Nutritional deficiency can make children susceptible to various illnesses. Read on to learn more about the common symptoms of nutritional deficiency in children.Owing to a culture of consuming processed food or lack of knowledge about wholesome requirements, the issue of nutritional deficiency in children is on the rise. The problem with countering deficiency diseases in a child is that even a child who behaves and appears completely normal in all aspects could be suffering from nutritional deficiency. This makes it especially hard to detect and treat the diseases at their initial stages. Parents should look out for the symptoms mentioned in this article and ensure that their kids are not subject to
nutritional deficiency by partaking medical opinion.
1. Depression
Neurotransmission in the brain is facilitated by amino acids. A proper balance of these amino acids is likely to keep us feeling happy rather than depressed or anxious. Accounting for amino acids in everyday diet is the way to counter this nutritional imbalance, which is achieved by the intake of complete protein.
2. Restlessness or Hyperactivity
Conventionally, we consider a kid’s restlessness to be a sign of good health, indicating that he or she is properly active. However, it has been found that restlessness in kids leads to poor digestion, which would therefore result in the body not being able to absorb crucial nutrients. Food dyes are the main culprit in causing hyperactivity.
3. Crowding of Teeth
We usually attribute the teeth structure of a child to heredity. It has been shown, though, that the lack of proper dental spacing is prevalent not only in kids who eat more processed food, but even kids whose mothers resorted to processed food during their months of pregnancy. On the other hand, the children who followed a traditional diet consisting of complete animal proteins, proper carbohydrates and fats developed proper dental spacing.
4. Dry Skin and Hair
These symptoms are an indication of
vitamin deficiency in your kid. The lack of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K2 cause dryness of hair and skin. Adding high-quality fat-soluble vitamins to your child’s diet will likely restore the glow in his skin. Supplements such as Cod Liver Oil are very commonly used in this regard as well.
5. Delayed Speech
Speech problems are an indication of Vitamin B12 deficiency in a child. In such a case, there are various common food items rich in Vitamin B12 that you can feed your child. These foods include
dairy products,
eggs, fish, chicken, and organ meats. There is no plant source of Vitamin B12.
6. Frequent Colds and Illness
The development of a
child’s immune system is directly influenced by a wholesome balance of nutrients provided in regular diet. If your child falls sick often, try to focus on providing all the nutritional elements to her rather than emphasising on replenishing any one specific source of nutrients. This would work to strengthen the immune system, which comes in handy throughout the kid’s life.
7. Unstable Emotions
Kids require a proper amount of fats in their diet (especially Omega3s found in salmon, sardines, herrings, anchovies and the like) to keep a grip on mood stabilizations. In a healthy diet, good saturated fats from butter and coconut oil help keep and protect the Omega 3s in a growing
child’s brain.
8. Obesity
Contrary to popular belief, obesity is actually a product of nutritional deficiency. When we eat foods that are not nutrient dense, our bodies remain hungry, leading us to consume more volume of food which then causes obesity. For a child, it is important that his or her diet contains all of animal products, milk products, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and grains.
These are some of the common aberrations that can occur in a growing body due to a disruption of the natural or expected intake of nutrients. General guidelines for parents include focussing on natural and home cooked meals over processed food for the kid, paying attention to an overall nutritional coverage rather than only weighing heavy on some specific nutrients, and ensuring a good lifestyle that includes outdoor activities, proper sleep and stability in immediate environment.
What are the causes of nutritional deficiency in children? What are the effects of nutritional deficiency in children? How to prevent nutritional deficiency in children? Discuss here.