Kids Daily Supplement Essentials
Both parents and children are gearing up for back to school. As casual beach days are traded for school days, this transition may be met with a little stress.
Kids don’t always make the best choices when it comes to food. On top of that, families are juggling a lot of activities. The reality of busy schedules means healthy, balanced meals can sometimes take a back seat to snacking, frozen meals and take-out. Not to worry, we can still help kids meet their nutritional needs with supplements
To help ease the transition and support overall health and well-being, our Medical Education team has put together a list of their top picks for daily foundational supplements for kids.
Multivitamin
In an ideal world, a child would get all the vitamins and nutrients he needs from a wholesome, varied diet, loaded with a spectrum of vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, and legumes and whole unprocessed grains. Unfortunately, most kids don’t have such an accepting palette, and a helps fill in the nutrition gaps of any picky eater. According to the USDA, fewer than half of children consume the recommended number of servings in any food group, and most children would benefit from a multivitamin. Various studies published in the British Journal of Nutrition show that multivitamin and mineral supplements support brain function, healthy cognition and mood. We also know how important adequate B-vitamins are for cellular energy, mood, and even good sleep. While most children’s multis provide the bare nutrition essentials, we think they are worth adding to a child’s healthy diet for optimal support of health and development.*
Our team recommends:
Vitamin D
Even high-quality multivitamins rarely have the recommended amount of vitamin D. And these days pediatricians are likely to recommend a separate . 2011 recommendations by the Endocrine Society are 600-1000 IU (15-25 mcg) per day, and more recent recommendations by the Vitamin D Council are 1000 IU (25 mcg) per 25 lbs of body weight per day. Vitamin D helps to maintain adequate blood levels of calcium by increasing the level of absorption from food, which will help kids build strong bones and also plays a critical role in the immune system.
Additionally, Vitamin D supports muscle function, cardiovascular function, respiratory function, skin health, metabolism and brain development, including proper neurotransmitter function, which affects mood and cellular energy. Vitamin D regulates about 1000 genes in the body, making a child’s optimal physical, mental and emotional development heavily reliant on having adequate Vitamin D status.
It takes 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to the majority of the body at least 3 days a week (all year, every year) to generate adequate vitamin D. Because kids aren’t generally getting that much sun exposure, it’s important to supplement for optimal health when summer fun is over.*
Our team recommends:
Omega 3
Omega-3s are critical nutritional building blocks that support healthy brain development, skin health, immune function, and overall health in a variety of ways. Research suggests that adequate Omega 3s are required for proper neurotransmitter function, supporting psychological and behavioral health. Other studies have shown supplementation with Omega 3 may support memory. Kids’ brains work extra hard learning and remembering new things every day. In addition, the social environment can present many new emotional challenges. Ensuring adequate daily intake of Omega 3s is essential support for optimal cognitive, emotional, and immune health. People think liquid fish oil might taste fishy but it really doesn’t, in fact these new flavors make it a real treat. Most kids do accept liquid fish oils quite readily from the spoon. If not, the mild lemon or orange flavored products are easily hidden in applesauce and other foods.*
Our team recommends:
- Probiotics
Probiotics help improve both digestion and absorption of nutrients, helping kids get the most out of the food they do consume. Helping kids maintain a healthy microbiome will also help to support their overall health and immune system function too. Different products contain different strains of probiotic bacteria, so there is also a benefit to switching things up month to month to promote healthy gut bacteria diversity.*
Our team recommends:
- Chewable – Klaire Labs – KTCC
- – Genestra –
Elderberry
Elderberry has been shown to significantly support immune health. Elderberry is very special in some ways, but like other berries, the potent antioxidant effects are just good for everyone! Elderberry syrup is a sweet treat that kids will be eager to take on cereal, ice cream or off the spoon! We recommend elderberry syrup as a daily or frequent supplement.*
Our team recommends:
- – Wise Woman Herbals – ELD20
Starting a new school year is always a big change, but giving kids a nutritional advantage may have big benefits.