The 3 Nutrients That Must Be Present in the Diet of Children

There are a series of nutrients that are especially important in the diet of children, due to their involvement in development. Find out what they are.

Ensuring a good nutritional intake is key to achieving optimal development during childhood. With this objective, you need to consider a varied diet, which includes the nutrients that must be present in the diet of children.

It’s important to bear in mind that a nutritional deficit ends up producing chronic and complex diseases in the medium and long term. Many people aren’t aware of it and consume repetitive, monotonous, and low-quality diets, which don’t meet the basic requirements.

What nutrients must be present in the diet of children?

Next, we are going to show you some essential nutrients for children. If for some reason these aren’t ingested through the diet, it may be necessary to resort to supplementation. Take note!

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is one of the nutrients capable of modulating the inflammatory states of the body. Therefore, keeping this element in the appropriate ranges significantly reduces the risk of developing chronic illnesses, according to evidence from a study published in Reviews in Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders.

To ensure the continued supply of the nutrient, there’s nothing better than exposure to sunlight every day. Through radiation, the sun stimulates the endogenous synthesis of this vitamin in the skin and this source is much more usable than that which comes from the diet.

Even so, it’s essential that you guarantee the regular consumption of oily fish, eggs, and dairy products, which concentrate this nutrient inside.

In case of a deficit, it may be necessary to resort to supplementation to avoid greater evils.

Vitamin C

Children’s immune systems aren’t always at their optimum level of maturity and this can make them more prone to attack by various microbes. For this reason, it’s key that you increase the intake of vitamin C in the diet in order to strengthen the body’s defenses.

According to research published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, an adequate intake of vitamin C significantly reduces the risk of infectious diseases. It also reduces the severity of symptoms and the duration of infections.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a nutrient involved in the synthesis of collagen, one of the most abundant proteins in the body. This is part of almost all the tissues of the body, so it’s essential to ensure optimal production to ensure muscle growth.

On the other hand, this nutrient is a determining factor for wound healing. It should be taken into account that children suffer frequent falls and blows and stimulating the endogenous synthesis of collagen contributes to the rapid recovery from injuries.

In addition, adequate intake of vitamin A reduces the risk of degenerative visual problems in the medium term. In today’s environment, full of blue light screens, it’s essential to ensure that our eyesight works optimally.

Ensure the contribution of nutrients in the diet of children

As you’ve seen, there are a number of nutrients that must be present in children’s diets. Maintaining adequate levels in the body favors the optimal growth and development of the little ones. However, they’re not the only important ones.

It’s crucial that we instill in little ones the need to establish good habits of life, besides just a healthy diet. This means that they need to practice physical exercise frequently and get a good night’s rest as well.