It's vital that kids get their recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals. Without them, children are unable to grow and reach their full potential. Vitamins are necessary for keeping children's vision, bones, muscles, skin and organs in good shape, and their immunity strong. If children become vitamin deficient in any way it can lead to some serious problems.
All parents strive to provide their children with the best life opportunities, particularly with regards to their wellbeing. With school resuming, this is the ideal opportunity to ensure children remain healthy, energetic, and mentally sharp. Supporting their immune system, maintaining energy levels, and stimulating their memory and cognition should be prioritized to ensure they are optimally prepared.
Should I Be Giving My Child Vitamins?
Eating a balanced diet is the perfect way to make sure children are getting the nutrition they need to grow healthy and strong! But, let's face it, having picky eaters can make that a challenge. By blending a healthy, balanced diet with vitamins, children get all the essential minerals, vitamins and nutrients for good health and growth - plus an added performance boost to their developing minds.
Ensuring that children are getting the correct dosages of minerals and vitamins can be hard at times. A recent report from the School of Natural Sciences at
Trinity College Dublin found that the Irish diet is largely composed of dairy, savoury, and dessert dishes, as well as red meat, with only 5% of food intake coming from fruits and vegetables. This indicates a lack of nutritional intake among Irish citizens including children. It's no secret that these days processed foods and quick meals are becoming a lot more popular. That is why is it is so important to make sure that a well-rounded diet is incorporated into our every day life.
What Are The Best Vitamins For My Childs Health?
It's important for children to get the right vitamins for healthy growth this includes,
- Vitamin A
- B vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is important for normal vision, a healthy immune system, reproduction, growth, and development. It also helps ensure proper functioning of the heart, lungs, and other organs. Vitamin A produces antioxidants that help protect children from developing chronic diseases. The compounds within Vitamin A are found in both animal and plant foods and come in two different forms: preformed vitamin A and provitamin A. Vitamin A can be found in animal foods such as meat, fish and dairy or through supplementation.
The Vitabiotics Wellkid Chewables are suitable for children between the ages of
4 to 12 years and contain 21 nutrients in each tablet including vitamin A, D and iron.
2. Vitamin B
The B vitamins help to protect your child from infections and other health issues. They also perform some fundamental cell functions in the body. Vitamin B12 is necessary for growth and development, as it facilitates the use of fats and proteins by cells and helps with folate production in red blood cells. It is important for families who are vegan or vegetarian to make sure to intake the correct levels of vitamin B12 through supplementation or other food sources. This is so as Vitamin B12 is available mainly in animal foods. The
Haliborange Softies are perfect for children between the ages of 3 and 12 years. This multivitamin contains seven essential nutrients including B12.
3. Vitamin C
Children need vitamin C for several reasons. It increases antioxidant levels, helps absorb iron, strengthens the immune system, and reduces the chances of acute respiratory infections. Unfortunately, vitamin C is not stored in the body and needs to be consumed regularly through the diet or through supplementation. According to the
National Institute of Health it is recommended that children aged between 4-8 years should take 25mg of vitamin C and if between the ages of 9-13 to take 45mg daily.
The Lil Critters Immune C plus zinc gummies are free from artificial flavours and colours and are a great way to help support your child's immunity.
4. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important for the development of strong bones and teeth in children. It helps their bodies absorb calcium from food, and assists with muscle contraction and nerve cell communication. Plus, it can keep healthy blood pressure levels and a strong immune system.
Vitamin D can be great to take during the winter months as there is far less natural sunlight in these months particularly in Ireland. According to the
Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Vitamin D is mainly produced in the body by exposure of the skin to sunlight. As Ireland is based so far north there is far less sunlight between the months of November and March, this can cause a lack of vitamin D production in the body. It is recommended that a healthy child should have 10 µg of vitamin D daily if aged between aged 5–11 years. Vitamin D can be found in oily fish or else in multivitamins or supplements.
The Better You Junior Vitamin D Oral Spray is
an effective product to ensure your child is receiving the suggested dose of vitamin D for optimal development and progress. Each spray delivers 400IU (10μg) of vitamin D.
What To Consider When Buying Vitamins For Children?
When buying supplements parent should always ensure to check the ingredients to make sure that they are free from fillers, artificial flavours, food dyes, and preservatives. Additionally, it is essential to pick vitamins that are formulated for infants or children. We highly recommend that our customers seek medical advice before giving their children vitamins, and make sure they are knowledgeable about all available options before making a choice. As long as you take precautions with dosages, vitamin supplements are extremely safe. If you would like to one of our pharmacists feel free to drop in or call any of our seven stores which can be found
here.
References: Williams, M., O’Driscoll. B., Saget, S., Iannetta, P., Styles, D. (2020). A Combined Environmental and Nutri-economic Assessment of Diets. Deliverable (D) 5.6 (D34) for the EU-H2020 project, ‘transition paths to sustainable legume-based systems in Europe’ (TRUE), funded under Grant Agreement Number 727973. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3746252
The National Institute of Health, 2023, Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Iron - Health Professional Fact Sheet (nih.gov).
Food Safety Authority of Ireland, 2023, Vitamin D Deficiency in Ireland, Vitamin D | Food Safety Authority of Ireland (fsai.ie)
