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Vitamin Supplements
Are They Good for Your Child?
By Felicia Hodges-Griffin
Are your children eating three servings of vegetables a day? Are they getting at least two servings of fruit? If they aren't, they may not be getting the vitamins their growing bodies need.
We've all heard about how important vitamins are for growing children. Although they do not provide energy (vitamins have no calories), they are necessary for every day body functions such as transforming foods into energy. Most nutrition experts agree that the best way to get all the nutrients needed daily is by eating a well-balanced diet, but what's a parent to do with a child who only eats fruit sparingly or simply hates vegetables?
Your pediatrician might suggest adding a multi-vitamin (which combines many nutrients into one pill) or a vitamin supplement (which gives one or two nutrients per dose, like vitamin C with rosehips) to your child's diet. Supplements for infants and children can be prescribed or purchased over the counter, but no two are exactly alike.
"The first thing I would tell people is to be sure to buy from a reputable company that's been in business for a long time," says Dr. Tim Maggs, chiropractor and herbalist who developed a line of natural vitamins for children. "Quality and potency are also important."
Here are a few other things to watch for as you're surfing the supermarket or health food store shelves:
Look for multi-vitamins that provide no more than 100 percent of the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for your child's age of the 13 vitamins (vitamin A, B1 or thiamin, B2 or riboflavin, B6, B12, folic acid, niacin, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, biotin and pantothenic acid) considered essential. Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) are stored in the body for long periods of time while excesses of water-soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine. As a result, some medical experts, like nutritionist Susan Clark who teaches at Radford University in Virginia, contend that overdosing is possible if excessive amounts of fat-soluble vitamins are taken. "Unless there's clear evidence that a supplement is needed because of a particular increased need [or] deficiency ... I advocate getting adequate nutrition from food. We just can't package nutrients like nature does," Clark says.