plant milks, which can make it challenging for vegan parents to ensure their Vitamin D needs are met. You can use fortified plant milks in baked goods, like waffles, muffins, or oatmeal bake. That still counts in meeting a small part of Vitamin D.
  
  I like using fortified unsweetened plant yogurts as dips or toppings for foods. For example, I use plant yogurts as an alternative to sour cream when we have tacos or tostadas on the menu.

  
  The most reliable way to meet Vitamin D for vegan school-aged children is with a daily supplement. And preferably taken with a meal for better absorption.
  
  
  

• Teens (13 - 17 years)
  
  Vegan teens show a high prevalence of insufficient Vitamin D intake, especially during the Winter months, which can alter calcium absorption and potentially their immune system as well.
  
  I like to encourage parents to have fortified plant-based yogurts (with both Vitamin D and calcium) for their vegan teen and take a daily supplement. Fortified plant yogurts can be eaten with their favorite granola or cereal, chia pudding, or as part of a snack. 

References

1. Alexy, U., Fischer, M., Weder, S., Längler, A., Michalsen, A., Sputtek, A., & Keller, M. (2021). Nutrient intake and status of German children and adolescents consuming Vegetarian, Vegan or omnivore diets: Results of the vechi youth study. Nutrients, 13(5), 1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051707

2. Neufingerl, N., & Eilander, A. (2023). Nutrient intake and status in children and adolescents consuming plant-based diets compared to meat-eaters: A systematic review. Nutrients, 15(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15204341

3. Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin D. (n.d.). Health Professional Fact Sheet. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

4. Pérez-López, F. R., Pérez-Roncero, G., & López-Baena, M. T. (2010). Vitamin D and adolescent health. Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 1, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2147/AHMT.S7472