The most important vitamins for the start of the school

Junior supplements must meet 5 main requirements:

• Act as an immune booster for children! During the start of school, as we cram lots of children into small classrooms, the risk of infection increases dramatically.
• Include vitamins to help concetration and stimulate the brain!
• Do not overdose! A healthy adult doesn’t need a horse dose of vitamins and a child certainly doesn’t.
• Be free of artificial and/or potentially harmful carriers and additives!
• Taste factor! The child should be willing to use it, which is why multivitamin gummies/chewable are good.

Before we recommend supplements for children, let’s be clear about when a child needs a supplement! What are the expert opinions on supplementation for children?

DO CHILDREN NEED SUPPLEMENTATION?

First, let’s look at some interesting figures on vitamin use. According ot the CRN (Council of Responsible Nutrition) consumer survey:

• 75 percent of American adults take supplements.¹
• And 33% of children ages 0-19 use supplements.² Certainly, as age increases, so does the percentage of users.

And these numbers are increasing every year, but are they justified? Do so many children really need to be using supplements/vitamins? Let’s find out!

The most common reasons why adults give supplements to children^5,6:

• to improve general health and well-being
• anxiety
• relieve stomach upset
• improving sports performance
• to prevent illness
• treat illnesses
• for weight loss

We can immediately rule out one of these: the treatment of diseases. In fact, the U.S. Foods and Drug Administration (FDA) wants that dietary supplements are not intended (and cannot advertise themselves as such) to treat, diagnose, cure or alleviate disease.⁴ Supplements can improve certain conditions, but the extent of these improvements depends on the individual and can never replace medical treatment. Therefore, dietary supplements alone cannot be relied upon to properly care for (cure) a child.

Weight loss can also be ruled out. Do not give your child any stimultants, most of these fat burners are thermogenic – that is, they increase your body’s heat loss, or metabolism, because of the high caffeine content. A child does not need a non-stimultant (no caffeine) fat burner either! What a full-bodied kid really needs is: exercise, exercise, exercise and a well-rounded diet.

Looking at some numbers: according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), most children in the United States are not meeting the daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables.³ This alone can provide a basis for the use of multivitamin supplements, but let’s move on to the reviews!

Having discussed all of this, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: what do the experts say about children’s supplementations?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children who are well-nourished and follow a normal, balanced diet to not require any supplementation above the recommended dietary intake.⁷ However, the AAP believers it is important to highlight that many children do not get enough iron and/or calcium from their diets on their own.⁸ In addition to iron and calcium supplementation, the AAP recommends that children receive some form of vitamin D supplementation if they do not consume at least 1 litre of vitamin D-fortified milk per day.⁸

So the fact is that many children are picky. Kids who are unlikely to eat their daily recommended intake of fruit and vegetables may need a more comprehensive multivitamin supplement – and not necessarily iron and calcium (more on this later).⁶ Nutrient deficiences in children can lead to a number of complications, such as^9,10:

• stunted growth
• cognitive delay,
• weakened immune system,
• and increased risk of disease.

In addition, supplementation may also be necessary in well-nourished children: for certain dietary restrictions or diseases. For example, vegetarian or vegan children may need vitamin B12, as B12 is only found in foods and products of animal origin. Children with coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease or other chronic health conditions (such as severe allergies) may also need supplementation. Supplementation for condition-specific deficiences is outside the scope of this article. Our focus is now on the start of the school!

WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT FACTORS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN CHILDREN’S SUPPLEMENTATION?

„Natural” does not necessarily mean „safe”. We need to make sure that the food supplement given to your child does not contain excessive amounts of any one vitamin or mineral. This means that the RDA for each component is between 100%. This is important because some vitamins, such as vitamins A, C or D, can cause toxic symptoms in children (and adults) at high doses.⁷

We must also take care to hide food supplements from children. It is reported that around 4500 children are admitted to emergency departments every year because of dietary supplements. Most of these are because they have taken the supplement without supervision.^4,5

WHAT EXACTLY IS NEEDED?

Vitamin360’s top recommendation would be Natur Tanya Junior Multivitamin Powder. Why?

1. The form of vitamin B9 in the supplement, which is crucial for the development of the nervous system, is important.¹³ And glucosamine folate salt is also particularly useful for people who have a genetic metabolic disease that causes difficulties in the metabolism of folic acid. Up to 40% of the population may be affected without a diagnosis.¹³
2. It does not contain excessive amounts. This is particularly important for children, as we have seen earlier. More is not always better, not even in vitamins! Don’t include lots of extra ingredients – just the ones that are actually needed so that they can be used safely in the long term.
3. Be free of sugar, preservatives and colouring. Also, do not contain artificial and/or potentially harmful carriers and additives!
4. It should have a taste and texture that the child can drink (yes, this is also very important in a multivitamin supplement for children).

The Natur Tanya Junior Multivitamin meets all the requirements. The powdered form allows easy dosing (depensing on the age of the child). The drink powder with added water will be a delight for picky children.

It is important to note that the product contains iron and calcium. There is a growing body of research highlighting the harmful effects of excessive iron intake.^14-17 In the case of anaemia, iron supplementation is fully justified, but if the child’s blood count shows no signs of iron deficiency, an iron-free supplement would be more appropriate.

So, if he has no iron deficiency and his calcium levels are adequate, ChildLife Children’s Multi Vitamin & Mineral Vitamin Syrup is the right choice! It contains no iron and just enough calcium. It is free of harmful additives and does not overdose. It is a well-balanced supplement, with the only drawback of containing vitamin B9 in the form of folic acid. A growing number of studies confirm that there are genetic variations that prevent the proper conversion of folic acid. This is known as MTHFR mutation (the test can be carried out by private laboratories in the country). We at Vitamin360, would definitely recommend testing your child, because in such cases a simple folic acid supplement will not be appropriate. Supplements containing methylfolate, on the other hand, bypass the MTHFR enzyme, resulting in elevated folate levels.

If the child has a mutation in the MTHFR gene and no iron deficinecy. In this case, look for a supplement that is iron-free but contains methylfolate. Here we have Life Extension Children’s Formula Life Extension Mix chewable tablets that kids will enjoy because of the taste.

We get the iron, if there’s a lot of it we don’t need it yet, but calcium? A calcium deficiency can often indicate a vitamin D deficiency¹⁸, meaning your child may be taking in enough calcium from their diet but it’s just not being utilized due to malabsorption. In this case, it is sufficient to supplement with vitamins A, D3, K2 and magnesium instead of calcium^19-21. Of course, there are cases where a person cannot get enough calcium due to allergies (e.g. milk protein allergy) or individual preferences. In these cases, calcium supplementation will be necessary.

Foods rich in calcium (if the child eats a lot of this and is still calcium deficient, it may be an indicator that he or she is deficient in other nutrients). By way of comparison, the recommended daily intake of calcium for children is: children aged 1-3 years: 700 mg/day, children aged 4-8 years: 1000 mg/day, children aged 9-13 years: 1300 mg/day.

1. Sesame seeds (roasted) – about 975 mg/100 g
2. Cheese (e.g. parmesan) – approx. 1100 mg/100 g
3. Salmon (dry heat-treated) – about 275 mg/100 g
4. Tofu (strached) – approx. 350 mg/100 g
5. Dairy products – about 200 mg/100 g
6. Peanut butter – about 98 mg/100 g
7. Peanuts – about 140 mg/100 g
8. Almonds – about 250 mg/100 g
9. Spinach (cooked) – about 136 mg/100 g
10. Kale (cooked) – about 150 mg/100 g
11. Broccoli (cooked) – about 47 mg/100 g

WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU TAKE WITH A MULTIVITAMIN?

Taking an Omega-3 (fish oil) supplement can be beneficial for children, particularly for its cognitive and behavioural benefits. According to a 2013 study¹¹: Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can improve attention disorder and concentration in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, DHA (which is the main active ingredient in fish oil along with EPA) plays an important role in brain development and function, especially in the first two years of life when the brain is growing rapidly¹². Moreover, a number of other studies confirm the neurodevelopmental properties of Omega-3s^22-25.

The use of Omega-3 is also considered safe for children^21-22.

By the way: fish fat contains a wide variety of fatty acids, of which two Omega-3 fats are most commonly found in the literature: EPA and DHA. So Omega-3 is also a collective name (some of the fatty acids belong here, e.g. EPA and DHA). And DHA is particularly important for brain development^26-29.

Nordic Naturals Children’s DHA Xtra – Omega-3 DHA for children. It is specially formulated with high levels of DHA to enhance its effect on brain development.

The Vitamin360 team wishes you good luck and great perseverance for the start of the school!