Vitamin D & Ear Infections

Vitamin D is necessary for bone growth and not getting enough of it might lead to autoimmune problems including ear infections. The vitamin is synthesized by your body through exposure to sunlight, and foods such as milk may be fortified with Vitamin D.

Significance

• Vitamin D is difficult to supplement effectively and our modern lack of sunlight exposure may lead to deficiencies especially in babies. According to the Merck online manual, human breast milk contains very little Vitamin D, making either sunlight exposure or supplements necessary for babies.

Function

• According to Dr. Adit Ginde et al, people with the lowest measured blood levels of Vitamin D reported significantly more upper respiratory infections than those with higher Vitamin D levels.

Association

• Although there is little direct research on Vitamin D and ear infections, most ear infections occur alongside a respiratory infection, meaning that having higher blood Vitamin D levels should lower the rate of ear infections.

Considerations

• Colds, flus and other infections may be more common in the winter months simply because there is less available sunlight for your body to process into Vitamin D.

Warning

• You or your child should not take more than the recommended dosage of Vitamin D supplements per day. You cannot overdose on the Vitamin D you get from sunlight, but you can get sunburned.