recommended daily intake of vitamin D

Last edited 05/2022

  • Children from age 1 year and adults need 10 mcg (400IU) of vitamin D a day; this includes pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people at risk of vitamin D deficiency
    • babies up to age of 1 year need 8.5 to 10 mcg of vitamin D a day (1)
  • Vitamin D supplements are advised for specific population groups (2):
    • all pregnant and breastfeeding women, particularly teenagers and young women
    • infants and children under 4 years (breast fed, non-breast fed and mixed fed)
      • 6 months – 5 years (unless drinking 500 mL or more of infant formula) – 280 IU/day
      • babies 1 month – 6 months if mother is vitamin D insufficient/ deficient – 340 IU/day
    • people over 65
    • people who have low or no exposure to the sun; for example, those who cover their skin for cultural reasons, who are housebound or confined indoors for long periods
    • people who have dark skin, for example, people of African, African-Carribean and South Asian origin
  • These recommendations are thought by many authorities to be too low. In the absence of adequate skin synthesis these amounts will not maintain serum levels of vitamin D in the replete (or normal) range.

  • To convert doses in international units to micrograms, divide by 40

References

Related pages:

vitamin D

sources of vitamin D