Multivitamin and Mineral Drops For Children

Created to give parents the option from one year of age of having a little more. Created based on important nutrients for early years and with the correct and safe levels in mind, this multivitamin and mineral drop offers a complement to a balanced diet for young children. Offering a top up and a safeguard against low levels of some of the vitamins and minerals included.

This might be due to dietary restrictions, food refusal, fussy eating or multiple allergens. Of course check with your GP or health care professional if you’re unsure or if you’re already offering other supplements to your baby/toddler. To be used alongside a balanced diet, not as a replacement for one.

You can see all the details of the ingredients and why they were included below. 

Ingredients 

• Vegetable glycerine
• Purified water
• Vitamin C (calcium ascorbate)
• Iron (ferrous bisglycinate)
• Kelp extract (providing iodine)
• Emulsifier (sunflower lecithin)
• Niacin (vitamin B3 as niacinamide)
• Zinc (zinc citrate)
• Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid as calcium-d-pantothenate)
• Preservative (citric acid)
• Selenium (as L-selenomethionine)
• Vitamin A (retinyl acetate)
• Vitamin K2 (menaquinone)
• Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxal 5-phosphate)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin-5-phosphate)
• Copper (copper sulphate)
• Vitamin B1 (as thiamine hydrochloride)
• Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol)
• Folate (L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate)
• Biotin
• Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) 

Vegetable Glycerine is a naturally occurring, sugar-like molecule used to create a smooth liquid base, gently sweeten, and help preserve liquid supplements, like these Vitamin A, C & D drops. This is important for maintaining product stability over time as they can grow yeasts and bacteria if this is not included. The amount used in our formula is tiny and well within extremely safe limits. Vegetable glycerine, such as this form of vegetable glycerine, is used in children’s supplements and medicines and has a strong safety record, and allows us to avoid less desirable alternatives like sorbitol.

Purified Water –  Used as a natural, plain tasting base to dilute the nutrients, making them easier to dose and neutralising the taste. 

Vitamin C – Amount included: 20mg. 66% of a child’s RNI. Form: Calcium Ascorbate 
Vitamin C is another nutrient recommended for babies and toddlers from 6months of age (or when children are having less than 500mls of formula). Vitamin C is a natural acid and can irritate the gut in certain supplemented forms. In this supplement it is provided as calcium ascorbate, a buffered (lower pH), gentle form of vitamin C that is very well tolerated. Sodium ascorbate is a cheaper form that can be used in some children’s supplement products, but is less preferred due to it’s sodium content.   

Iron – Amount included: 2mg. 30% of a child’s RNI. Form: ferrous bisglycinate 
Iron supplements can be poorly absorbed and cause gut issues, including constipation. We provide iron in a bisglycinate form in this supplement. This form is gentle, well tolerated, and well-absorbed. The modest level included here helps to top up on dietary intakes of iron, while still allowing for plenty of iron to be consumed directly via the diet, and therefore avoiding any risk of excess.  

Iodine – Amount included: 37.5mg. 53% of a child’s RNI. Form: kelp extract 
Iodine is found naturally in dairy foods and fish, largely. Some children may struggle to get enough in their diet if they are not consuming enough dairy, fortified alternatives or fish. Iodine is also found naturally in kelp – a type of seaweed. Which we have used in these multivitamin and mineral drops. This pure source of kelp is standardised to ensure that the amount of iodine is consistent in every drop.  

Sunflower lecithin – This is a natural food product that acts as an ‘emulsifier’. It helps with the absorption of the fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamin A and D, as it is very similar chemically to our digestive system’s own bile which we make to break up fats and make them easier to absorb. Sunflower lecithin is also a natural source of choline. The sunflower lecithin used in this Children’s A, C & D Vitamin Drop is from sunflower, not soya as it often is, which helps to make it suitable for anyone with allergens to soya. 

B Vitamins – Amount included (see individual vitamins below). See RNI amounts below. Forms: See below.
There is not much data on B vitamin supplement requirements in children, but dietary shortfalls (low wholegrain, fruit, veg, iron-rich foods) may result in some lower levels being consumed, especially in those who aren’t consuming animal products or are on a plant-based diet. So, a supplement with modest, safe levels of B vitamins (especially B12 and B6), can help to support or complement a balanced diet.  

B vitamins are water soluble and readily excreted from the body if consumed in excess – which makes them very safe to include. Additionally, at the 100% recommended ‘RNI’ levels (or below) as used in this product, will still be very safe for children to take even where dietary levels of B vitamins are adequate.    

All of our B vitamins are the forms naturally recognised and used by the body, and in the European Union Food Safety Authority recommended forms – authorised for being the safest and most effective for use in supplements. Please see below for the details of the B vitamins, amounts and forms used in these products.    

• Vitamin B1. Amount included: 0.3mcg. (100% child’s RNI). Form: Thiamine hydrochloride. 
• Vitamin B2. Amount included: 0.6mg. (100% child’s RNI). Form: Riboflavin 5 phosphate is as a source of B2 preferred over the less effective mononucleotide form. 
• Vitamin B3. Amount included 5mg. (100% RNI). Form Niacinamide (Nicotinamide) is a bioavailable, soluble and non-flushing form of vitamin B3, since some other forms can create an unpleasant ‘hot flushing’ effect.  
• Vitamin B5. Amount 3mg (NA RNI). Form: calcium pantothenate.  
• Vitamin B6. Amount 0.7mcg (100% RNI). Form: Piridoxal 5-Phosphate is the preferred optimally active form of vitamin B6.  
• Biotin – Amount 20mcg (NA RNI). Form: As is. 
• Folic acid (folate) – Amount included: 40mcg. 57% of a child’s RNI. Form: Metholyfolate. Here folic acid is provided in the much more effective methyl folate form that can be directly used by the body without conversion. The usual folic acid form requires multiple conversions in the body, which can vary greatly in efficiency for some people.   

Vitamin B12 – Amount included: 2.5mcg (140% of child’s RNI). Form: Methylcobalamin.  
Provided as methylcobalamin, as this is one of the active forms in the human body. Included here in higher level than the ‘NRV’ and higher than a child’s RNI to ensure good levels of absorption. This is because Vitamin B12 can be particularly susceptible to poor absorption e.g. if there any digestive issues, which is often the case in young children. Optimal Vitamin B12 is especially important in low meat/fish diets or vegetarian/vegan/plant-based diets, as B12 is only found in animal products. Therefore, we’ve included a higher amount in this supplement to allow for those who need to get 100% of their vitamin B12 from supplement forms. The level used is within upper safe levels of intake. The European Food Standards Authority does not specify an upper limit for vitamin B12, but vitamin B12 currently has no toxicity issues associated at high levels. Therefore, this supplement is well within safe limits for young children and includes adequate amounts to provide enough even for those consuming little in the way of animal foods.

Zinc – Amount included: 1.5mg. 30% of a child’s RNI. Form: zinc citrate   
Zinc in natural citrate form is soluble and bio-available form of this nutrient. This is a very safe modest amount, as 5mg is a safe dose for children from 1 year of age. 

Citric Acid – Citric acid is a natural acid present in fruits, that helps to preserve ingredients as a whole, keeping them natural, unspoiled and effective. 

Selenium – Amount included: 10mcg. 66% of a child’s RNI. Form: L-selenomethionine – Selenomethionine form is bioavailable and preferable to the inorganic sodium selenite used in some products.  

 Vitamin A – Amount included: 120mcg. 30% child’s RNI. Form: retinyl acetate 
An appropriate but safe dose for supporting levels of vitamin A in everyday use, in case there are dietary shortfalls of this Government recommended nutrient for young children. Also, is a perfectly safe level to take even if dietary intakes are adequate. The retinyl acetate form is a simple, well-absorbed vegan form of preformed vitamin A, enabling the product to be suitable for vegetarians and vegans (who may struggle to get enough vitamin A in their diet).  Another vegan form – Beta carotene – can also be converted into vitamin A in the body, but the conversion process can vary in efficiency between individuals, so preformed vitamin A provides a more certain source, making this an excellent vegan, bio-effective source of this nutrient.  

Vitamin K2 – Amount included: 15mcg. RNI N/A. Form: menaquinone 
Vitamin K1 is the form found in foods like green vegetables, but can be poorly converted in the gut to vitamin K2, whereas providing K2 directly is much more effective.  

Copper – Amount included: 0.2mg. 50% of a child’s RNI. Form: copper sulphate   
Copper is important for nerve function and connective tissue support. Provided here in an easily absorbed and soluble sulphate form. When including zinc in a supplement, it’s important to provide copper as well as the two can compete, and this ensures they are in balance, and copper is not depleted.

Vitamin D – Amount included: 10mcg. 100% child’s RNI. Form: Cholecalciferol (vegan) 
10mcg is the NHS recommended dose for babies and toddlers. Vitamin D can be difficult to get from food, as most is synthesised in the skin on exposure to the sun. It can also be difficult to get enough from food and the levels in breast milk can vary, depending on maternal levels. Therefore, due to babies lack of exposure to the sun and the limited amount of vitamin D in foods, it’s important that a supplement for adults and children provides the FULL amount of Vitamin D needed, which is 10mcg.  

Importantly, babies fed infant formula do not require a vitamin D supplement if they’re having more than 500ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day. This is because infant formula is already fortified with the correct dose of vitamin D, as well as other nutrients.  

Vitamin D3 is known to be a much more ‘bio-effective’ form of Vitamin D, meaning it is available and readily used by the body. This is much more readily used than the vitamin D2 form.  

Vitamin D3 is usually not vegan as it is sourced from lanolin, which is extracted from the wool of sheep, but our D3 is sourced from algae, with a neutral taste, making this an excellent vegan, bio-effective source of this essential nutrient, in the right dose.