Does Vitamin C affect your little one’s Immunity?

Vitamin C is crucial to a balanced diet and improves memory and eyesight. It also keeps your child's gums healthy, keeps infections at bay and helps the body absorb iron from the food we consume.

The best way a parent can safeguard his or her child’s health is by facilitating the consumption of the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals.

What Vitamin C does to your immune system

Vitamin C is essential to the body’s maintenance of overall health and occurs in high concentrations in immune cells.1 Studies have also shown that children with enough vitamin C are able to recover faster when they fall sick and possess stronger immune systems than those who are deficient in vitamin C.2 However, as our bodies cannot produce or store vitamin C, we need to make sure our children get enough vitamin C every day through the food they eat.3
 

Getting more Vitamin C into your little one’s diet

Give your little one raw fruit and veggies whenever possible. Avoid cooking vitamin C-rich foods as the heat from cooking breaks down vitamins.4 Instead of snacking on sweet treats like chocolate and candy, encourage your children to snack on vitamin-C rich fruit like grapefruit, oranges, mangoes and kiwifruit. You can also blend a mix of delicious fruit together to make a vitamin C smoothie!
 

Don’t forget about Vitamins A and D

Two other vitamins that boost the immune system are vitamins A and D, which play important roles in helping the immune system function.
 

Consuming a variety of vitamins, not just vitamin C, is essential to your child’s immunity. So when choosing a product for your child, look for one that contains micronutrients like vitamin A and D too, which support the body’s defence mechanisms. Most of all, help your child enjoy healthy eating.

Sources:

1. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c-why-your-child-needs-it/

2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/147323001003800203

3. https://www.healthxchange.sg/food-nutrition/food-tips/vitamin-c-best-food-sources-need

4. https://www.livescience.com/36380-eat-vitaminc-diet-nutrition.html