The Top 6 Vitamins and Minerals Kids Get in Children’s Multivitamins

Running down the alphabetized list of essential vitamins and minerals that can be found in childrens multivitamins, these are the most important for keeping kids healthy and growing:

Vitamin A
This ubiquitous vitamin found in nearly all children’s multivitamins helps support growth and development. It’s also essential for tissue and bone repair, healthy skin, eyes, and the immune system. Vitamin A can be found in milk, cheese, eggs, and yellow to orange vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash.

Vitamin Bs
The B vitamin family includes B2, B3, B6, and B12. These vitamins help support metabolism, the circulatory and nervous systems, and energy production. Sources of vitamin B include lean meat, fish, nuts, eggs, dairy products, beans, and soybeans.

Vitamin C
A key ingredient of nearly every formula of childrens multivitamins on the market, vitamin C is a necessary vitamin for supporting the immune system, as well as in promoting healthy muscles, connective tissue, and skin. Sources include citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, and green cruciferous vegetables.

Calcium
Necessary to build healthy bones, calcium can be found in milk, cheese, yogurt, tofu, leafy green vegetables, and calcium-fortified juices.

Iron
This mineral helps to build healthy red blood cells, as well as muscles. Sources include red meat, turkey, spinach, beans, and prunes.

All of these nutrients are essential to a child’s healthy development and can be found in children’s multivitamins. A natural formula that contains the daily requirement of these vitamins and minerals can help ensure your child is obtaining the nutrition they need to support their growth.

Could Children’s Multivitamins Improve Your Child’s Grades This School Year?

Did you spend the last school year struggling with your child to improve their grades? Yes, school issues can be incredibly challenging for everyone in the family. It’s important to look at all of the factors that could be affecting your child’s school performance. From poor study habits and lack of sleep to learning disabilities and behavior disorders, many issues could be playing a part in the problem. Your child’s eating habits should also be carefully evaluated as balanced nutrition is so important to childhood development. In some cases, making dietary changes and beginning a regimen of children’s vitamins can help improve your child’s success in school.

In a recent study published in the Journal of School Health, eating healthy along with other health habits was linked to improved test scores in children. This makes sense when you consider that everything from brain and muscle development to vision are all dependent on obtaining sufficient nutrients.

Of course, it’s always better to obtain the recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals through well-balanced meals. However, this can be a big challenge for children who are picky eaters, extremely active, or who have food allergies and intolerances. In these situations, children’s multivitamins can provide that nutritional boost to ensure your child is obtaining enough of the nutrients they need to support their health during these important years.

Choosing the Right Childrens Vitamins
There are many choices when it comes to children’s vitamins. Those that are the most beneficial to children are those that are specifically formulated for their growing bodies. Natural, sugar-free supplements that contain a full range of vitamins and minerals, as well as lutein for eye protection and vitamin k2 for immune health can be particularly beneficial to children struggling in school.

Getting B6 from Multivitamins for Treating Symptoms of ADHD

An increasing amount of research is indicating that symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be treated with getting adequate amounts of vitamin B6 – commonly found in kids multivitamins.

What Is ADHD?
ADHD is a developmental disorder that is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. It is estimated that eight to 12 percent of school-aged children have the disorder. In most cases, symptoms show up before the age of seven and can lead to problems in school and in social settings. Approximately one to two thirds of the children who are diagnosed with ADHD will continue to have problems in adulthood.

Symptoms of ADHD
The symptoms vary between boys and girls and from individual to individual. But, some of the most common symptoms include:
• Failure to pay attention to details
• Difficulty sustaining attention
• Difficulty listening to someone when spoken to
• Difficulty organizing tasks and activities
• Loses things needed for tasks or activities
• Easily distracted
• Forgetful
• Fidgeting
• Difficulty remaining seated
• Interrupts or intrudes on others

Risk Factors and Causes of ADHD
Heredity is a primary factor of ADHD with most children with the condition having at least one first-degree relative who also has the disorder. Boys are four to nine times more likely to have ADHD.

From brain scans, there appears to be differences in the brains of children with ADHD – particularly in their prefrontal cortex that works as the command center of the brain. This part of the brain affects the ability to control impulses and hyperactive behaviors.

Maternal and childhood exposure to toxins may also play a part in the development of ADHD, as well as pre-term birth.

Treating ADHD
There are a variety of stimulant medications that are prescribed to treat ADHD. These boost the amount of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. Diet also plays a part in treating ADHD. Vitamin B6, as well as magnesium, and zinc commonly found in childrens multivitamins are typically recommended.
When choosing a diet, most medical experts recommend that children with ADHD are given kids multivitamins that contain no sugar and no artificial flavors as these can exasperate the symptoms of the disorder.

Nature’s Plus has a line of kids vitamins that are particularly beneficial for children with ADHD because they contain a balanced formula of vitamins and minerals as well as no sugar or artificial colors.