Introduction
Vitamins are those important and vital nutrients needed by our body for its proper functioning and growth. These cannot be produced from scratch from our own body in any way. Supplements, or more commonly known as ‘dietary supplements’, are a combination of many things that are essential for the body such as minerals, vitamins, fiber, fatty acids etc. Hence, for a growing child the intake of supplements and vitamins becomes imperative lest they might end up getting a disease or their growth becomes stunted in any way. It is medically proven that eating the right type and amount of supplements and vitamins is an essential constituent of a balanced diet and a balanced diet is essential for the proper growth of the child.
History
The history of vitamins date back to somewhere in the middle of the 18th century, when a Scottish surgeon with the name of James Lind found out the cure for scurvy- a deadly disease at that time. After that, with the progress in medical science and with the spread of epidemics of many diseases such as rickets and beriberi, scientists tried their best to discover the reasons behind these diseases. They were eventually successful in confirming that the diseases like rickets and beriberi are caused due to the lack of vitamin D and vitamin B1 respectively. Even in the 21st century the significance of supplements and vitamins cannot be ignored and doctors insist on their proper intake to children and adults alike.
Features
Before giving any sort of supplements and vitamins to your child, it is a good idea to consult a good medical practitioner beforehand. This is because a doctor can exactly and specifically point out the type of vitamins and supplements your child should take and in what amount. Also, parents should never try to give their child any sort of supplement that they get from the market. It is advisable to make sure that an authentic pharmaceutical industry is producing that supplement; because in many cases it has been seen that many fake drug making industries start to manufacture dietary supplements with catchy taglines. This pushes the parents to buy that supplement but could later on create havoc to the child’s health. Hence, it is ideal for the parents to make sure that they buy the prescribed dietary supplements from an authentic and genuine drug store. Moreover, parents should make sure that their child never eats an overdose of the prescribed dietary supplement as it is known that an excess of either vitamins or minerals could result in causing toxicity in the child’s body. Therefore, it is imperative to take care before giving anything to your child.
Tips and comments
Even though nearly all the vitamins and minerals are considered to be beneficial for the human body, this is only possible if these are taken in the appropriate quantities and are prescribed by the doctor. In case of children, parents should be extra cautious while giving their child supplements and vitamins as the future of the child could become bleak by a small mistake by parents.
