When should children take zinc supplements?

If there is a baby in the family, then there is no doubt that the baby's health and happy growth are definitely the wish of every parent. In order for the baby to grow up healthily, more attention should be paid to the diet. The baby should not be allowed to develop the habit of picky eating. The baby should be allowed to take in a variety of nutrients, otherwise the body will lack elements that will affect health, such as zinc. So when should children take zinc supplements?

When should babies take zinc supplements?

Babies must be examined in the hospital and confirmed to be obviously zinc deficient before they can be given preparations such as zinc sulfate syrup or zinc gluconate under the guidance of a doctor. The general medication time limit should not exceed 2-4 months, and the medication should be stopped promptly after the follow-up examination returns normal. Be careful that the effective dose of zinc is very close to the toxic dose. Improper use can easily lead to overdose, inducing a series of symptoms such as iron deficiency, copper deficiency, and anemia.

Zinc preparations should be taken 2-3 hours apart from other supplements. Generally, babies are not zinc deficient, especially breastfed babies. However, if the baby is a picky eater, does not like to eat meat or milk, or the baby always sweats, such a baby needs to supplement zinc in time. Zinc should be supplemented between meals, and zinc should not be taken at the same time as other substances such as iron and calcium. Since zinc and calcium are both cations, they will interfere with each other when the ions are absorbed in the digestive tract, reducing the absorption rate of each other. Therefore, when both need to be supplemented, it is best to take them at least 2 to 3 hours apart.

Daily zinc supplementation requirement for babies: The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that babies should supplement zinc daily as follows:

The zinc intake for babies aged 6 months is 3 mg; for babies aged 7-12 months is 5 mg; for children aged 1-3 years is 10 mg. If breastfeeding is required, the mother should also supplement zinc. Breastfeeding mothers need 20 mg of zinc per day. Breastfed babies absorb zinc from their mothers. The absorption rate of zinc in breast milk is very high, reaching 62%, and the zinc content in colostrum is even higher.

If you find that your baby is zinc deficient, you should adjust his diet and take as little medicine as possible. If he has a reasonable diet and eats meat, eggs, vegetables, milk and staple foods every day, he generally should not be lacking too much. In addition, eating nuts such as walnuts, peanut butter, red dates, etc. can supplement calcium, iron and zinc. If it still doesn't work, then it's a problem with the child's absorption. When children are growing, it is normal for some indicators to be low. You'd better go to another hospital for rechecking, as blood tests are more accurate.

No matter from which perspective, parents must let their babies develop good living habits in life, not be picky about food, and eat more foods containing elements needed by the body. Only in this way can the baby absorb nutrition from the diet, ensure the baby's physical health, and allow the baby to grow up healthily.