It's no surprise that vitamin D problems are occurring, especially now with Arctic temperatures plunging much of the Northern Hemisphere into the deep freeze, preventing mothers from getting all the healthy sunshine their bodies need. My hometown of Chicago just experienced temperatures not going above freezing for over a month and sections of New York were buried in over 10 feet of snow in a week-long period.

Sunlight is vital both for the mothers and the children, especially since adequate vitamin D levels prevent a host of illnesses -- not just rickets, but also Parkinson's disease, cancer, and many others.

But if you must take an oral supplement to boost your vitamin D levels, like a high-quality cod liver oil, for the short term, I urge you strongly to monitor your blood levels regularly, as I have observed too many cases of dangerous escalations of vitamin D levels, including my own.

And in addition to making sure your vitamin D levels are optimal, women should definitely breastfeed their child. Along with improving eyesight, breastfeeding provides your child with a range of health benefits, including a strong immune system, better brain function, a reduced risk of obesity and emotional bonding.

Breastfeeding is beneficial for mom too, reducing her risk of breast and ovarian cancers and osteoporosis later in life, while helping her to return to her pre-pregnancy weight faster.

There are at least 400 nutrients in breast milk that are not found in formula, and I encourage all new moms to breastfeed their child. The longer you do this, the better, but even a short time of breastfeeding is better than none at all. That said, I understand that there are certain conditions and circumstances that may prevent you from being able to breastfeed.

 If this is the case, you can make a healthy infant formula using raw milk (and should completely AVOID soy infant formula at all costs).

On Vital Votes, Nutrition Coach Josh Rubin from San Marcos, California says:

"Breast milk has so [many] nutrients in it, it is almost a crime not to give it to a child. Of course there are situations why some women cannot. But if you can, I would. Breast milk is full of so much good cholesterol, good bacteria, etc that it helps the infant's nervous system and all the other systems to develop.

"This is why bottled fed babies mostly get colic and other poopy disorders. There GI tract is not fully developed and cannot handle and detoxify all the toxins that are in soy and other formulas.

"Another interesting point. When breast fed, you learn infant development skills of pushing. This involved a rhythmic movement of the head, cervical spine and jaw. The head goes into flexion then extension, the cervical spine does the same and the jaw goes into protrusion and restrusion. These are necessary survival movements and reflexes.

"When bottle fed, the infant just has to clench down on the nipple of the bottle and milk squirts out. So all the important movements are lost and the musculoskeletal and neurological development of all the muscles involved is inhibited. This can lead to and has been shown to create many emotional disorders, as well as chronic neck issues, atlas issues, headaches, TMJ and so on.

"You see great examples of this in the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A Price. Mariano Rocobado (leading TMJ specialist in the world) has proven in research that children who are not breast fed end up with TMJ dysfunctions, overbites, malocclusion issues and occulo-cervical dysfunctions."

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