5 Essential Nutrients for Kids

Everyone needs their share of nutrients, especially growing kids! Scope out this list to make sure your little ones are receiving enough of these crucial vitamins + minerals in their daily diet.

1. Folate

Folate is part of the B vitamin family and is crucial for helping your kiddie’s cells develop and grow. Make sure your little one gets enough since a lack of folate could lead to anemia down the road.

Eat This: asparagus, chickpeas, lentils, spinach

Make This: Shamrock Shake

 

2. Magnesium

This bone-friendly mineral is involved in over 300 chemical reactions that take place in the body! Your little one needs their daily dose of magnesium to ensure proper nervous system functioning, ward off inflammation, and keep their hearts beating.

Eat This: almonds, brazil nuts, avocado, cashews, oats, spinach

Make This: Raw Cherry Jubilation Dessert

 

3. Vitamin A

Vitamin A is essential for healthy vision, bone development, and a strong defense system against infections. Kids also need the vitamin to aid in the growth of their cells and tissues, especially those in the skin, nails, and hair.

Eat This: cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes

Make This: Bunny Love Carrot Juice

 

4. Vitamin D

This magical vitamin helps your little ones grow up beautiful + strong! Vitamin D builds strong teeth and bones, aids in the absorption of minerals like calcium, and regulates the immune system, cell growth, and insulin production. Be sure that your littles get enough—Michael F. Holick, a professor of physiology, biophysics, and medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine warns that a deficiency could lead to rickets or prevent your child from reaching their potential height and bone mass.

Eat This: eggs, portobello mushrooms, salmon

Make This: Super Simple Salmon Dinner

 

5. Vitamin E

Vitamin E ensures that your little one has a strong immune system and can fight off all the germs she or he encounters at school. It's also responsible for making the blood vessels stay open wide enough so that blood can flow through freely, as well as enabling various cells to work together as a team to perform critical functions in the body. 

Eat This: almonds, kale, swiss chard, sunflower seeds

Make This: Sunflower Seed Dip

What are your favorite ways to prepare these nutrient-packed foods for your kiddies? Share them with us on Facebook with #myphilosophie!