The Role of Supplements in Children
The fast food society of today is witnessing several trends of children taking to junk food. Inspite of the efforts by the parent to provide health foods the child seems to be more inclined towards junk food which is not only more easily available but also seems to be more appealing to the children.
It is seen that even the schools have vending machines that offer high calorie highly sugary foods and snacks that have a high salt and fat content. The growing trend of children taking to these high calorie snacks high sugar foods that provide only empty calories with the nutritional content being next to zero.
This disturbing trend has become a matter of grave concern for the parents who are seeking a solution to this problem. And the one solution that provides all the answers is multivitamins that are great supplements. With the developments in medicine, there are several multivitamins available in the market for different age groups.
The products available in the market are of different types varying in content, taste and quality. Some of the preparations available do not contain certain important vitamins and some of them just do not appeal due to their taste.
Some of the supplements are seen to be having high sugar content and artificial flavouring. But due to the field of medicines seeing changes on a daily basis it is seen that there are also good multivitamins which not only are acceptable to children in terms of taste but also provide all the vital nutrients. Some of the issues regarding children’s health and nutritional problems are dealt with in the coming paras.
Benefits Of Multivitamin Supplements
Parents cannot be really sure as to the particular nutrients children are deriving from their foods due to:
- The variety in foods and also how the food reacts to the process of cooking will determine the actual nutrients that the child is getting from the meal.
- Some of the vitamins are lost in the process of cooking for instance those like vitamin A are lost as a result of exposure to air and water soluble vitamins like B1, folic acid are lost due to exposure to heat.
- Some foods contain preservatives that result in the destruction of vitamins.
- The present techniques of harvesting have resulted in some fruits and vegetables not having the nutritional content that they used to.
The recent alarming trend of increase in junk food consumption by children has left no way for parents to ensure intake of the required nutrients. Children’s diets based only on junk foods like pizzas, tarts, biscuits and soft drinks have shown several serious deficiencies to develop. This proves that in addition to food multivitamin supplements are very important to ensure that the required nutritional intake is ensured.
Multivitamins – Can It Boost The Performance Of The Child
Many studies have proved that children who have received the required nutritions definitely have an upper edge over the others because:
- The nutritional intake plays a major role in the performance at school and in the general understanding and retention capacity of the students.
- Well-nourished children not only are better physically but also mentally.
Some of the recent studies which involved observing children divided into various groups- one group which had multivitamins on a daily basis and the other half was on placebos.
At the end of the period of study it was shown that children who had their vitamins daily had definitely shown a remarkable increase in their nonverbal skills. This goes to show how multivitamins can drastically improve the performance of a child in school.
Multivitamins That Appeal To Children
There are several preparations of multivitamins available in the market. Some of them are seen to have reduced the vitamin content so as to ensure a good tasting product that appeals to the children on the other hand there are some that have a lot of artificial flavouring and sugar content to make up the taste.
Do not despair! There definitely are preparations that have chosen the neutral path and have adopted
- Natural flavouring to ensure that their product is not only appealing to children
- Have the right combination of nutrients.
It is seen that the best multivitamins preparation is one that offers a combination of antioxidants and phytonutrients with a natural fruit base. These preparations have a very low sugar content and also provide all the required nutrients.
The Perfect Combination
Some of the vitamins and minerals that should be a part of the daily nutrients intake of a child would include:
- Folate , helps in the making of DNA and helps in the growth and division of cells and ensures a healthy nervous system. It is mandatory (laid down by the FDA) to include folate in food preparations that children take on a daily basis. Folate plays a major role in reducing the homocysteine level found in the blood. High level of the component – homocysteine – can result in blocks in arteries and thus lead to a higher risk for diseases like strokes and heart ailments.
- Vitamin A
- Niacin
- Vitamin B1, B6, B12
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Pantothenic acid
Studies related to homocysteine levels in children have proved that a high level of this component would result in a high risk for heart diseases and strokes as they grow up. The significance of folate in the daily nutritional requirements is evident from the vital role that it plays.
The developments in society has had a few drawbacks like increase in pollution and the like thus, increasing the risk involved in diseases like asthma and other breathing problems especially in children. It has been observed that the inclusion of Vitamin C and E supplements in the daily intake of children has led to an improvement in the condition enabling in making better the breathing problems.
The Vitamins seem to be having a positive impact on the bronchial tubes thus, reducing the breathing problems and making breathing easier.
Mineral Requirements of Children
It is important that the daily intake of children include the following:
- Calcium
- Iron
- Chromium
- Zinc
- Manganese
- Phosphorous
- Selenium
However it is seen that the children are not taking the required minerals on a daily basis. Soft drinks gaining the upper hand over milk have resulted in calcium deficiencies. Green leafy vegetables and healthy diets have given way to high calorie snacks and high sugar foods among growing children.
It is seen from the available facts that only 36.3% boys and 13.5 % girls in the age group of 12-19 are getting the recommended daily requirement of calcium. As this is a very important age wherein the major portion of the adult bone mass is made, the deficiency of calcium during this age would make a major portion of our future generation prone to the dreaded osteoporosis.
The calcium deficiency can have serious consequences among children too. It is seen that the fractures reported among children and young adults is on the rise due to the problem of calcium deficiency. Rickets caused due to the deficiency of Vitamin D is also on the rise.
Lower intake of milk in the present generation is now leading to a number of complications. For some children milk itself is a problematic factor. Due to the use of hormones and other substances in commercial dairies is leading to a rise in the cases of lactose intolerance and also allergies.
Zinc, a significant mineral for the normal growth and also the development of children is not received by many children. It is seen that many children in the US are not receiving their regular intake of zinc. Zinc plays a major role in the life of a child by helping in many vital activities like
- Attention span
- Retention capacity and
- The ability to process the information.
- Zinc is very important for the overall health of the child
- Zinc also plays a major role in boosting our immune system, which ensures the overall health of children by providing them the much needed ability to fight infections.
Zinc plays a number of roles in our body and therefore the intake of the required quantity of zinc is very important.
Multivitamins For Overall Health
There are a number of preparations of nutritional supplements that contain the important vitamins and minerals alongwith other important components that help in boosting the overall immunity of the children.
Preparations that contain a combination of zinc, vitamin A, Vitamin C and B6 plus elderberry extract is available. The good effects of Elderberry extract have been known for a longtime and it is used as an effective medicine for the treatment of colds and flu. This has also been validated by science and medicine. Elderberry has been known to have the power to raise immunity and help the body to fight against infections.
Vitamin C is another important requisite of the body, which not only helps it with wheezing problems and facilitates better breathing but also boosts the immune system. Vitamin C is known to have properties, which can aid in the healing of wounds like bruises on knees and elbows.
Vitamin C is not retained through the body as it is water soluble and therefore it is important to take Vitamin C daily. When children have colds and flu and the immune responses are down the Vitamin c levels also come down drastically therefore it becomes all the more important to have a supplement daily.
Vitamin B6 is yet another important supplements that required by the body. It is also water soluble and works only for eight hours in the body of a child. Vitamin B6 plays a vital role to boost the immune system. As it helps the white blood cells to make the important antibodies which help the body to fight against diseases. Vitamin A is an important vitamin that helps against infections. It is a very important for the children for their overall immunity.
When To Take A Supplement?
Multivitamin supplements can be taken any time. Some parents are very concerned when their child is exposed to circumstances wherein the child can catch an infection like the first day at school.
For children who are prone to seasonal allergies or wheezing it is important that the immune system is given a boost and the dosage of the supplement can be increased as the need be. Some parents feel that the supplement must be given at a time when the child is sick to help the immune system fight the infection.
However the dosage the nutritional supplements play a major role in providing great protection to the body against the germs that the child has to confront on a daily basis.