Wonders of Vitamin C In Your Child’s Body
Vitamin C has been a topic of great discussion, especially over the last few years. Everyone has been talking about its importance in the human body, especially for immunity, but what exactly is Vitamin C? In this article, we explore what this vitamin is all about, what are its sources, its need for immunity building and how it helps your body beyond that.
What Is Vitamin C?
To break it down simply, Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that’s found in many fruits and vegetables. Because the human body can’t produce this vitamin or store it in any form, it’s important to consume adequate quantities of it on a daily basis. But what purpose does this serve in your body and how important is it when it comes to immune boosters for children? As per the National Institutes of Health “collagen is an essential component of connective tissue, which plays a vital role in wound healing.” And Vitamin C is “required for the biosynthesis of collagen”. Apart from this, Vitamin C is known to be an incredible antioxidant, shows great results on your skin and immune system.
What’s The Suggested Amount of Vitamin C Intake & How Do You Get It?
As per RDA – ICMR 2010 a growing child (between 9-13 years of age) requires approximately 40 mg of Vitamin C in a day. This can be easily procured by eating fruits and vegetables that are rich sources of this vitamin such as oranges, guavas, blackcurrants, green peppers, broccoli, tomato, lemon, and so on. If your kid is a milk drinker, you could even add some Complan to it as it’s rich in vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, C, E, and many more.
For ease of understanding, you don’t need to take copious amounts of fruits and veggies to get the desired requirement of Vitamin C. 1 medium-sized guava or 2 oranges a day can help you achieve your goal.
Why Is Vitamin C Important?
Here are a few reasons why your kid needs this vital children’s immune booster.
Immune Support: Vitamin C helps maintain immune responses and helps fight illnesses. Hence, it is suggested you unfailingly consume this essential vitamin on a daily basis.
Iron Absorption: Vitamin C improves the absorption of plant iron from the food you eat. This is especially beneficial for kids as their rapid growth imposes high iron requirements. When you include iron-rich food, include vitamin c-rich food with it. For example, if you’re eating green leafy vegetables, squeeze some lemon on top and consume immediately.
Antioxidant: Vitamin C reduces free radicals formed in the body, and helps prevent them from damaging your child’s healthy body cells.
Bones & Teeth: We often say that calcium is important for strong bones and teeth, however, Vitamin C, too, plays an essential role in keeping them healthy.
Healthy Skin: Vitamin C hydrates the skin and keeps it looking healthy, fresh and strong.
What Should I Keep in Mind About Vitamin C?
A few important things to note about Vitamin C are:
>When Vitamin C rich fruits/veggies are cut, you must serve and consume them immediately. When it comes to cooking, cook Vitamin C rich foods last and have instantly. As it is highly water soluble, you have to be very careful to not keep it out and in the open for too long as that may lead to oxidation.
> Vitamin C deficiency may increase risk of iron deficiency anemia (as Vitamin C helps your system absorb plant iron). And more often than usual, you will start to see indications of a deficiency in your child through simple symptoms such as rough and bumpy skin, slow healing of wounds, joint pain, etc. Children’s nutrition shouldn’t be taken lightly and if you see any such symptoms, talk to your healthcare professional.
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