Yes, your kid needs vitamins! To grow, to learn, to play, to think, to see, to heal, even to throw a ball; your kid needs these miniature packs of energy called vitamins!
The best way to load up on multivitamins and vitamins are by nature’s bounty itself. Supplementary drugs may not prove to be the right choice for your child since they can have side effects and various other chemicals that are unwanted for your child’s health. And really, if we look at it this way, fruits cost way less than your monthly subscriptions for drugs. It only seems fair and wise to opt for natural resources rather than man-made ones.
Now that the point’s been made (choose natural resources over supplements and drugs), here’s what you need to know about vitamins! For a Healthy diet, one needs to take in a relatively smart choice of vitamins, the following chart is given for your help!
Vitamin A – Imagine yourself without the sense of sight? Horrible, Disastrous! Impossible, right? Well- if you can’t imagine that- it’s better to take care of your sight. It is possible that if one has a deficiency of Vitamin A, they could suffer from what is known as Daylight Blindness; a condition where one might find themselves at a loss for vision when entering a dark room after being in direct daylight. This deficiency can be easily reduced from incorporating the following essentials in your diet!
Carrots, milk, kale, spinach and sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamin A.
You can make a spinach and banana smoothie, or bake some sweet potatoes, or use kale as a regular herb in your home cooked dishes! These minor adjustments would really boost up your child’s metabolism and also ensure his daily dose of Vitamin A.
Vitamin B – one of the best vitamins for kids, it gives all the necessary protein your child requires for adequate physical and mental growth. Vitamin B is also essential to maintain the normal hemoglobin level of your kid’s body. Deficiency of vitamin B would result in retarded growth and stunting. This disease is very common in Pakistan.
Vitamin B is rich in green leafy vegetables, meat, eggs, seafood, milk, and yogurt. Starting off your child’s day with a nutrient packed breakfast, containing boiled eggs and yogurt, can really promise your child’s growth. It is the best way to jumpstart your child’s cognitive skills and make sure that your child stays active throughout the day!
Vitamin C – Vitamin C is required for healing of a wound or cut your kid gets while playing. It provides your kid with the immunity to fight off infections. The deficiency would result in poor wound healing. The chief source of vitamin C is citrus fruits, strawberries, cabbage, and tomatoes. Vitamin C is known to be enriched with antioxidants; nutrients that your body needs to fight off free radicals that harm your body in more ways than one. So along with food and nutrition, you get an immunity booster that will help your child build a strong body defense.
And speaking of fruits; who doesn’t like a bit of sugar? And that too from a healthy source! Chop up a really great fruit salad, or make fruit iced lollipops in order to keep your child interesting in sticking to cleaner diets! Because even the best multivitamins won’t get you the nutrition that you’ll get from natural sources.
Vitamin D – This vitamin is important to absorb the calcium you have given your child and deposit that calcium to the bones. Deficiency of vitamin D causes weakness of bones. This deficiency of Vitamin D causes a disease known as rickets; a bone-softening disease that continues to prevail in America. Not just calcium, but phosphorus retention also takes place through sufficient levels of Vitamin D in the body. Healthy sources of calcium include milk, yogurt and other dairy products. Extreme Vitamin D deficiency may also lead to muscle weakness, bones susceptible to fracture, aches and pains etc. It is thus, one of the best children’s vitamins.
Sources of vitamin D are sunlight, cod liver oil, fish, milk, egg yolk, and cereal. And as we’ve already discussed! Most of these vitamins can be incorporated in your child’s lunches and breakfasts.
Vitamin E – E is the most diligent vitamin of all. It is necessary for the normal functioning of every single tissue of your kid’s body. Vitamin E is also vital for the stability of your kid’s hemoglobin level. Deficiency of vitamin E results in neurologic disorders. The main sources of vitamin E are oats, vegetable, eggs, nuts and vegetable oils.
Vitamin K – Vitamin K clots the blood when a cut bleeds. Its deficiency causes excess bleeding even from a little cut. The chief sources of vitamin K are dairy products and leafy vegetables.
It is important to understand that most of the vitamin benefits are shared within the ingredients mentioned above! For example, a simple egg can provide calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B! Store- bought goods and lunches can often lead to an impaired development of your child and can result in childhood obesity.
Below are mentioned some of the daily healthy food courses that you can choose from. These are healthy and fun to make. These will make sure that your child prefers home cooked food and that your child gets all the essential nutrients.
Meals Enriched with Vitamins
- Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is a kids’ favorite. It is loaded with tons of iron, calcium and vitamin A. it is very nutritious for your kid.
- Pasta
Refined wheat pasta is not as healthy as whole wheat pasta. Served with marinara sauce, your child will get vitamin C, A and K.
- Fruits
Fruits should be your child’s all time snack. Keep them at an east-to-excess place such as the dining table or the freezer bag. Avoid tinned fruits, go for fresh ones. Create variety, for example, if you give your kid vitamin C today through oranges, shift to vitamin A the next day through apples. Remember! The extra chocolates and sugars that the child craves for is not a need but a want. All the sugars that a child can ever crave for are present in fruits!
- Yogurt
A house with children should always have yogurt on the dinner table. Yogurt does its charm for children who do not like milk much.
- Meat
Along with veggies, meat is also very important for your growing child. Meats provide your child with proteins necessary for muscle mass.
- Breakfast
Nutritionists have been implying upon the necessity of breakfast since ages. What I wish to highlight here that your kid needs a variety in his breakfast. In order to supply him with all vitamins alternate between eggs, oats, cereal, beans, juices while milk should be a must. On top of that, breakfasts are the most important meal of the day! One cannot ensure a good day without the help of a good bowl of cereal, or a bountiful bowl of oatmeal!
It is important to also note that there needs to be a balance in the child’s diet. Excessive intake of vitamins can also be bad for the child’s health. In order to prevent that, our aim in this article was to provide a basic chart for you to follow in order to make sure that your child gets a suitable dose of vitamins in his/her diet. It is also to make sure that your child eats healthy and in turn develops into a healthy child!
