Can babies take zinc supplements? It is important to understand your baby's condition

Zinc is essential for everyone. If a baby lacks zinc, it will seriously affect the psychological and physical development. Therefore, many parents will use various methods to supplement zinc for their babies, but this approach may not be correct. After all, many children do not need zinc supplementation.

1. Not all babies need zinc supplementation

Zinc is an essential trace element for the human body. It is closely related to children's growth and development, immune function, vision and sexual development. The baby's daily zinc requirement is related to age. Infants under 4 months old need 3 mg/day, 6-12 months need 5 mg/day, and children 1-3 years old need 10 mg/day. Therefore, most babies, unless they are extremely picky eaters or have long-term chronic diarrhea, should not be zinc deficient and do not need special supplements. However, several types of babies are prone to symptoms of zinc deficiency.

2. 6 types of babies are most likely to be zinc deficient

1. The mother does not take enough zinc during pregnancy

The zinc requirement during pregnancy is about 100 mg, of which about 50% is absorbed by the fetus. The fetus's demand for zinc reaches a peak in the late pregnancy. If the expectant mother lacks zinc-containing foods in her three meals a day, it will inevitably affect the fetus's utilization of zinc, and the child will be prone to zinc deficiency after birth.

2. Premature babies

Premature birth will cause the baby to lose the golden time to store zinc in the mother's body, resulting in congenital zinc deficiency.

3. Children who are not breastfed

Breast milk is extremely rich in zinc, which can reach 6 to 7 times the normal human blood zinc concentration, and the absorption rate is as high as 42%, which is unattainable by any non-breast milk food.

4. Children with picky eating habits and hyperactivity

It is a child's nature to be active, especially in the hot summer. The amount of zinc lost through sweat can reach 2 to 3 mg per day. If the child is also a picky eater, he or she is more likely to be zinc deficient.

5. Children who are weak and sickly

Weak and sickly children often have a decreased appetite and consume less animal protein, which leads to insufficient zinc in their food.

6. Children with poor digestive function

Children with poor digestion and absorption functions and prone to diarrhea are also prone to zinc deficiency.

3. How to supplement zinc for your baby correctly?

1. Mild zinc deficiency is mainly treated with dietary supplements

For babies with mild zinc deficiency, they should eat more foods high in zinc. Foods high in zinc include:

Animal foods: lean meat, eggs, pork liver, animal blood, fish

Seafood: oysters, herring, dried shrimp, seaweed, fish meal

Plant-based foods: fungi, walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, radishes

TIPS: Don’t make complementary foods too fine, otherwise it will lead to the loss of the mineral zinc in the food. In addition, do not feed your baby foods containing too much sugar and fiber, as this will affect the absorption of zinc.

2. Severe zinc deficiency is mainly treated with medicine

Babies with severe zinc deficiency need to take zinc supplements as prescribed by their doctor in addition to dietary supplements. Commonly used zinc supplements include zinc grapeseed, zinc sulfate, licorice zinc, zinc acetate syrup and multivitamin zinc syrup.