Multivitamins for kids: How to choose the right ones
As children grow, it’s important for them to consume enough vitamins and minerals to make sure of their health to count under the optimal zone. Most of the children get adequate amounts of nutrients from their balanced diet, but under certain circumstances, they may have to supplement with vitamins or minerals. So, what are the circumstances and who are the ones who need them? The picky eaters, kids who are vulnerable to food sensitivities, or vegetarians. To the children who fall into these categories, it is highly tricky even for their parents to ensure that they get all the multivitamins’ supplement everyday especially with their time with kids in hand.
Fortunately, experts state that taking a daily supplement won’t hurt when it doesn’t exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of a vitamin or a mineral. They also agree that supplements should never be a substitute for whole foods, but simply catch up on any gaps in your child’s diet.
As a parent, since your decision of not compromising on your child’s health, there are multiple factors to look for in selection of your child’s nutrition supplements as it’s not only the taste or look that matters, but also the ingredients and various other factors that count into an optimal healthy being your child can become. Here’s how you can choose the right multivitamin sources for your children:
- Safety & Quality- Testing the vitamins by a third party to ensure safety and quality.
- Ingredients- Look for vitamins that are free of food dyes, preservatives, fillers & artificial flavours.
- Dosage- Don’t miss out on checking the dosage on especially the ones formulated for infants or kids.
- Reputable brands- Pick the brands that adhere to the strict and safe manufacturing standards.
Now, let’s explore a little into choosing the right multivitamins for your little ones.
Check out the purity of the ingredients in your multivitamins
A parent’s job of navigating in the world of multivitamins will get a lot easier when a special skill of reading labels is developed by searching the ingredients on Google so that they can make sure, the supplements for their kids are free from artificial flavours/colours, lactose and aspartame. Surprisingly, most of the kids’ multivitamins are full of GMOs that lead to harmful side effects.
TruRadix Immunity Booster Gummy Bears for Kids supplements in India for example, are completely non-GMO, gluten-free, allergens-free, soy-free, lactose-free and don’t contain any artificial colors, flavours or preservatives.
As a result, TruRadix Immunity Booster Gummy Bears contain naturally extracted flavours from kids’ favourite fruit, oranges and are completely organically vegan. This makes you as a parent confident while knowing what you are giving to your kid is healthy and safe for their health. Here are the multivitamin additives to avoid:
- Corn syrup
- Artificial colouring
- Hydrogenated oils (soybean)
- Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
- Dicalcium phosphate
- Sodium selenite/selenite
- Soy lecithin
- Artificial sugars like glucose syrup, sucralose, fructose, aspartame, sucrose.
- Titanium dioxide
- Magnesium silicate
- Magnesium stearate
- Talc
Attention required, parents! Calcium, Zinc & Vitamins A, C & E are not to be ignored!
Kids frequently don’t get enough of of these common nutrients:
Calcium
Your kids’ growing bones need calcium as a proper calcium intake right from the beginning in childhood helps in maintenance of normal bone mass later in life.
Zinc
In your kids’ immune system, proper growth & development, zinc plays a major role being an essential nutrient.
Vitamin A
This key nutrient supports vision health and maintenance of healthy skin.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron and is highly important for kids, protecting cells from free radical damage. It also is a key nutrient in immune system support and helps in keeping body tissues- gums & muscles healthy.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant powerhouse. It fights off free radicals and is found in nuts, leafy-green vegetables and seeds.
Bioavailability: Absorbability of nutrients
When comparing supplements and multivitamins, you’ll notice that nutrients come in different forms that vary in both absorption and utilization by the body also known as bioavailability and how much they will cost you. Always pick the supplements that are more bioavailable or activated.
|
Nutrient |
Harder to absorb |
Look for |
|
calcium |
carbonate |
citrate |
|
B12 |
cyanocobalamin |
methylcobalamin |
|
magnesium |
sulfate |
citrate or glycinate |
|
folic acid |
without 5-MTHF |
with 5-MTHF |
Dosage
Not only the quality of the multivitamins, but you should also consider the quantity too. Since there isn;t a perfect multivitamin, look for the one that contains as many of key mineral,vitamin doses as possible:
|
calcium citrate |
50 – 100 mg |
|
magnesium citrate or bisglycinate |
50 – 100 mg |
|
zinc citrate |
2 – 5 mg |
|
iron glycinate |
2 – 10 mg |
|
vitamin C |
250 mg |
|
folic acid |
150 mcg |
We know it can be challenging. We know it can be tough in providing your child with what they believe they want vs what they truly need. But, the market has fantastic chewables available and always be on the look-out for the ones that contain the key minerals/vitamins we have listed above and are free from added colours, sugars & fillers.
Also, you always have your healthcare provider for more infoemation that might be suitable for your children.
