Why do children have zinc deficiency?

Recently, many people have asked why children are zinc deficient. In fact, I also think this issue is worthy of everyone's attention, because for parents, the healthy development of children is very important. Sometimes we are always busy with work and lack of company with our children. Because we don’t pay regular attention to our children’s physical health, children always lack some nutrients during their development. So today, I will talk to you about why children are zinc deficient and whether there is any way to change it.

Reasons for zinc deficiency in children:

1. Insufficient zinc intake Insufficient zinc intake is the main cause of zinc deficiency in children. Most plant foods are low in zinc. Malnutrition, especially long-term lack of animal food, can easily lead to zinc deficiency; children who use total parenteral nutrition for a long time may also develop this disease due to the lack of zinc in the solution they ingest; intestinal poor absorption of zinc can be seen in diseases such as steatorrhea and enteritis; long-term consumption of foods containing too much phytate or cellulose can affect the absorption and utilization of zinc.

2. Excessive loss is common in chronic blood loss and hemolysis (there is a large amount of zinc in the red blood cells, which is lost as the red blood cells are destroyed); long-term sweating and tissue damage (exudate from trauma and burns contains zinc); liver and kidney diseases, diabetes, and the use of diuretics such as thiazides (increased zinc excretion in urine); long-term use of integrators such as EDTA, penicillamine and other drugs (form insoluble complexes with zinc); and those who are fed with only milk (milk contains complexes that interfere with zinc absorption).

3. Increased requirements: Children grow and develop rapidly, especially infants, who have relatively high requirements for zinc and are prone to zinc deficiency. Premature infants may suffer from zinc deficiency due to insufficient zinc stores in the body and rapid growth and development. In addition, the zinc requirement also increases during the recovery period of malnutrition, surgery and trauma. If it is not supplemented in time, it can easily lead to zinc deficiency.

4. Congenital metabolic disorders are seen in acrodermatitis enteropathica, which is a hereditary zinc absorption disorder. The main clinical features are diarrhea, dermatitis and hair loss. Most children develop the disease in infancy.

Zinc deficiency must be supplemented in time. Relying solely on food for supplementation is not comprehensive and timely. This is why people may still be zinc deficient even if they eat more zinc-containing foods. When the body is no longer zinc deficient and has no symptoms, you just need to pay more attention to your diet. In daily diet, you should eat more whole flour, tofu and other soy products, beef, mutton, fish, lean meat, peanuts, sesame seeds, dairy products, cocoa and other foods to supplement zinc. Foods rich in selenium include: seafood, mushrooms, eggs, garlic, etc. The first generation is inorganic zinc, such as zinc sulfate. It combines with stomach acid to produce zinc chloride. Zinc chloride is a strong corrosive agent that can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause nausea and vomiting. The second generation is organic acid zinc, such as zinc gluconate, zinc acetate, licorice zinc, etc. They are weak acid and weak base salts. When combined with stomach acid, they can still produce zinc chloride, so they have certain side effects. And because of its high zinc content, it can antagonize the absorption of nutrients such as calcium and iron. Long-term use can lead to symptoms such as calcium deficiency anemia. For example, long-term use of zinc gluconate can cause swelling of the lower eyelids.

Why do children lack zinc? I think the editor has solved this problem perfectly for you. You should not only pay more attention to your child's dietary zinc supplementation, but also take your child out for exercise. By the way, the editor recommends that you buy a candy calcium tablet that is more suitable for children. I hope you pay more attention to these aspects!