Whilst children have become the focus of vitamins and supplements, the word on the medical street is that there is very little need to. Medical professionals are standing their ground, saying that if the child is adequately nourished, then vitamins and supplements are simply a waste of money.
“Most children, the vast majority, the overwhelming majority, get all the vitamins and minerals they need from a healthy diet,” says Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton, according to Australian News.
“Very few children will ever need vitamins,” he continued, “and if they do you want to be in consultation with a dietitian or your GP.”
Research has suggested that for most part, children taking vitamins and minerals are also those who have a fulfilling diet. Parents who are giving their children these supplements are doing it as a form of “insurance” as a way of securing their child’s health.
“In the case of children, it’s particularly important for parents to provide a healthy selection of foods rather than give a multivitamin to cover up for possible nutritional shortfalls,” consumer group Choice reported.
Forget what you see on TV, magazines or otherwise – your child trusts your judgement, no matter what. The methods you use to raise them will be passed on, as their children’s will. Supplements are not the ultimate way to have a healthy body, when diet and exercise matter more. The natural issues of growth cannot be resolved by sugar-covered pills alone. The only benefits will be those that fill company pockets.
In the view of dieticians, they believe that parents are spending more money on vitamins than on good food. The extra “oomph” that comes from multivitamins may be unnecessary due to the substantial amounts that are found in food, let alone the body’s capacity to be healthy through exercise.
“It’s just the supplement companies just differentiating their market,” Dietician Trent Watson says. “You’re far better off getting those vitamins from food. Spend a bit more money on good food rather than vitamins”.
“Good food is the stuff with the right combination of vitamins and minerals for our children to thrive. It goes way back to what’s on the shopping list.”
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