http://www.pitchvision.com/the-complete-guide-to-cricket-nutrition/

http://www.homesciencejournal.com/archives/2017/vol3issue3/PartC/3-3-40-749.pdf

1.1. Vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of rickets and osteomalacia

· 400 IU/d (10 μg) is adequate to prevent rickets and is recommended for all infants from birth to 12 months of age, independent of their mode of feeding.

· Beyond 12 months of age, all children and adults need to meet their nutritional requirement for vitamin D through diet and/or supplementation, which is at least 600 IU/d (15 μg), as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

1.2. Target for vitamin D supplementation

· In healthy children, routine 25OHD screening is not recommended, and consequently, no specific 25OHD threshold for vitamin D supplementation is targeted in this population. (1⊕⊕⊕)

1.3. Candidates for preventative vitamin D supplementation beyond 12 months of age

· In the absence of food fortification, vitamin D supplementation should be given to:

· hildren with a history of symptomatic vitamin D deficiency requiring treatment.

· Children and adults at high risk of vitamin D deficiency, with factors or conditions that reduce synthesis or intake of vitamin D.

· Pregnant women.

2.4. Dose of vitamin D and calcium for the treatment of nutritional rickets

· For treatment of nutritional rickets, the minimal recommended dose of vitamin D is 2000 IU/d (50 μg) for a minimum of 3 months.

· Oral calcium, 500 mg/d, either as dietary intake or supplement should be routinely used in conjunction with vitamin D in the treatment regardless of age or weight.

2.5. Appropriate route of administration and duration of therapy

· We recommend oral treatment, which more rapidly restores 25OHD levels than IM treatment.

· For daily treatment, both D2 and D3 are equally effective.

· When single large doses are used, D3 appears to be preferable compared to D2 because the former has a longer half-life.

· Vitamin D treatment is recommended for a minimum of 12 weeks, recognizing that some children may require longer treatment duration.

Prevention of nutritional

Dietary practices and nutrient intakes among mothers associated with nutritional rickets in infants

• Maternal vitamin D deficiency should be avoided by ensuring that women of childbearing age meet intakes of 600 IU/d recommended by the IOM.
• Pregnant women should receive 600 IU/d of vitamin D, preferably as a combined preparation with other recommended micronutrients such as iron and folic acid.

Early feeding, supplementation, complementary feeding, and nutrient intake associated with rickets in infants

• In addition to an intake of 400 IU/d of vitamin D, complementary foods introduced no later than 26 weeks should include sources rich in calcium.
• An intake of at least 500 mg/d of elemental calcium must be ensured during childhood and adolescence

Association of sunlight exposure to nutritional rickets

· Because UVB rays trigger epidermal synthesis of pre-vitamin D3, restricted exposure to sun increases the risk of vitamin D deficiency and nutritional rickets.

• Environmental factors, such as latitude, season, time of day, cloud cover, and pollution affect availability of UVB, whereas personal factors, such as time spent outdoors, skin pigmentation, skin coverage, age, body composition, and genetics affect the dose-response of UVB
• No safe threshold of UV exposure allows for sufficient vitamin D synthesis across the population without increasing skin cancer risk.

Section 4: Prevention of osteomalacia during pregnancy and lactation and congenital rickets

The relationship between vitamin D during pregnancy and infant growth and bone mass

· Pregnant women should receive 600 IU/d of supplemental vitamin D. This will ensure adequacy of maternal 25OHD, especially in women at risk of deficiency, to prevent elevated cord blood alkaline phosphatase (ALP), increased fontanelle size, neonatal hypocalcemia and congenital rickets, and to improve dental enamel formation.

· There is little evidence that maternal supplementation with vitamin D will protect or improve birth anthropometry and no evidence that supplementation with vitamin D will protect or improve short- or long-term growth or bone mass accretion.

4.2. The effect of calcium supplementation during pregnancy on infant bone mass

· Pregnant women do not need calcium intakes above recommended non-pregnant intakes to improve neonatal bone.

4.3. Influence of calcium or vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy or lactation on breast milk calcium or vitamin D

· Lactating women should ensure they meet the dietary recommendations for vitamin D (600 IU/d) for their own needs, but not for the need of their infant.

· Lactating women should not take high amounts of vitamin D as a means of supplementing their infant.

· Pregnant and lactating women should meet the recommended intakes of calcium. Maternal calcium intake during pregnancy or lactation is not associated with breast milk calcium concentrations.

Crickets usually get nutrients from plant sources. Therefore,Calcium is a limiting factor for most of those insects. Captive diets can be sprinkled with calcium to increase Ca content in crickets used as a feed ingredient. Crickets also eat their milts under captive environments which is an additional benefit. Most water intake is through fresh green plant diets and they are very resistant for dehydration. Day light is not a nutrient but an added benefit for growth. Artificial lights selection will have an impact for growth.