We all need nutrients to maintain the body’s functions and grow. We need water and carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. We need vitamins to help the body regulate metabolism, see the world around us, fight off infections and cancer, keep our teeth from falling out, and to stop us from bleeding to death.
Vitamins cannot be manufactured in sufficient amounts by the body, and must be taken in from the environment. While Vitamin D is manufactured by the body in response to sunlight exposure (fifteen minutes a week is all we need!), other vitamins occur naturally in many foods. Carrots are a good source of Vitamin A, and broccoli is a good source of folic acid. Vitamins are also available as commercial nutritional supplements, and we estimate that 25 to 50 percent of children in the United States are given a daily multivitamin.
While it may be convenient to give your child one multivitamin a day, eating whole foods such as fresh vegetables and fruit, dairy products, and whole grains is the healthiest way for your child can get all necessary vitamins. Vitamins occur in foods in forms that are the easiest for the body to use, and are accompanied by important related compounds. Even though many children have periods when they are picky eaters, most children get the minimum known requirements for vitamins from the foods they eat.
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