Iron is the most abundant metal found in nature and most essential nutrient for a normal life process. It is an active component responsible for the formation of red blood cells in the blood stream that circulate throughout the body for oxygen delivery.
Iron has two forms, heme and non heme. Heme iron originates from hemoglobin and is found in animal foods like red meats, fish, chicken liver, oysters, beef, crab and poultry. Non heme iron is derived from the intake of iron fortified foods such as lentils, beans, molasses, tofu, spinach and soybeans.
Every body should have an optimum level of iron content in the body because deficiency of this nutrient can lead to severe health issues. Infants derive all the required iron content from breast milk that lasts for about 4 to 6 months. After that, children between 7-12 months must consume at least 11 mg of iron per day, children between 1-3 years of age require 7 mg per day, children between 4-8 years require 10 mg per day and children between 9-13 years require 8 mg per day. If these recommended dietary allowances are not met in a child's body, then it leads to a deficiency in iron.
A low iron diet is common in infants, toddlers, and teens. Kids who don't eat enough or are fussy eaters have a greater risk of developing anemia, a blood disease characterized by a decreased amount of hemoglobin and red blood cells. Poverty is also a major cause of anemia because children may not be able to get iron rich foods. This calls for a need of children's vitamins with iron.
Children's vitamins with iron work as a nutritional supplement but not as a replacement. Encourage your child to eat good nutritious food that can help him improve his mental state and physical well being. Use of children's vitamins iron is a common practice among most of the parents today. Iron tablets or multi vitamins prove to be good for growing children but overdose of these tablets should be avoided.
Toxicity of iron can be fatal and lead to food poisoning, genetic disorders and other related health diseases. The advanced stage of iron overload in the body can also lead to death.