Your Child's Nutrition - School Age Children Commonly Have Multiple Nutrient Deficiencies

Most parents know how difficult it can be to get their children to eat healthily, and yet it's so vital that they do.
Research has shown that most school children are deficient in at least one vitamin or mineral, and many have multiple deficiencies. Most preschool children do not meet the RNI (Recommended Nutritional Intake) for zinc.
Many of us watched with interest as Jamie Oliver did his best to introduce healthy foods to school children. One of the problems he encountered was that when children (and adults of course) are deficient in zinc, they have low-functioning taste buds and very little sense of taste or smell, so they want strong-tasting foods, i.e. strong tasting junk food. Healthy food doesn't taste 'nice' enough.
It takes a while to get children to change their tastebuds.
Not until their zinc levels are adequate will they be able to taste the more subtle flavours and start to enjoy them.
Another mineral that is commonly deficient in children is iron. A 1995 survey showed that among children aged 18 months to 2 ½ years:
One child in eight was anaemic
Almost one in three had low iron stores
Four out of five preschool children did not meet their RNI for iron
Calcium is also often deficient. If a child is allergic to dairy produce, which is fairly common, then it would be sensible to give a calcium (with added magnesium) supplement. I recommend buying a good brand such as BioCare, Lamberts or Solgar for example, as many cheaper brands may offer poor quality minerals which are badly absorbed, and may even do more harm than good as the non-absorbed or utilised minerals have to be disposed of by the body.
Vitamins A, C and D are commonly deficient in school children. Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables and is particularly needed for the immune system. Vitamin A is found in meat and fish and orange coloured fruits and vegetables (carotenes). Vitamin D is found in dairy produce and fish, and mid-day sun exposure.
In most cases it's a good idea to give a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplement as an insurance policy, but always check with a nutritionally aware medical practitioner first.
This article was written by Sonja VanderDol, Nutritional Therapist and founder of http://www.health4youonline.com where you can find many more articles like this. You can also sign up for the free newsletters.
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