The Hidden Dangers of Kids’ Vitamins

Heck, you try to do something to make your child’s life healthier and it turns out that it can possibly be harmful. It seems that once again free enterprise has released the flood gates of certain manufacturing practices that neglect to take the consumer’s health into consideration.

There are several dangers within kids’ vitamins that by simply reading and researching the ingredients can be revealed. Don’t be fooled by slick ads and one-sided research, do your homework so you can be the educated consumer when it comes to the right choice for your child.

It’s in Everything, Why Not Vitamins Too?

That’s right, while you’re giving your kids their recommended daily allowance in a vitamin supplement, you may also be giving them extra sugar.

Getting kids off sugar should be the main concern. So many sweeteners are added to their food and potentially overstimulates their taste buds and adds to various diseases and conditions such as obesity and diabetes.

Free Report >> 17 “Cheat” Foods That Burn Fat

Avoid these sugar additives or sugar producing ingredients in your child’s vitamin supplement:

• Granulated calcium carbonate

• Dextrose (mono-hydrated) – May cause insulin levels to rise.

• Sucrose

• Sorbitol – Potentially resulting in side effects that include severe diarrhea, flatulence and bloating.

• High fructose corn syrup – Linked to tooth decay, liver damage, obesity, diabetes and ADHD.

Look for vitamins sweetened with stevia, fruit juice or honey instead. Don’t buy sugar free vitamins either as these are also full of artificial chemical substitutes such as aspartame, maltitol and xylitol.

Other Fillers

The price may be slightly steeper when looking for the right children’s vitamins and for good reason. It’s way cheaper to add in fillers than to produce a quality, potent supplement. This creates an ugly cycle of taking advantage of parents blindly grabbing for an inexpensive vitamin trusting it’s good for their kid.

Take pause to look for the long list of fillers that may do more harm than good. These may include:

• Magnesium Stearate – Used to lubricate vitamins so they don’t stick to one another or the equipment they’re manufactured on. They have been linked to possibly suppressing the immune system and creating an internal biofilm potentially responsible for nutritional absorption challenges.

• Titanium Oxide – Even though this is a naturally occurring mineral used to assist in vitamin pigments, titanium oxide may lead to immune weakness and add to heavy metal poisoning.

• Artificial Colors – Again, why buy something to help you stay healthy when it has the word “artificial” in the ingredients? Many artificial colors are derived from coal tar which is also used for items such as roofing material, outdoor sealants and exterior paints. Plus, artificial colors have been linked to a laundry list of health hazards including hyperactivity and cancer.

• Hydrogenated Oils – These unhealthy, trans-fat oils are used in some vitamin production. They can lead to nervous system disorders, strokes, essential fatty acid blockage and blood sugar imbalance, to name a few.

Free Report >> 17 “Cheat” Foods That Burn Fat

Stick to Nature

Overall, the best vitamins are those that come from natural sources.

Many parents give their kids a sweet, colorful, sometimes chewy vitamin supplements. These are disguised as ‘candy’ because some kids just won’t eat the good food put in front of them. This is mainly due to ‘dumbing down’ their taste buds since birth.

If you have a newborn, start him or her on the most natural, non-sugar formulas and foods which will hopefully keep them eating the right choices down the line. Otherwise you can get clever and disguise nutritious foods in things like smoothies, cauliflower mashed ‘potatoes’, zucchini muffins, and celery sticks with organic peanut or almond butter.

The dangers of kids’ vitamins need not be a deal breaker when trying to supplement bad eating habits. Finding the right vitamin is essential as is integrating natural sources. If you stick to it chances are your kids will get used to good vitamins. They may also rediscover their dormant taste buds when introduced to more whole, live, nutritious foods.