Do Children Need Vitamins?
Do Children Need Vitamins?
Health experts say that children who eat foods based on the recommended food guide pyramid don’t necessarily need vitamin supplements. This type of diet contains all the necessary vitamins and nutrients that your child needs.
However, some factors may affect the way you prepare foods and eventually lose the vitamins contained in the food. Also, some children are just picky eaters, hence, they acquire too little nutrients to supply their daily needs.
Now the question is: In cases like this, is it advisable for parents to provide their children with vitamin supplements to cover up for whatever is lacking in their diet? Is it safe and effective to use vitamin supplements?
By definition, vitamins are elements needed by the body for proper function and promotion of normal body processes. With this, you can directly conclude that people, old and young alike, need vitamins to be healthy. And because it is a well-known fact that children don’t get enough vitamins from the food that they eat, vitamin supplements are deemed necessary.
But is this really the case? As much as people contend the viability of vitamin supplements for children, some health experts contend that they aren’t that necessary. Besides, excessive intake of vitamins may do more harm than good.
So what is the bottom line? To understand more, here are some pros and cons about vitamins for children:
Pros
1. They promote cell growth
As children grow, so do their bodies. However, to facilitate cell growth, children need vitamins. Vitamins take part in the development of blood cells and other tissues in the body.
2. Vitamins serve as antioxidants
Most vitamins serve as antioxidants. Hence, vitamins also act as preservatives by inhibiting the oxidation process or disintegration of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Antioxidants combat the free radicals in the body. Hence, children are assured of effective protection against diseases.
3. Aids digestion
Some vitamins contain fiber, which aids in proper digestion of the body. Lack of fiber may cause problems in the bowel and may even cause more serious problems such as circulatory disorders.
Vitamins also act as coenzymes because they help in conveying these different tasks.
Cons
1. Excess vitamins can cause greater health problems.
Most people disregard this, but health experts and various studies show that excess vitamins can cause serious health problems.
Let us take for example excessive intake of vitamin A. Letting your children take vitamin A more than the recommended dietary supplement, serious problems in the nervous system may take place.
Another example is vitamin D. Excessive intake of vitamin D may cause calcium resorption, which can lead to increased calcium in the blood. When this happens, functions of the soft tissues in the body, such as the lungs and the heart, may be lessened or reduced.
Excessive intake of vitamin C may cause severe diarrhea or watery stools. It can also reduce the amount of copper in the body.
2. Too much dependency
Some parents tend to allocate their child’s need for nutrients to the vitamin supplements available on the market. This is especially true to parents who can no longer prepare a healthy diet for their children because of a hectic schedule at work.
Hence, they tend to devote their children’s vitamin requirements in supplements, which in reality, may be taken in great amounts. This goes to show how parents can be vulnerable sometimes especially if they want the best for their kids and are very busy with their work.
Plus, non-monitoring of children taking vitamins can also bring forth cases of excessive intake, where children usually enjoy taking vitamins that are available as tasty, chewable vitamins.
3. Odor and taste
Contrary to number two, some vitamins just don’t smell or taste that good. Take for example vitamin B. Children find it hard to take vitamins that have repulsive tastes or smell.
All of these things lay down various options for parents to decide whether they have to give their children vitamins or not.
Indeed, the need for the accessibility of vitamins for children can’t be rejected and so it is important to know the necessary vitamins required for children. However, parents should also take note that vitamins should be regarded as something that is as delicate and destructive as any drug on the market. Hence, utmost care in choosing the best vitamins for your children is extremely important.