Toddler, Child
31st Jul 2020

As your parent, you’re likely familiar with the importance of supporting your child’s health and wellbeing with a wide variety of essential vitamins and minerals.

It’s why you continue to pester your picky eater to finish the last piece of broccoli on their plate, and work tirelessly to sneak added nutrients into their favourite foods.

But what about the benefits for vitamin C for kids? Perhaps one of the better-known vitamins, vitamin C is widely regarded as a key nutrient in supporting your little one’s immune system health. Did you know it’s also important for a range of other important actions within their body (1)?

Read on to discover six of the best benefits of vitamin C for kids.

Vitamin C Is An Antioxidant

As an antioxidant, vitamin C reduces free radicals formed in the body, and helps prevent them from damaging your child’s healthy body cells.

Free radicals may cause damage to cell membranes and other structures while antioxidants are compounds that can neutralise these free radicals, helping to counteract the effects (2).

Vitamin C Aids Healthy Bone Growth

Another important function of vitamin C is the role it plays in aiding the healthy growth and development of your child’s bones and teeth (7).

Ensuring your child consumes adequate amounts of vitamin C during their early years may help to support their healthy bone building. This is particularly relevant for young children, who experience rapid periods of growth.

Vitamin C Supports Skin Health

Vitamin C plays an important role in maintaining collagen formation as well as supports connective tissue health (7).

Vitamin C Supports Iron Absorption

Vitamin C supports the absorption of dietary iron (3), another nutrient that is important for supporting your child’s general health and development.

Vitamin C Supports Immune System Health

Your child’s immune system is their inbuilt defense mechanism against unwanted bugs and germs.

One of vitamin C’s best-known functions is its role in supporting healthy immune system function and maintaining immune system health.

Did you know that vitamin C may also reduce the duration of a common cold and relieve the severity of its symptoms?

Vitamin C Maintains Nervous System Health

The nervous system is your child’s communication system, helping them to walk, speak, swallow and learn (8).

Vitamin C plays a role in maintaining both your child’s nervous system health and healthy nervous system function.

Getting Enough Vitamin C

Did you know that the human body can’t manufacture vitamin C itself? Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin which isn’t stored within the body, so it’s important that your child gets enough of it every day.

So, how may you help ensure your little one is getting enough vitamin C?

Fresh fruit and veggies are your best bet.

Try including more of vitamin C-rich foods in your child’s diet – an orange, kiwi, strawberries (any fruit really) as a snack, sprouts and broccoli as part of your delicious dinner (1).

The information provided in reference to this ingredient is general in nature and provided as information only. Any product specific therapeutic claims for this ingredient are linked to specific dosage requirements based on evidence of traditional or scientific nature.

If you found this information useful, you may enjoy the following:

The Ultimate Guide: Which Vitamins Are Important For Children 

Important Minerals For Your Child (And How To Help Them Get Enough)

References:

  1. Health Direct, February 2018, Vitamin C, https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/vitamin-c
  2. Better Health Channel, September 2012, Antioxidants, Victorian State Government, https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/antioxidants
  3. Scheers N, Sandberg A. Ascorbic acid uptake affects ferritin, Dcytb and Nramp2 expression in Caco-2 cells. European Journal Of Nutrition. 2008. 47 (7). 401-408. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18815723
  4. Sorice, A, Guerriero, E, Capone, F, Colonna, G, Castello, G, Costantini, S, Ascorbic Acid: Its Role in Immune System and Chronic Inflammation Diseases. Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry. 2014. 14 (5). 1-
  5. Pavlovic, V, Sarac, M. A short overview of vitamin C and selected cells of the immune system. Central European Journal of Medicine. 6 (1). 1-
  6. Harrison, F, May, J, Vitamin C Function in the Brain: Vital Role of the Ascorbate Transporter (SVCT2). Free Radic Biol Med. 2009. 46(6). 719 – 730. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649700
  7. Iqbal, K, Khan, A, Muzaffar Ali Khan Khattak, M. Biological Significance of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) in Human Health – A Review. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 2004. 3 (1). 5-13.  https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=pjn.2004.5.13
  8. Healthdirect.gov.au. 2019. Nervous System. [online] Available at: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/nervous-system [Accessed 20 March 2020].
  9. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giovanni_Colonna
  10. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227152191

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