Research has shown that obesity, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer in adults often result from nutritional deficiency during childhood. Good nutrition is critical for the future health of our children. Children who are well nourished with optimal intake of vitamins, minerals, and herbs can grow into healthy and happy adults.

The incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, allergies, asthma and infections in children are on the rise. Fractures among children has increased as a direct result of poor calcium intake. Rickets, a bone disease caused by vitamin D deficiency is making its come back in children.

Today, children simply prefer the visually enticing but nutritionally deficient refined, fried, fast, junk food, snacks and soft drinks. Vending machines packed with calorie laden candy bars, sugar-filled soft drinks, fat and salt loaded snack foods are everywhere. Even the most nutritionally vigilant parent cannot be 100% certain what nutrients are in the food they serve their children. There is too much variability in the food they prepare. While fat-soluble vitamins generally withstand normal cooking, water-soluble vitamins like B1, B6, folic acid, and pantothenic acid are destroyed by heat. Vitamins A and E are gradually destroyed by exposure to air. Vitamin B2 is destroyed by light and heat, while vitamin C is destroyed by light and air. Certain food preservatives also destroy the vitamins in food. Some fruit and vegetables are grown and harvested in such a way that does not promote nutrient content -so even raw foods may be lacking adequate nutrition.

A United Nations survey has determined that deficiencies in vitamins and minerals are debilitating the intellects, energies and economic prospects of entire nations. A shortage of nutrient such as vitamin A makes children 25-30 percent more likely to die of disease.

Nutrition and learning go hand in hand. Children who are well nourished possess the mental stamina that's needed to learn and retain even difficult concepts. A randomized trial was conducted on 245 schoolchildren aged 6 to 12 years for three months. They gave half of the children multivitarnin tablets every day, and half of the children placebos. When the children were tested, the children in the multivitamin group showed an increase in their nonverbal intelligence scores. Nonverbal intelligence is closely associated with academic performance.

Children's diets should contain large amounts of natural vitamins A and C derived from fruits (oranges, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, mango) and vegetables (broccoli, carrots, squash, yams, red bell peppers). Vitamin A is also found in fish and eggs. Both vitamins are antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

There are several vitamins and minerals that children need to take each and every day. They include biotin, folate (folic acid), niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamins A, B1. B6, B12, C, D, E, calcium, chromium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc.

Folate, one of the B vitamins, is vitally important. It helps the body to use protein, make DNA, helps cells grow and divide and keeps the nervous system healthy. One of folate's vital actions is the reduction of homocysteine levels in the blood. Research has shown that high levels of homocysteine can irritate blood vessels, make blood clot more easily than it should, and cause blockages in arteries increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Many studies in adults has proven that taking folate reduces harmful homocysteine levels. A recent study looked at children's homocysteine levels. Researchers examined over 3500 children and discovered that high homocysteine levels increased the risk for heart disease in these children, especially as they grow. Vitamin B6 strengthens the immune system by helping white blood cells make antibodies. Vitamin A helps make lysozymes, important anti-infectious agents found in tears, saliva, and sweat. It also stimulates the thymus gland to work better.

It is absolutely crucial that children get enough calcium, chromium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc every day. Sadly, most children are not getting the recommended amounts of these vital minerals.

Calcium helps build strong bones. A calcium supplement is essential for children who are restricting dairy products. Children in America today drink more carbonated soft drinks than milk and are in the midst of a calcium crisis. The best forms of calcium are calcium malate or calcium citrate. Calcium carbonate is produced from oyster shells, which can be contaminated with heavy metals and calcium carbonate is not as readily absorbed. Magnesium will assist calcium absorption. The National Institutes of Health indicates that only 13.5 percent of girls and 36.3 percent of boys age 12 to 19 in the United States get the recommended daily amount (RDA) of calcium. Since almost 90 percent of adult bone mass is established by the end of this age range, children today are in danger of being part of an osteoporosis epidemic in the future as they enter late adulthood. Lack of adequate calcium has immediate consequences for children, as well. The number of fractures among children and young adults has increased as a direct result of poor calcium intake.

Zinc is essential for normal growth and development. Zinc stimulates and enhance our immune systems to help fight infections that is crucial for children. Zinc is vitally connected to children's ability to process information, pay attention, memory and retain new information. Zinc is a cofactor in many enzyme reactions including the production of antioxidants. The American Dietetic Association reported that more than half of US children ages two to 10 years fail to get the recommended daily allowance for zinc. A statistically significant correlation was also found between zinc and free fatty acids (FFA) levels in the ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) group. These findings indicate that zinc deficiency and low level of free fatty acids may play a role in etiopathogenesis of ADHD.

Although iron deficiency has long been considered the major cause of anemia in childhood, it's become much less common in the United States over the past 30 years. This is primarily due to iron-fortified infant formulas and cereals. Children get their iron mostly from their diet rather than from the very small dose of Iron present in the children vitamins nowadays. However, there are increasing incidence of accidental iron poisoning in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics states that accidental iron poisoning is one of the leading causes of fatal poisoning in children under the age of 6 years primarily from taking parents vitamins containing iron or overdose on children's vitamins with iron. These children get very sick, required hospitalization and can even die from iron poisoning. Many pediatricians have proposed removal of iron from children's vitamins. Even though most cases of iron-deficiency anemia are the result of poor dietary iron intake, diet changes alone usually aren't enough to replenish depleted iron stores. Likewise, multivitamins with iron aren't adequate for children with iron-deficiency anemia who have such low iron stores, higher dosage of Iron preparation is required. Besides, addition of Iron in children's vitamin makes it very unpalatable and children usually refuse to take it and therefore miss all the other vital nutrients. Dr. Tsang prefers children's chewable multivitamin without iron. The risk of Iron in children's vitamin much outweighs its benefit. It is utmost important to keep vitamin products with iron out of the reach of children.

Only a few multivitamin makers have discovered how to offer a natural flavored, great tasting children's multivitamin.

References

Get all your nutritional needs at the Informative "Tsang Nutrition" Store - Finest Supplements at Everyday Low Discount Prices. Please click the logo below to enter.

"Tsang Nutrition" offers its active customer free newsletter and unlimited e-mail consultation with Dr. Tsang.

Dr. Tsang wishes to share his knowledge & Opinion with the public regarding the importance of " Nutritional Supplements ". This is for your information only. Drugs have powerful effects on the body, so please don't abruptly stop taking any prescription medication. Always consult your physician or health care provider before you use any nutritional supplement or switch from drugs to natural health products.