VITAMINS AND MINERALS FOR BABIES AND KIDS

Children need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. Essentially, vitamins are organic compounds which can be altered or metabolized to release energy and act as antioxidants. Minerals, conversely, are inorganic and indestructible elements that play vital roles in the skeleton and are necessary for oxygen to be carried through the blood. Many of the vitamins and minerals a child’s body needs to stay healthy are easy enough to get through a balanced diet. It is very important to have a look at the diet and the nutrition that is being provided to the children and make the required changes. Growing children, especially those who don't eat a varied diet, sometimes don't get enough vitamins and minerals. The under mentioned Vitamins and Minerals for Babies and Children, if included in the diet of a baby or a child, can work wonders with respect to his or her health.

ESSENTIAL VITAMINS FOR BABIES AND CHILDREN

Vitamin D

All babies and young children aged six months to five years should take vitamin D because it helps in improving the health of a growing child. It promotes bone and tooth formation and helps the body absorb calcium. Vitamin D only occurs naturally in a few foods, such as oily fish and eggs. Vitamin D can be particularly difficult to get from diet alone hence the recommendation of supplements. Children and babies should be given a diet that consists of proper levels of vitamin D in order to ensure that the child gets the proper nutrients needed by the body. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with Rickets in children and can also be related to bone pain or tenderness in adults.

Good sources of Vitamin D include:

Oily fish such as salmon, sardines, pilchards, trout, kippers and eel – try to include in meals twice a week

Cod liver oil contains a lot of vitamin D (don’t take this if you are pregnant)

Eggs, meat and milk contain small amounts but this varies during the seasons

Margarine, some breakfast cereals, infant formula milk and some yoghurts have added or are ‘fortified’ with vitamin D

The best source of vitamin D is sunlight. Sun exposure is the easiest way for your body to get access to vitamin D3. Vitamin D is sometimes called the sunshine vitamin because your body produces a critical form of vitamin D -- vitamin D3 -- when your skin is exposed to sunlight.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is important for babies and young children, and they may not be getting enough. Vitamin A promotes normal growth and development; tissue and bone repair; maintains healthy skin, promotes good vision, especially in low light and strengthens their immune system.

Good sources of Vitamin A include:

There two different types of vitamin A, depending on the type of food source it comes from:

Preformed Vitamin A comes from animal sources, such as eggs, meat, fortified milk, cheese, cream, liver, kidney, cod liver oil, and halibut fish oil. However, all of these sources -- except for skim milk that has been fortified with Vitamin A -- are high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Pro-vitamin A is found in plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables. The most common type of pro-vitamin A is beta-carotene, which are converted to retinol by the body after the food is ingested. Bright yellow and orange fruits such as Cantaloupe, Pink Grapefruit, peaches, papaya mangoes and Apricots, Vegetables such as Carrots, Pumpkin, Sweet potatoes, Turnip greens, Beetroot Red pepper and Winter squash. Other sources of beta-carotene include most dark green leafy vegetables like Broccoli, Collard greens, Kale, Cilantro, lettuce, Swiss chard and Spinach are just a few of them.

Vitamin C

This vitamin is considered to be necessary for your child’s general health and their immune system. It can also help their body absorb iron. Vitamin C helps form and repair red blood cells, bones, and tissues. It helps your child's gums stay healthy. Not only this, vitamin C also strengthens your child's blood vessels, minimizing bruising from falls and scrapes. In addition, vitamin C helps to heal cuts and wounds very fast. It also boosts the immune system, and keeps infections at bay. Therefore it is important for children to take food that is rich in vitamin C content. Your child needs, Ages 1 to 3 years: 15 milligrams (mg) daily and Ages 4 to 8: 25 mg daily.

Good sources of Vitamin C include:

Fruits that are pack with vitamin C are: Cantaloupe, Plums, Black Currant, Kiwi, Orange, Melon, Berries, Banana, Avocado, Guava and Citrus Fruits. And vegetables are Tomatoes, Potatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Red and Green Bell Peppers, Cabbage, and Spinach. Sweet Red peppers have more than three times the vitamin C of Orange juice.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is required for to act as an anti-oxidant getting rid of free radicals in the body and protecting the cell membranes against free radical damage and at the same time it is also helpful in the repair of DNA and even in metabolic processes.

Good sources of vitamin C include:

Food sources of vitamin E, which may keep your child healthy, include Breast milk, raw Sunflower seeds, raw Almonds, Hazelnuts and other nuts and seeds are excellent sources of natural vitamin E. Other good sources are vegetable oils (soybean, corn, cottonseed, safflower), liver; egg yolks ,wheat germ oil, whole-grain products, legumes, Leafy green vegetables Swiss chard, spinach and other dark leafy greens, Sweet potatoes, Avocados, papaya, peaches, prunes, tomatoes, cabbage, asparagus and Blueberries.

Vitamin B Complex

The water-soluble Vitamin B is a group of eleven vitamins that work together as a team, all these B Vitamins that you get in a complex: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12, so when supplementing, be sure to take a B-complex to get the whole B spectrum. The family of B vitamins -- B2, B3, B6, and B12 -- aid metabolism, energy production, healthy circulatory and nervous systems.

Good sources of Vitamin B include:

Vitamin B complex can be found in many food groups which include green and leafy vegetables, dairy products, fresh fruits, and certain meats. Therefore, foods containing Vitamin B complex are brewer’s yeast, milk, whole grain cereals, liver, eggs, nuts, poultry, fish and yogurt, bananas, potatoes, beans, lentils, and chili peppers to name a few.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K helps blood to clot and prevents serious bleeding. Older children and adults get most of their vitamin K from bacteria in the gut, and some from their diet. Babies are born with very small amounts of vitamin K in their bodies. Breast milk does contain vitamin K but in too small an amount to provide protection. Due to low levels of vitamin K, babies are at risk of getting a rare bleeding disorder called VKDB (vitamin K deficiency bleeding) or HDN (haemorrhagic disease of the newborn). VKDB is serious and can cause brain damage or death. As a preventive measure, babies are routinely given vitamin K injections at birth. Therefore it is very important for parents to give their children a regular dosage of vitamin K content foods.

Good sources of Vitamin K include:

There are two main types of vitamin K:

K1, which is involved in photosynthesis, is produced by plants and algae, its highest concentrations found in green leafy vegetables. Primary dietary sources of K1 are leafy greens, such as parsley, Swiss chard, collards greens, watercress, Mustard Greens, Lettuce, Endive, Escarole and kale; and vegetables in the cabbage family; spinach, cabbage, turnip green, Brussels sprout, alfalfa, broccoli and cauliflower.

K2 is produced by bacteria and also via the conversion of K1 to K2 by beneficial bacteria in the intestines of animals, including humans. Natto (fermented soybeans) is the richest dietary source of vitamin K2. Dairy products (milk, butter, cottage cheese, cheese) Liver, olive and canola oils, green tea and egg yolk also provide small amounts.

ESSENTIAL MINERALS FOR BABIES AND CHILDREN

Calcium

Builds strong bones and teeth, promotes healthy nerve and muscle function, helps blood clot, and helps the body convert food into energy. In the blood calcium helps regulate the heartbeat, control blood pressure and send messages along nerves.

Good sources of Calcium include:

Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt – low-fat ones are best, and it doesn't matter if they come from cows or other animals, for example goats, skimmed and semi-skimmed milk contains more calcium than full-fat milk. Fortified products such as cereals, oats, orange juice, tofu and soya milk. Fish with the bones such as tinned sardines and salmon, Calcium also found in some nuts, seeds and dried fruits. Calcium is present in leafy green vegetables watercress, beans and chickpeas, some dark green leafy vegetables especially spinach, rhubarb, turnip and mustard greens, kale, Chinese cabbage, and broccoli.

Coral Calcium: Coral calcium is a natural source of Calcium obtained from sea corals. Coral calcium helps to increase bone mass and thereby helping your bones to grow in length. The younger you are, greater are the results of increasing bone mass through Coral calcium.

Iron

Iron is essential to carry oxygen in the blood. Iron builds muscle and is essential to healthy red blood cells. Babies are born with about six months’ supply of iron but have their iron supplies topped up through breast milk or iron-fortified baby formula. When solid food is introduced, it is suggested they eat iron-rich foods. Babies and toddlers need plenty of iron they grow so rapidly. Children and pre-menopausal women are most prone to iron deficiency anaemia.

Good sources of Iron include:

The iron that your body absorbs the best and is found in high amounts in red meat, In moderate amounts in prunes, apricots, blackstrap molasses, nutritional yeast, and wheat germ, Oily fish, for example sardines, Pulses, for example lentils and haricot beans, Dark green vegetables, spinach, kale and watercress. Leafy green vegetables, beans, shellfish, Eggs, poultry, soy foods, , whole grains, beans, turkey, egg yolks, clams, mussels, oysters, fortified bread and grain products.

By: Natural Fitness Tips