Vitamin deficiency is a condition known as Avitaminosis. It is the condition of a long-term lack of a vitamin in an individual. Vitamins are essential nutrients that the body needs in small amounts to sustain life. Vitamins are also known to be one of the building blocks and support system of the body, which a healthy and well-rounded diet can easily provide for us. However, because of children’s finicky eating habits or our busy lifestyles, vitamin intake is compromised in them. Vitamin deficiency in children can lead to potential ailments and health conditions.
Some symptoms of vitamin deficiency in children are:
Vitamin A: When vitamin A is deficient, it can result to night blindness and eyesight related issues.
Vitamin B: Vitamin B deficiency in infant delays development, result to movement disorders, anaemia, and or nerve damage.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C deficiency causes bleeding gums, easy bruising, reduced wound healing rate, decreased ability to fight infections, anaemia, dry and splitting hair, rough and scaly skin, nosebleeds, weakened tooth enamels or painful and swollen joints.
Vitamin D: When vitamin D is deficient in a child it may result to muscle spasms, seizures, respiratory problems, soft skull or bones, rickets, poor growth (height), teeth formation, weakness of the heart muscles.
Vitamin E: Deficiency in Vitamin E may result to chronic cholestatic hepatobiliary (liver disease), muscle weakness, Ptosis (drooping eyelid), dysarthria (motor speech disorder), ophthalmoplegia, loss of position and vibration senses, truncal and limb ataxia, or spinocerebellar ataxia (gross lack of muscle movement coordination).
Children are supposed to receive their daily intake of vitamins if they are able to eat a balanced and healthy diet which should include milk and other dairy products like yoghurt and cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables (especially the leafy kinds), proteins such as chicken, fish, eggs and meat, and whole-grains that include brown rice and oatmeal. Some children need vitamin supplements (EVERGREEN KIDZ) maybe because of the busy lifestyles of their parents, home cooked meals might not be possible every day or because kids can be picky eaters, who just don’t eat enough.
