The following article appears in my paper today.  The implications astound me!

Doctors:  Rickets on the rise in VA and across nation
Doctors in Virginia and across the country are reporting cases of nutritional
rickets, a bone-deforming disease that all but disappeared in the United
States by the 1960s.

Pediatricians say a couple of factors are at work:  Breast-fed babies don't
get vitamin D-fortified formula, and some babies and their mothers are
spending less time outdoors.  Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which
is produced by sunlight.

Dr. Marta Satin-Smith, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children's Hospital of
the King's Daughters, saw 3 cases of rickets within a few months in the
spring of 1998.

"I'd seen rickets before, but never that many at once," said Satin-Smith, who
also is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Eastern Medical School.

Satin-Smith and three other Virginia doctors reviewed Children's Hospital's
records from 1994 to 1998 and found 22 cases of rickets - up from a few cases
a year during the 1970s and 1980s.

The ailment was common in the 1800s and early 1900s.  During the industrial
revolution, people began moving from farms to cities where children had less
exposure to the sun.

The disease all but disappeared in the United States as more foods were
fortified with vitamin D, and more women began feeding their babies formula
rather that breastmilk.  Then, in the 1980s, mothers began returning to the
practice of breast-feeding as a natural protection against infections.
However, breast-fed babies don't get vitamin D-fortified formula.

How's that for some propaganda?  How about doctors telling the mom to get the
kid out in the laylight for a few minutes each day!!

Anyone have data on how much sun exposure is needed to combat this problem.
This article has my heart palpitations starting and I am in the middle of my
letter to the editor.

Just thought you'd all be interested in the latest news.

Lisa Updike BA IBCLC
Roanoke, Virginia

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html