Health
The ABCs of Vitamins Achieving a balance in vitamin consumption
W
hen kids seem to subsist on chicken fingers, French fries, and pizza alone, you have to wonder whether they’re getting all the vitamins they need. Vitamin deficiencies can cause serious health problems, but how worried should parents be about their children clinically lacking vitamins? We spoke to Dr. Maher Eldadah, M.D., a pediatrician at Beijing United Family Hospital, and Dr. Basim Ansari, a family medicine practitioner at Puhua International Hospital – Shuangjing, for clarity on vitamins, a lack of them, and the best way to ensure optimal nutrition.
min deficiency unless they have very strange eating habits,” says Dr. Eldadah. “As long as your child is eating a regular, healthy diet, vitamin deficiencies are not common.” That goes for parents, too. “Vitamin deficiencies are uncommon in general populations,” agrees Dr. Ansari. But women and children can become deficient in certain vitamins in certain cases, he continues, so tests to rule out a vitamin deficiency are sometimes recommended. Unfortunately, there is no single test to determine all vitamin deficiencies, so each one must be tested for separately.
Vitamin Deficiencies – Should You Worry?
Vitamin D
The good news is, “it’s hard to imagine someone developing a vita-
Vitamin D has received a lot of attention recently, particularly since
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beijingkids
2013 July
paintings by giuseppe arcimboldo (wikimedia commons)
by Ellis Friedman