Get Your Sunshine in Every Bowl
Kellogg’s Fortifies Favourite Cereals with the Sunshine Vitamin
to Help Counter Canada’s Growing Vitamin D InsufficiencyMISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Dec. 16, 2013 – Winter is coming and that means only 60 per cent of Canadians are soaking up enough vitamin D — the sunshine vitamin.[i]
Even as we approach December 21st, the darkest day of the year, we’re already noticing that our daylight is dwindling. What many of us don’t realize is that along with the temperature our vitamin D levels can also drop, which may negatively impact our health.[ii]
To help Canadians get enough of the sunshine vitamin, Kellogg Canada has fortified 13 of its most loved cereals with 20 per cent of Health Canada’s recommended daily intake of vitamin D. Classic Kellogg’s brands such as Kellogg’s Rice Krispies*, Kellogg’ Special K*, Kellogg’s Froot Loops*, Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Little Bites*, Kellogg’s Corn Pops*, Kellogg’s Cinnamon Pops*, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes*, Kellogg’s Crispix Krispies*, and Kellogg’s Krave* now include sunshine in every bowl.
“Kellogg Canada is committed to helping Canadians maintain a nutritious diet and good health,” says Chris Bell, Vice President, Marketing, Kellogg Canada Inc. “We are proud to be the only cereal company in Canada providing a source of vitamin D in the morning. This is great news for moms, dads and kids. Now, when a half cup of milk is added to a serving of Kellogg’s cereals with vitamin D, a single bowl provides up to 45 per cent of the recommended daily intake of the essential nutrient.”
The fact that many Canadians are running low on vitamin D[iii] isn’t a result of hiding indoors during the cold winter months. Beginning in early November, Canadians experience what is known as a ‘Vitamin D Winter’[iv] — when the angle of the sun changes and the UV rays that make vitamin D do not reach us. No matter how many sunny days there are, or how much time we spend outdoors, we can’t rely solely on the sun for vitamin D.**
If Canadians don’t get enough of the sunshine vitamin, the calcium levels in our blood can drop. In order to maintain adequate blood levels, our bodies borrow needed calcium from our bones, and this can cause rickets in children or osteoporosis (fragile bones) in adults.
Fast Facts on Vitamin D:
· Dietary vitamin D can also be found in natural (certain fatty fish, egg yolk) and fortified (milk, margarine) sources.
· Over 85% of Canadian children, 75% of Canadian adolescents and 80% of Canadian adults are not meeting the estimated requirements for dietary vitamin D.[v]
· Just over two-thirds of Canadians (68%) have vitamin D blood levels sufficient for healthy bones.[vi]
· If Canadians raised their vitamin D levels it would save an estimated 37,000 premature deaths and $14.4B in healthcare costs annually.[vii]
About Kellogg Canada Inc.
Driven to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter, Kellogg Canada is the leading producer of ready-to-eat cereal in Canada. Every day, our well-loved brands nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. These include All-Bran*, Corn Flakes*, Corn Pops*, Eggo*, Froot Loops*, Frosted Flakes*, Kashi*, Kellogg’s* Two Scoops* Raisin Bran, Mini-Wheats*, Nutri-Grain*, Pop-Tarts*, Pringles*, Rice Krispies*, Special K* and Vector*. Because we believe in the power of breakfast, we focus our philanthropic efforts on global hunger relief through our Breakfasts for Better Days™ initiative, providing 1 billion servings of cereal and snacks – more than half of which are breakfast – to children and families in need by the end of 2016. To learn more about our responsible business leadership, foods that delight and how we strive to make a difference in our communities around the world, visit www.kelloggcompany.com. To learn more about Kellogg Canada’s efforts in these areas, please visit www.kelloggs.ca.
* © 2013, Trademark of Kellogg Company used under license by Kellogg Canada Inc.
** Recommended daily intakes of vitamin D have been set to ensure requirements can be met without sun exposure because of public health concerns around the risk for developing skin cancer from exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.[i] Janz T, Pearson C. Vitamin D blood levels of Canadians. January 2013. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-624-X http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2013001/article/11727-eng.pdf
[ii] Michael F Holick and Tai C Chen. Vitamin D deficiency: a worldwide problem with health consequence. Am J Clin Nutr April 2008. vol. 87 no. 4, 1080S-1086S.
[iii] Janz T, Pearson C. Vitamin D blood levels of Canadians. January 2013. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-624-X http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2013001/article/11727-eng.pdf
[iv] Webb AR, Kline L, Holick MF. Influence of season and latitude on the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3: exposure to winter sunlight in Boston and Edmonton will not promote vitamin D3 synthesis in human skin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988 Aug;67(2):373-8.
[v] Canadian Community Health Survey. Health Canada 2004
[vi] Janz T, Pearson C. Vitamin D blood levels of Canadians. January 2013. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-624-X http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2013001/article/11727-eng.pdf
[vii] Grant WB, Schwalfenberg GK, Genuis SJ, Whiting SJ. An estimate of the economic burden and premature deaths due to vitamin D deficiency in Canada. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2010, 54, 1172-1181