Does my child need supplements?
To supplement or not to supplement. That is the question.
Ideally, follow the “rainbow diet” and make sure your kids eat a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables to get the nutrients they need. In fact, according to the USDA, children should get one to two cups of fruit and one to three cups of vegetables each day.
When Do Kids Need Vitamins?
To know this, you have to observe the eating habits of your children. Here are some cases where children might need vitamin sea moss supplements, to make their daily diet more well-rounded and get the best kind of nutrients for their health.
Poor Appetite
During the growth spurt, kids seem to be in a mood to eat all that they can find. But once the spurt is over, their appetite tends to drop. The appetites of kids can fluctuate like this, and it is natural. When you cannot get your children to eat enough, its a good idea to add vitamins to their diet, to make sure that they get all the necessary nutrients.
Food allergies
Recently, there have been reports from the CDC that food allergies are getting increasingly prevalent among children, and they do not outgrow these problems as fast as children of earlier times used to do. Sadly, the common food allergies include healthy foods like peanuts, eggs and gluten – that provide the body with essential nutrients.
One way to substitute all these important nutrients is to add vitamins to the daily diets of kids. For instance, if your child is lactose intolerant (can’t say yes to dairy products), he/she might not be getting enough calcium and Vitamin D, needed for strong bones, focus, sleep etc. You can include a Vitamin D and calcium supplement in this case.
Picky eaters
If your child likes to pick and choose foods, and has a long list of ‘won’t-eat-these’ foods, which include important eatables packed with essential nutrients, it is better to add vitamins to their everyday diet. They can get at least some of the missing nutrients in their diet.
How Can Vitamins Help Children?
Vitamins can be a wonderful addition to support a healthy lifestyle. These can help kids in more ways than one, with each type of Vitamin having one or more benefits.
Vitamin A
This boosts vision, similar to how it benefits an adult. It helps in developing the eyesight of children, even when they are teenagers.
Vitamin B1
It can give a boost to the digestive system, and help the liver and gallbladder in removing toxins which might have entered the system.
Together, Vitamins B2 and B3 help make the human immune system function properly. These can be very useful in protecting the premature RBC’s or red blood cells, thus preventing infection. It can help remove nutrient deficiencies in your kid.
The nervous system is controlled by the vitamins B4, B5 and B7. While growing up, children can have excellent motor skills with these vitamins in their body. In the future, they might avoid mobility issues due to this reason.
Usually, the vitamins B9 and B12 work in the formative years of life. These are useful for creating and encoding the RNA and DNA protein molecules.
Vitamin C
It gives citric acid to the body, and can be found in abundance in orange juice, grapefruit and a few other fruits. Rather than having your kid take vitamin supplements, you can make him/her drink all these vitamin rich juices.
Vitamin D and E
These control the creation as well as protection of the skin. Every day, one needs a minimum of 15 minutes of sun to get the amount of Vitamin D needed by the body. Too much or too little sun exposure can pose problems for a child. Kids should take vitamin supplements designed specifically for them, as it aids in new skin cell creation.
Vitamin K
It aids in the creation and development of bones as well as bone marrow, and contributes to overall growth. However, it is important to take Vitamin K supplements in recommended doses and amounts, to avoid problems for your children.