What micronutrients do malnourished children need?

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Micronutrients are substances that the body only needs in a very small amount but have an important role, when lacking will lead to serious effects for the body, especially young children. Micronutrients are essential for the growth, intellectual and physical development of children.

1. Children need to be supplemented with which groups of micronutrients?

There are about 90 different micronutrients needed by the body, including water-soluble vitamins such as: group B, C; fat-soluble vitamins such as: A, D, E, K and minerals: iron, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, magnesium... Micronutrients are needed for all children, but for malnourished children, they need to be supplemented. What micronutrients?
According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Nam Phong, Department of Pediatrics - Neonatal from Vinmec Health System, malnourished children need to supplement with fat-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed into the body through adipose tissue and fat. Therefore, if fat cannot be absorbed, the body will lack these vitamins, which makes malnourished children susceptible to deficiency of these vitamins.
Vitamin A is needed for growth, helps children see well, strengthens the immune system to help prevent infections. When vitamin A deficiency will cause night blindness, dry eyes, corneal ulcers causing blindness, growth retardation, susceptibility to infections such as respiratory infections, diarrhea, skin infections. Vitamin D helps the body use calcium and phosphorus well to form and maintain strong bones and teeth. Vitamin E helps strengthen the immune system and support the body against bacteria and viruses. Vitamin E also has the ability to keep blood vessels dilated wide enough to ensure blood circulation in the body. In addition, vitamin E also plays a role in connecting cells to make them perform many important functions together. Malnourished children need vitamin B supplements (especially B6 - B12). B vitamins are found in brown rice, legumes, chicken, dark green leafy vegetables, bananas, milk, and cheese. Malnourished children need vitamin C supplements. Give your child plenty of green vegetables and fruits to supplement vitamin C and essential minerals. Malnourished children need zinc supplements. Zinc is abundant in foods: oysters, radishes, peas, soybeans, egg yolks,... Malnourished children need to supplement with Selenium, Lysine, Calcium, and Iron.

2. 3 ways to supplement micronutrients for malnourished children depending on their deficiency status

Parents can consult and supplement micronutrients for malnourished children in the following 3 ways:
● Short-term supplement: Supplement directly orally through mixed foods in the form of nuggets, pellets (eg nuggets of rice). zinc supplements, vitamin A tablets, iron tablets ...) This supplement is applied to serious micronutrient deficiencies, causing visible manifestations such as anorexia, anorexia, slow weight gain. , stunted, sick, weak resistance, poor immunity...
● Mid-term supplement: Indirectly supplemented by eating sugar through foods fortified with micronutrients such as flour, salt, and water. fish sauce, .... are foods that are used a lot in daily meals. This supplement is applied to prevent micronutrient deficiencies on a large scale because of its simplicity, ease of implementation, but high efficiency and maintenance results.
● Long-term supplementation: Indirectly supplementing with sugar through food provided in each daily meal. The source of micronutrients can come from plants and animals. Improving the nutrition of meals by fortifying foods rich in micronutrients is an easy, simple, long-lasting and sustainable way to provide a wide range of substances.

3. Note when supplementing with micronutrients and taking care of malnourished children

To know if a child is malnourished or not, mothers need to regularly monitor the child's height and weight on the growth chart. If the child does not gain weight for 2-3 months in a row, or the child has a lower weight and height than the standard weight and height, it can be suspected that the child is stunted or malnourished. This situation often occurs with children under 3 years old, due to the unsatisfactory child care and nurturing process.
Malnourished children are susceptible to respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. Children with stunting malnutrition have a high risk of being short in adulthood, with girls also likely to have difficulties in giving birth, and at high risk of giving birth to malnourished children with stunting.
Micronutrient supplementation should be done within a certain period of time for evaluation. Parents should avoid haste, change too often measures to care for and nurture malnourished children, which can make the situation more serious.
In this case, parents should take their children to the hospital for examination and follow the doctor's instructions on care, diet, and lifestyle to suit each child's condition.

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