
Vitamins play an important role for the development of infants and children, especially children aged 0−12. Vitamins help ensure stable and balanced development in the early years of children.
What are vitamins?
Vitamins are a group of microbiological molecules with different chemical composition with different chemical and physical properties, but the same thing is that they are essential for living activities, especially for growth. of children.
Vitamins are divided into two main groups:
Water-soluble vitamins: Vitamins B and C.
Vitamins that are insoluble in water include A, D, E, K, and F (but they are oil soluble).
The role of vitamins in children's development
Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K play an important role in converting nutrients into energy for the body and increasing resistance in children.
Vitamin A: good for eyesight, reduces the risk of eye diseases, especially night blindness. In addition, vitamin A is essential for the development of bones and reproductive organs.
Vitamin B: helps to create enzymes important in enhancing the body's ability to metabolize sugars, fats, and proteins. In addition, vitamin B1 also stimulates appetite in children.
Vitamin C: helps develop and maintain bones, teeth, gums, ligaments, blood vessels, increases the ability to prevent infection, reduces harmful substances to the body and toxins produced by the body. It also helps prevent anemia.
Vitamin D: helps regulate and metabolize calcium in the body, helping to strengthen healthy teeth.
Vitamin E: helps the body fight oxidation, beautifies the skin, protects cell membranes and increases resistance, helps to remove toxins from the body.
Vitamin K: helps ensure blood clotting. In addition, vitamin K can also work with calcium to help strengthen bones.
Vitamins are involved in the body's metabolism, including enzymes, synthesis, use and metabolism of nutrients in cells and the body. Adequate supplementation of vitamins in general and B vitamins in particular will ensure stable and balanced development in the early years of children.
When need vitamin supplements for babies?
Vitamins are found in many of the foods you eat every day, so you should include green vegetables, fruits and fruits in your baby's diet. However, it is difficult for the baby's body to get necessary micronutrients because the quality of food decreases due to the cultivation process (pesticides, weight gainers, fertilizers ...), packaging, transportation, preservation prolonged or too much washing or through frying and stir-frying significantly reduces the vitamin content. For malnourished and slow-growing children, vitamin supplementation is essential.
For obese children on the diet, the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K will be poor because they are fat-soluble vitamins.
Why should children supplement vitamins?
Often, children are rarely deficient in just one vitamin, often with multiple deficiencies. That is why parents should supplement vitamins for babies, especially from the period of birth to 12 years old - the golden period for physical and mental development. If the child is not getting the necessary vitamins during this time, it will be more difficult to provide the nutrition afterwards.
Natural sources of vitamins are very rich and easy to find. However, in a picky child, you should add multivitamins and supplements that contain lysine. These substances help your baby eat better, prevent dehydration and speed recovery by providing enough nutrients to improve the immune system .