Water Soluble Vitamins
What is the difference between water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins?
Vitamins are dissolved in the foods we eat and are classified according to the material in which they are dissolved. Fat-soluble vitamins, because of their chemical structure, are dissolved in fats, and water-soluble vitamins are dissolved in non-fat portions of our foods.
If foods that contain water-soluble vitamins are cooked in water, the vitamins begin to dissolve out of the foods and into the cooking water. Many fruits and vegetables contain water-soluble vitamins. To ensure that most of the vitamins remain in your foods, fruits and vegetables should be eaten raw or should be steamed or cooked for only a short time. Infants can eat raw fruits and vegetables provided they are soft. All others should be cooked until tender to avoid risk of choking.
Vitamin C is supposed to be a good remedy for colds. If I take vitamin C for a cold, should I grind up some vitamin C tablets for my baby, too?
The popular belief that vitamin C is effective against colds has not been adequately documented by scientists and doctors. Doctors do not recommend that infants or children be given additional vitamin C to prevent or treat colds.
There is always a long list of vitamins in the multivitamin preparation. Should I worry about reading the list and checking the amount of each one?
That depends on whether your baby is breastfed, eating a mixed diet, or formula-fed. Preparations that include the minimum level of supplementation (vitamins A, C, and D) are usually recommended for breastfeeding infants. A broad multivitamin preparation is available for infants who are on a mixed diet or who are not receiving fortified infant formulas. Both kinds of multi-vitamin supplements are available from pharmacies. Children who are fed infant formulas do not need a multivitamin preparation.
Does my baby need vitamins if I am breastfeeding?
If you eat a diet adequate in milk, meat, and citrus fruits, and your baby is exposed to sunlight for at least 15 minutes each week, it is not essential to provide vitamins to your baby. It is usual, however, to provide your baby with a mix of vitamins A (fat soluble), C (water soluble), and D (fat soluble) if you or your doctor think you might not be eating a sufficient diet, or if your baby is not receiving enough exposure to sunlight.
Should I give my baby vitamins if I am formula feeding?
Babies who are fed contemporary fortified infant formulas do not require vitamin supplements. Vitamins A, C, and D may be given to a breastfed infant.
When should I start to feed my newborn baby vitamins?
If you choose to provide vitamins A, C, and D to your breastfed baby, you should begin to do so when the baby is approximately 1 week of age. A premature baby who consumes less than half a quart of commercially available infant formula daily should be given a multivitamin preparation in the recommended amounts. Consult your health care professional about vitamin/mineral supplementation for a premature baby.
Is a vitamin and mineral supplement necessary for my baby?
If, after your baby has been weaned, he begins to eat commercially available infant cereals, and shortly thereafter, dinners with a high meat content, a mineral and vitamin supplement is not necessary. Your baby needs an adequate amount of iron in his diet, whether weaned from breast or bottle. It is better to provide iron as part of a diet of at least one jar of meat dinners and one cup of iron-fortified infant cereal. If this is not possible, iron can be provided as an individual mineral supplement or as a mix in a multi-vitamin preparation. Formula-fed infants receiving standard iron-fortified formulas do not require supplementation.
If your one-year-old is eating a variety of foods, including adequate amounts of milk, meats, vegetables, and fruits, it is not necessary to give vitamins. A picky eater may benefit from a multivitamin preparation to compensate for possibly low levels of vitamins in his diet.
I've heard of vitamin B injections. Should my baby have them?
There is little scientific evidence that vitamin B injections are useful for adults; there is no evidence that they are beneficial to your baby if he is being fed your milk, commercial infant formulas, or cow's milk. Meat and milk are excellent sources for vitamin B in the diet.
Is niacin like nicotine? What if my baby takes too much of it?
The only relationship between niacin and nicotine is that the first two letters in each word are the same. Your baby could not get too much niacin from his diet or from a vitamin preparation or fortified formula if the prescribed amounts are taken. Niacin is sometimes used to reduce high cholesterol levels in adults. High doses can cause the skin to flush and tingle. Such a reaction would not be caused by the levels of niacin in your milk, in infant formula, or in cow's milk.
Is there any difference among the various multivitamin preparations for babies?
Yes, but the differences have little meaning for your baby's overall health and well-being. Any preparation appropriate for your baby's situation that is available from a reputable company producing multi-vitamins or infant formulas is suitable.
I heard that vitamin C is ascorbic acid. Isn't it odd to take an acid?
Many compounds in the foods we eat are classified as acids because they interact in a specific way with dissolved salts. For example, the building blocks of protein are called amino acids. Eating foods that contain these acids does not change the level of acidity in your baby's system. In fact, these acids are essential for the normal functioning of the body and for normal growth.
We have a family history of ulcers. Will taking ascorbic acid give my baby ulcers?
No. Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is not harmful to the stomach.
I like taking vitamins. I believe "the more the better." When can I start giving my baby extra vitamins?
Your baby should have vitamin supplements only if his diet is inadequate and only if they have been prescribed to bring the amount of vitamins your baby eats to an adequate level. You do not need to give more than the required amount of vitamins to have a healthy, growing baby or young child.
They tell me that vitamin C is very safe. How safe is safe?
If your baby eats the recommended levels of vitamin C, it is very safe. The best source of vitamin C is your breast milk or a fortified infant formula. If you are weaning your baby, the best sources are citrus fruits and fresh vegetables.
Do all formulas have enough vitamins for my baby?
All commercial formulas that are available have enough vitamins for a healthy child. Some formulas have reduced amounts of some or all the vitamins, but these are prescribed only for children who have gut or metabolic illnesses (illnesses related to genetic problems of metabolism, usually related to protein handling in the body). The vitamin composition of formulas is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the United States and other international regulatory bodies.
My baby is now eating baby food. Do baby foods contain vitamins?
All foods have vitamins, but the distribution among foods is not equal. Fresh milk (for infants older than one year), meat, and cereals are a good source of B vitamins. Fruits and vegetables are a good source of vitamin C. In the United States, homogenized milk is fortified with vitamin D. Exposure to sunshine is another source of vitamin D. Vitamin A is available in yellow fruits and vegetables. Vitamin E is available in oils and whole grains. It is important, therefore, that your baby eats a variety of foods. Please talk with your pediatrician or read the chapters on baby foods.
I don't understand how babies in the past lived without vitamins. And why do we need vitamins now?
Child health has improved substantially in the past 100 years; the number of infant deaths has been reduced by more than 90% during that period. Many of the problems associated with the high rate of infant deaths in the previous century were related to improper diets. Too few vitamins, minerals, proteins, or calories in the diet reduce the body's resistance to infectious diseases and may retard growth and mental development in infants. Today, better diets and the use of vitamin supplements have reduced or eliminated many of the vitamin-related disorders in babies. Vitamin-related illnesses still occur throughout the world, however, in babies who live in disadvantaged circumstances.
What exactly is a vitamin anyway?
One hundred years ago scientists discovered that rats and dogs that were fed a diet that excluded certain foods did not grow normally and often became ill. They studied the chemical components of the foods missing from the diet and discovered substances that they called vitamines. They were so named because they were thought to be from the chemical group of nitrogen-carrying compounds called amines. Vita is the Latin word for life, hence, life-giving amines or vitamines. Later chemical analyses revealed that not all of the substances contained an amine group, so the "e" was dropped and the name became vitamin.
After vitamins had been identified in research with animals, scientists discovered that disease - such as rickets and scurvy in infants, and pellagra in children and adults - could be cured by providing the patient with a supplement of specific vitamins. The dramatic recovery of patients who received the vitamins created great enthusiasm and excitement in the 1920s and 1930s. Today, vitamins are readily available as supplements, and the content of vitamins in commercial infant formulas is regulated to provide an adequate, but not excessive, amount.
I have heard that vitamin C cures many diseases. Is it true?
Large doses of vitamin C or other vitamins are among the many cures that are promoted for a variety of diseases. Such cures may have merit for some parents, but the predictability and reliability of these therapies is beyond scientific proof. They are not, therefore, commonly accepted as a basis for recommendations for an individual infant, child, or family, or as a basis for government policies that regulate the provision of food to children and families.
My baby is eating solid foods. How should I cook the baby's vegetables? Doesn't cooking destroy the vitamins?
You should cook vegetables for your baby separately from the vegetables for your family. This will ensure that sanitation is appropriate and that you do not overcook the vegetables and destroy their vitamin content. Vegetables should be cooked moderately but enough so that you may puree them. They should not be cooked so much that all the original texture is destroyed. When your child begins to eat finger foods, his resistance to infection will have improved. Your child may then also eat foods prepared for the entire family.
Someone told me that cereals have lots of vitamin B. Should I make sure that my baby gets cereal?
Many cereals available for infants and the family are supplemented with the water-soluble B vitamins. Cereals are also a good source of iron, an essential mineral. However, if your baby is getting enough of your breast milk or an infant formula, both rich in B vitamins, it is not necessary to eat cereals to have enough B vitamins in the diet. Cereal, however, is a good high-energy supplement to a milk diet, and it does help your baby get enough iron.
Why are vitamins named for letters of the alphabet?
Vitamins were discovered approximately half a century ago. Because the chemical composition of vitamins was unknown, they were simply named for letters of the alphabet, beginning with vitamins A and B.
Why are there so many different kinds of vitamin B?
By 1932, scientists had discovered that the original vitamin B was not a single substance. In fact, it contained many different substances. Together, these substances were referred to as the B complex. Research into the chemical structure of these substances enabled scientists to determine that B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), and B12 (cyanocobalamin) were actually different vitamins. B4, B5, B7, B8, B9, B10, and B11 were determined not to be vitamins after all. The letter-number designations of the B vitamins have become abbreviations by which scientists and doctors still refer to these substances.
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