Hello everyone, welcome to the micronutrient-element family, our family has about 70 members, from the well-known essential element calcium, iron and zinc, to the potentially toxic trace element fluoride lead and mercury. Although our proportion of the human body is very small, less than 0.01%, the impact on the human body is very large.
For example, calcium iron zinc is a star member of the element family, which has attracted the attention of parents - some parents believe that the child's slow growth may be calcium deficiency; the child's pale face may be iron deficiency; the child's poor appetite may be zinc deficiency... So are these judgments correct?
Many parents hope to be able to "hammer out" what kind of element is lacking in their children through testing, but this is not the case. The evaluation of children's trace elements needs to be combined with the assessment of dietary intake, medical history and other comprehensive judgments. In addition, many institutions use terminal blood or hair testing, which also affects accuracy. Due to the irregularity of detection methods and clinical judgments, everyone has mixed praise and criticism of trace element detection, and trace elements have become "back pot men"...
Today, let's listen to the "self-introduction" of various elements!
Power and detection metrics for commonly required elements
1
Calcium (Ca) & calcium deficiency
Hello everyone, I am elemental calcium, I will introduce myself first. I'm actually a macronutrient in the macronutrients, not a trace element. My main role is to promote the growth and development of bones, which is an essential nutrient for babies to grow tall. If I am missing, my baby will have abnormal bone development, and even bone deformities such as O-leg or X-leg. Secondly, I am also involved in regulating blood clotting, nerve conduction and muscle contraction, which plays a pivotal role in the human body.
In the human body, I am mainly deposited in the bones, and the amount of blood is very small. I travel back and forth through my bones and blood every day, maintaining a homeostasis. Only in the case of extreme deficiency does the calcium in the blood decline. Therefore, the blood calcium test results can not reflect the nutritional status of calcium in the human body, and the clinical assessment of whether calcium deficiency is not comprehensive and scientific.
2
Zinc (Zn) & zinc deficiency
Hello everyone, I am the trace element zinc, the following by me to make an introduction. I am mainly involved in the composition of more than 80 zinc-containing enzymes in the human body. If I am missing, DNA and RNA polymerase will lose its activity, and protein and nucleic acid synthesis will malfunction, affecting the normal growth and development of children. Moreover, I am also involved in regulating the sense of taste, zinc deficiency will lead to loss of appetite, and even pica. I can also maintain the normal function of immune cells and participate in the normal brain development of the baby. Long-term zinc deficiency not only leads to immunocompromise, but also affects children's behavior and intellectual development, resulting in inattention, learning difficulties and mental retardation.
Serum zinc testing can be used to screen for zinc deficiency and requires a combination of risk factors, dietary investigation, clinical manifestations, and response after zinc supplementation.
3
Iron (Fe) & iron deficiency
Hello everyone, I am elemental iron, which is the most abundant trace element in the human body. My main role is to make up proteins related to oxygen metabolism, such as hemoglobin and myoglobin, and to participate in the operation, storage and utilization of oxygen. In addition, I am also involved in the composition of many important enzymes in the human body, which affect the metabolic processes of the human body. If I am missing, the baby will be pale, have a loss of appetite, do not like to move, and a small number of babies will also have pica. Severe deficiency can also seriously affect the baby's cognitive, learning ability and behavioral development, and even after iron supplementation can not be reversed. In addition, long-term iron deficiency can also reduce your baby's immune function and increase the risk of infection.
A commonly used clinical indicator of screening children for iron deficiency is serum ferritin. Serum iron is an adjunctive diagnostic index of iron deficiency anemia, which can be judged comprehensively in combination with other iron metabolism indicators and medical history.
4
Clinical significance of trace element detection in children
Routine testing of trace elements is generally not recommended in children with a balanced diet and normal growth, if there are no specific clinical symptoms. However, the lack of trace elements such as zinc occurs at a high rate in children with poor appetite, picky eating, and malnutrition, so if there are corresponding clinical symptoms, under the guidance of a specialist, it is also necessary to test trace elements in combination with medical history and targeted detection. However, the blood trace element test results are not fully representative of the body's trace element nutrient level, and can be combined with the medical history to assist in clinical diagnosis.
5
Trace elements lack interventions
Removal of the cause: search for the cause of trace element deficiency, treatment of the primary disease;
Complementary therapy: according to the severity of the deficiency, supplemental trace elements are given;
Reasonable feeding: Guide reasonable feeding and dietary combinations, and provide children with foods rich in trace elements.
6
Issues to be aware of during micronutrient deficiency interventions
Micronutrient deficiency, emphasis on prevention, focusing on dietary nutrition guidance;
There may be interactions between micronutrients, and blind supplementation of a single element may affect the absorption of other trace elements;
Micronutrient supplementation should be in moderation, and excessive amounts can also endanger children's health.
Our elemental family provides the human body with the necessary nutrients, and the lack of them will affect the normal growth and development of the baby. If parents find that the baby has "abnormal" symptoms, it is recommended that the regular hospital be treated and decide whether to carry out trace element testing under the assessment of professional doctors. Please understand us correctly, we are no longer "back pot man"!
Editor: Wu Ting
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