Should Children take Vitamin Supplements?

One third of US children take a daily multi-vitamin, but does the science really show this to be a good thing? I am often asked about this topic and so I looked into the most recent research. Unsurprisingly, the results are conflicting (what’s new…?!) but there are some points worth noting.

First of all, I should make clear that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend supplements for children, unless they have specific digestive problems or diseases, or are dramatically underweight. One of the negatives associated with taking supplements at such a young age is that it can put pressure on young livers (our liver acts as a filter and vitamin supplements can stress it, especially the fat-soluble vitamins A & D). This can, at the extreme, cause liver abnormalities. In addition, potential overdose is highly toxic, and since children’s vitamins today look and taste very much like candy, this issue is more prevalent than you would think (yikes) … and one more point on that – the ‘candy’ look-alike is far from sugar-free, so many pediatricians see these vitamins as another avenue for a sugar-injection into the nation’s children – and more sugar is just what we don’t need. It is also worth noting that even these harmless-looking candy-‘cousins’ can interact with medications, and this can in turn, be very dangerous.

So, why is there a multi-billion dollar market surrounding these supplements? The main answer is good advertising which feeds into the fact that many parents see them as an ‘insurance’ option for their children’s health. In truth, as long as your children are eating healthily and have a varied diet, this ‘insurance’ appears to be completely unnecessary.

The one occasion where vitamin supplementation does seem warranted for the healthy child is in the case of vitamin D. A nationwide study looked at 6,000 US children between the ages of 1-21 years old and found an unexpectedly high level of vitamin D deficiency. This is attributed to high use of sunscreens, less ‘playtime’ outside and the more sedentary lifestyle our children have adopted (think TV, video & computer games). The results were so overwhelming that the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends infants, children and teens to take 400 IU of vitamin D/day. Fish and fortified milk (including formula) and cereal are good food sources of this vitamin but our main source is sunlight, so if you live in an area which gets a good dose of sun, I would argue that letting your children spend 10 minutes outside without sunscreen, each day, would mean you didn’t need to worry about supplementation.

And finally – it was interesting to me to see that a study in 2009 showed that the children who are taking supplements are those who don’t need to take them! The children who are taking multi-vitamins are those who are healthy, have an active lifestyle, with access to good food and health care. This plays directly into Michael Pollen’s latest book ‘Food Rules’, in which rule #40 instructs you be the kind of person who takes supplements, and then to skip the supplement! While Michael Pollen isn’t addressing children directly, it makes sense that parents who are mindful of their own health (and who believe supplements play a part in this), will extend this behavior to their children. Apparently the supplement part isn’t integral to their healthy status!

So – to those of you whose children play outside and eat healthy, varied meals, think twice before you pop that sugar-coated gummy-'vitamin' into their mouth. However, if you live in a northern hemisphere or you have a child who is not healthy … or even a particularly picky eater, it might be worth thinking about a vitamin supplement. Just make sure you read the ingredients and make sure they are a true vitamin, and not colored sugar dressed up as a healthy hoax!

Personally, I’m all about some time in the sand box, and colorful dinners. Keep it simple. And natural. Plenty of time for pills later in life, right?!