What is in your Child’s multivitamin
Before we start talking about multivitamins, it is important to note that priority should be given to obtaining our nutrients from organic food sources. Nature has foods that have a great balance and variety of nutrients on offer, it’s up to us to consume that diversity!
And that’s where the trouble lies. Many of our children are on very limited diets. There are many food groups or colors from the food rainbow that are skipped! To make things worse, food marketing directed at children mostly have no ‘REAL’ foods in them, leading to the nutrient depletion of our children.
Top that with nutrient depletion of our soil that bears fruits and vegetables that are also nutrient poor, we have a problem!! The increase in chronic illnesses, neurodevelopmental conditions and immune dysregulation are signs of that problem.
To ensure that we bridge that gap of our children’s nutrient requirements, most parents and practitioners suggest the use of multivitamins.
While multivitamins are great, they serve children that are consume a somewhat balanced diet. It helps plug in the holes that can be left out.
For excessively picky eater, vegans and vegetarians or other health concern, I recommend working with a trained professional to figure out what supplements to give them (contact me if you would like to work on this).
It is important to keep in view that some people have specific nutritional needs that can be assessed through genetic and nutrigenomic testing (provided by my practice). These include people with the MTHFR SNYP. For them, more tailored supplementation is necessary.
I highly recommend checking with your doctor, nutritionist or certified health coach first before buying a supplement online. BEWARE of look-a-like products that are sold on Amazon or other independent online retailers.
What is in your multivitamin
Multivitamins are not the place to cheap out and save money! IF there are cheaper alternatives on the market, there is a high chance that they have cut costs somewhere to compromise on quality.
Children have such delicate, developing neurological systems that it is imperative that if you are giving them vitamins, they must be high quality.
Make sure to read the ingredient label of a multivitamin before buying.
Watch out for sugar, fillers and flavors. Confirm that the label claims are being met.
Pay attention to the serving size. The vitamins that have inadequate proportions of each vitamin will have smaller portion sizes. Powder forms can hold adequate amounts of vitamins with an added bonus of no added sugars or fillers.
Beware of synthetic vitamins. Some vitamins are better absorbed, some are better utilized and some are the equivalent of flushing the vitamin straight into the toilet. Most supplements have folic acid which is a synthetic form of Folate. Folic acid needs to be converted to an active form and then absorbed by the body. For those that struggle to make this conversion have a buildup of folic acid that is related to neurological injury.
Heavy Metal Testing. Before selecting a vitamin, make sure to check on the manufacturer's website to make sure it has been tested for heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury
Allergens. Make sure the label clearly states and has been tested for known allergens.
