Do you happen to know for sure what is in the childrens vitamins that you give your child? If you knew what many name brand vitamins contain, you would be surprised. There is at least one name brand vitamin (mentioning no names) that contains five items that you will find most perturbing. If you have not read the labels, you will need to right NOW!
Here are some of the items found in childrens vitamins that you should be aware of before giving them to your child:
One of the items is phenylalanine. This often appears on cans of diet soda. The warning: Phenylketonurics – contains phenylalanine is on the side of the can. The term is used to warn people that have a metabolic disorder called PKU. This is to let them know that the diet soda contains aspartame. Aspartame contains phenylalanine.
PKU is a disorder which is inherited from both parents. The disorder is rare but 1 in 15,000 babies are born with PKU. For those who have PKU, if they do not follow a strict diet which has low protein, phenylalanine is not digested properly and it builds up in the blood in an acid called phenylpyruvic acid. When levels of this acid get high enough, the brain can be damaged as well as causing other disorders.
The next thing is the aspartame itself. What is aspartame? It is the artificial sweetener used in diet soda. And there are 92, yes 92, health side effects that have been connected to consuming aspartame. Aspartame poisoning is often misdiagnosed. This is because the symptoms can mock other problems or lab tests do not show them and x-rays do not show them either. From eye problems to irreversible brain damage and suicidal tendencies, aspartame can be deadly. So please read the labels before giving your child anything.
FD&C Red #40 is an ingredient that is also included in children’s vitamins. Although, it may go by other names such as Naphthalenesulfonic acid, disodium salt, Allura red AC dye, CI 16035, Curry red and various other names. There have been studies that show that this ingredient can cause hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder and a lower IQ. In April of 2008, the Foods Standard Agency asked that a removal of this and other colors by 2009 however, it is a voluntary removal.
FD&C Blue #2 Lake is another ingredient that may be used in many things that children eat or take. Vitamins are no exception. The colors or dyes can cause eczema and the reaction may only be to one specific dye. However, often vitamins and other products just list ‘dyes’ as an ingredient. There are children who can have anaphylactic reactions to these types of dyes. The difficulty is pinpointing the specific one that is causing problems because there are no allergy tests for food dyes.
Iron is one ingredient that is the leading cause of death from overdose in children under the age of 6. This is one of the ingredients that are present in vitamins. Iron can be lethal in different amounts for different age groups and weight is a consideration. High iron levels can be responsible for damaging cells in the gastrointestinal tract in turn preventing them from iron regulation. Too much iron will damage the heart and liver cells and can cause organ damage and death.
Reading labels is the best possible thing you can do for your children no matter what you are giving them. Often ingredients are listed under different names as you saw with the FD&C Red #40. How many people would know this? It is best to educate yourself on every aspect of anything you may end up giving your child, especially childrens vitamins because often they will contain some of the very ingredients known to cause problems you are trying to prevent.
