When it comes to the question of whether or not vitamin supplements are necessary for their children, a lot of parents are divided. One school of thought is: As long as a child has a balanced and healthy diet, they don’t need supplements. The other school of thought is: Whether they need it or not, giving my child a multivitamin is an insurance policy. The truth is both sides have the right idea.
Concentrate on the diet
First and foremost, you should always do your best to meet all of your child’s nutrition requirements from food. Taking a multivitamin will never make up for having a poor diet. A diet rich in a variety of whole, unprocessed, natural foods is the ideal place to get the wide array of nutrients your child’s growing body requires.
The problem is that it can be a challenge getting your child to consume a nice variety of fruits, vegetables, lean meats etc. Many kids are picky eaters. Getting them to try new foods can be like pulling teeth. Also, with our busy schedules these days, it can be difficult to find the time to prepare a well-balanced meal.
Vitamins to fill gaps
To fill in the gaps, experts recommend supplements. Another issue is that a lot of our foods nowadays are grown on nutrient depleted soil, and the animals that are fed these foods are nutrient deficient as well. So, consuming these foods doesn’t guarantee that you are getting the nutrients you expect. A solution to this problem is to exclusively consume foods that are organic and come from sustainable farms.
Even if you are able to sustain a diet of only organic foods — not all organic foods are ideal. Some organic foods come from large industrial farms where soil quality is not a priority.
What about naysayers?
One fear of those against supplements is that their children may get too much of certain vitamins. While vitamin toxicity is possible, it is rare. To avoid overdosing, find a multivitamin that provides no more than 50 per cent of the adult RDA for major vitamins and minerals. Once a child reaches age 12, a full adult dosage is ok (always check with your health care professional, especially if your child has a unique health issue). Another way to avoid accidental overdose is to keep vitamins out of reach of your children.
Check the quality
When choosing a vitamin for your child, be aware that a lot of the products on the market are of poor quality. If you’re going to supplement, do your homework. Find a high-quality vitamin that is not synthetic, but rather sourced from whole foods. These can be a bit more expensive due to the cost of using proper ingredients, mixing them, and packaging them in an ideal way, but it is essential to use high-quality vitamins. This is not the place to skimp.
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