Zinc supplementation is the same as calcium supplementation, because the propaganda is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and mothers are very concerned.
When the baby does not want to eat, when the baby always nibbles on the nails, the baby's hair is thin and yellow, the baby's hands are long and barbed, and the baby suspects that the baby is deficient in zinc, and then rushes to the baby to "make up for it". But is it really zinc deficiency?
Whether the child is zinc deficient
You cannot draw conclusions based on a symptom
Zinc is an important element in the human body and is involved in many physiological activities, including immunity and anti-infection, growth, wound healing, carbohydrate tolerance and so on.
Therefore, zinc deficiency can appear many manifestations: abdominal pain, diarrhea, alopecia, anorexia, taste disorders, growth retardation, immune dysfunction, paronychia, stomatitis...
Are you inadvertently comparing yourself to your own children?
Does it feel like your child really hits 1 or more of them?
So, is the child really deficient in zinc?
Don't worry, zinc deficiency has these manifestations, does not mean that there are these manifestations of zinc deficiency.
Just as children with pneumonia cough, but not children who cough have pneumonia.
Let's take a look at the symptoms of zinc deficiency in those children that are rumored on the Internet, and when we look closely, they actually can't stand up to scientific scrutiny.
01
Hair is sparse
Thinning hair
The color, thickness, thickness and thickness of the baby's hair are more determined by genes, and severe zinc deficiency can indeed cause hair loss in children, but this situation is relatively rare.
Children have less hair, and there is a high probability that it is physiological hair loss.
After 6 months of birth, the fetal hair slowly falls out, and the newly grown hair is very slow, so from the intuitive visual point of view, the child's hair is getting less and less every day.
Usually by the age of 1, some children may be around the age of 2, the hair will become dark and thick.
02
anorexia
anorexia
Some parents will find that although their children are not active enough to eat, their body shape has not become thinner, and it is normal to assess their growth.
This state cannot be called "anorexia", and child health doctors often joke that this period is a "period of eating rebellion". As the name suggests, the child grows up, the "temper" is also big, there is rebellion, and he is unwilling to eat
This is mainly due to the slower growth rate of children, a stronger sense of self, more obsessed with fun, unwilling to spend a long time eating, etc., and zinc deficiency has not much to do with it.
03
Growth retardation
Growth retardation
When parents always hope that the baby can grow according to the "expected standard", once there is a gap with their own ideas, they immediately begin to wonder whether the baby is stunted.
In fact, the child's height and weight are related to genetics, nutrition, sleep, exercise and other factors.
To determine whether your child's growth status is normal, you need to regularly record your baby's growth curve, including: height, weight, head circumference, BMI (mass index: weight kg / square of height m).
If the child's length/height or weight is below average, it is called stunting.
Image source: WHO
As long as your child's length/height and weight are within the normal range of the growth curve (between P3 and P97 above).
And the growth rate is normal (that is, the length / height and weight of different ages are almost parallel to the reference lines in the figure below), which is normal growth.
04
Frequent colds
Frequent cold
There are also rumors that children often have colds and low immunity and zinc deficiency. Do you know? Children under the age of 6 catch colds on average 6 to 8 times a year
If you catch the autumn and winter seasons, there are still older brothers and sisters commuting or going to school, the number of colds will be more frequent, and even once a month you will get a cold.
Colds also last longer than adults, lasting an average of 14 days.
Parents look at it, such a "frequent" cold, is this not low immunity?
But in fact, the low immunity that adults think is low may be the "normal drill" of the child's immune system.
05
Baby has white spots on your fingernails
Nail white spots are called punctate white nails, which are not diseases, and are usually caused by small traumas, sometimes the cause is not clear.
But there is no evidence for the baby. White spots on the nails are associated with zinc deficiency
The white spots will also move outward as the nails grow, and they do not require special treatment
Trace elements test children for zinc deficiency
Equally unreliable
The first thing to tell you is that the detection of zinc deficiency of trace elements is unreliable, and there is still a lack of sensitive and specific detection indicators for evaluating zinc nutritional status in the world.
Trace element testing is generally done through blood, but most of the body's body (60%) of zinc is present in bones and muscles, and the amount in the blood is very small.
Therefore, it is not reliable to say that the child is "zinc deficiency" based on blood tests alone.
What conditions do you need to suspect zinc deficiency?
From the various symptoms of zinc deficiency we mentioned above, it can be seen that the manifestations of zinc deficiency are not specific.
Unlike children who have autumn diarrhea, which will pull egg flower soup-like poop, nor do they have herpes in their hands, feet, and mouths when they have hands, feet, and mouths, and the diagnostic methods are not precise.
So, what is the need to suspect a child's zinc deficiency?
If your child has multiple manifestations of zinc deficiency mentioned above and does not have enough zinc intake in their diet, zinc deficiency needs to be considered.
In today's living conditions, there are not many children who are truly zinc deficient. The single manifestations that parents worry about, such as less hair, poor eating, and always having a cold, are usually not caused by zinc deficiency, but are normal.
Instead of worrying about the child's lack of this and that, it is better to spend more effort on the diet, as long as the child's meat, eggs, and milk are well eaten, and the diet is balanced, basically you can rest assured.
Source: Li Jia Baby
Disclaimer: Reprinted for sharing only, tribute to the original author ~