When is the best time for young children to take cod liver oil?

The nutritional components of cod liver oil are vitamin A and vitamin D. For babies, due to their young age, they often do not go out much and their sun exposure time is relatively short, so these two trace elements are easily deficient. Therefore, mothers usually need to supplement their babies with cod liver oil when they are young. So, when is the best time to give cod liver oil to babies so that it is most conducive to body absorption?

When is the best time for babies to take cod liver oil?

The best time for babies to take cod liver oil is after drinking milk in the morning. If you can take your baby to bask in the sun after taking cod liver oil, it can promote absorption more effectively.

Due to the lack of vitamin D in breast milk, it is difficult to obtain sufficient vitamin D through sun exposure and ultraviolet rays can easily damage the skin and eyes. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics holds the view that except for infants who drink more than 1000mL of formula milk (or whose vitamin D intake reaches 400IU carefully calculated according to the product label), breastfed and mixed-fed infants should be supplemented with 400IU vitamin D drops. In the absence of pure vitamin D preparations, safe doses of cod liver oil or vitamin AD drops can be used as substitutes.

When can babies take cod liver oil?

Usually, cod liver oil can be supplemented 15 days after the baby is born. If the mother has adequate nutrition and a balanced diet, the vitamin A in breast milk can mostly meet the baby's needs. Vitamin D is found in relatively small amounts in both breast milk and cow's milk. Therefore, infants, whether breastfed or formula-fed, must be given a preventive dose of 400 units of vitamin D daily starting 2-3 weeks after birth. Premature babies and twins, in particular, need additional supplementation of vitamins A and D. After the age of 3, children's growth rate slows down, their diet variety and outdoor activities increase, and generally there is no need for additional cod liver oil supplementation.

Which babies need to take cod liver oil?

1. If the baby does not have enough breast milk or is not fed with egg yolks, animal livers, and other foods rich in vitamins A and D, as well as vegetables and fruits rich in carotene in time after weaning.

2. Chronic diarrhea, liver and gallbladder diseases, etc. affect the absorption of vitamins A and D.

3. Suffering from chronic wasting diseases increases the consumption of vitamins A and D.

4. Lack of sunlight.

5. Factors such as rapid growth that increases the demand for vitamins can cause a deficiency of vitamin A and/or D.