Micronutrients for children and why eating healthy alone is not enough
Every parent knows it. A child eats vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products – and yet the pediatrician points out that something is missing. Or the parent notices themselves that the child is tired, irritable, struggling to concentrate at school, or simply "doesn't look right." The question then arises on its own: how is it possible that a child who seemingly eats well can be deficient in important nutrients?
The answer lies in an area that is surprisingly rarely discussed in everyday conversations about nutrition – micronutrients. This isn't about calories, proteins, or carbohydrates. It's about vitamins, minerals, and trace elements that the body needs in small but absolutely critical amounts. And it is precisely these substances that can be lacking even in children whose diet appears perfectly fine at first glance.
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Why "eating healthy" isn't enough
Modern diet is paradoxical in many ways. Never in history has food been so accessible, so varied, and so visually appealing – and yet research repeatedly shows that a large portion of the population, children included, suffers from hidden nutritional deficiencies. This phenomenon is referred to in the scientific literature as "hidden hunger" and according to the World Health Organization, it affects more than two billion people worldwide.
How is this possible? The problem is that caloric sufficiency does not guarantee micronutrient sufficiency. A child can eat an adequate amount of food, feel full, and still receive only a fraction of the required amount of zinc, iodine, vitamin D, or iron. Industrially processed foods, which make up a significant portion of most children's diets, are calorie-dense but micronutrient-poor. White bread, pasta, sweetened yogurts, chocolate-flavored cereals – all of these may look like "normal" food, but their nutritional value is significantly lower compared to natural foods.
It is also worth mentioning a factor that is often overlooked: even a high-quality food may not always deliver as many micronutrients as it should. Intensive farming, long storage periods, transportation, and heat processing – all of these reduce the vitamin and mineral content of food. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed that the nutrient content of vegetables and fruit has noticeably declined over the past fifty years, particularly with regard to vitamin C, magnesium, and iron. In other words, the carrot a child eats today is not nutritionally the same as the carrot eaten three generations ago.
Let us add one more important factor: children are growing. And a growing organism has significantly higher demands for micronutrients than an adult. Bones are being built, the brain is developing, the immune system is taking shape – and all of these processes require precisely the nutrients that tend to be most underrepresented in children's diets.
Which micronutrients are most commonly deficient
When we look at data from nutritional surveys conducted across Europe and in the Czech Republic, the same names keep appearing. These are not exotic substances – they are well-known micronutrients that nonetheless appear in insufficient quantities in children's diets.
Vitamin D is probably the most frequently discussed deficiency in children in temperate climates. Its primary source is not food but sunlight – and that is a problem for any child who spends most of their time indoors, wears sunscreen, or lives in a country with weak sunlight for most of the year. Vitamin D is essential not only for bone health, but also for immune system function, mood, and cognitive development. The Czech Paediatric Society recommends its supplementation in children practically year-round, yet its deficiency remains very widespread.
Iron is another micronutrient whose deficiency often goes unnoticed. Parents tend to associate it primarily with anaemia, but the symptoms of iron deficiency are far more subtle – fatigue, reduced concentration, greater susceptibility to infections, and slowed psychomotor development. A typical real-world example is a schoolchild who comes home exhausted, struggles with schoolwork, and whose teachers report inattentiveness – while parents attribute it to laziness or overload. Only a blood test reveals that the child has low ferritin levels and their brain literally lacks enough "fuel" for concentration. Girls in puberty, vegetarian children, and children with generally low meat intake are particularly at risk.
Magnesium is a mineral that receives less attention in the context of children's nutrition, even though its deficiency is surprisingly common. Magnesium is involved in more than three hundred enzymatic reactions in the body, and influences sleep quality, the nervous system, and the ability to cope with stress. Children who are chronically anxious, sleep poorly, or experience frequent muscle cramps may be suffering from a deficiency of this mineral. Unfortunately, magnesium is lost during industrial food processing – refined flour, white rice, sugar – these are all foods that contain virtually no magnesium, yet they form the basis of many children's diets.
Iodine is a trace element essential for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, which regulates metabolism, growth, and brain development. Its deficiency in childhood can have long-term consequences for intellectual development. Although iodised salt is used in the Czech Republic, the modern trend of reducing salt intake and using alternative salts (Himalayan, sea salt) without added iodine has meant that iodine deficiencies are beginning to reappear. The situation is further complicated by the fact that industrially processed foods, which account for a large share of children's salt intake, do not always contain iodised salt.
Zinc is perhaps the most frequently overlooked micronutrient when assessing children's nutrition. Yet it is absolutely essential for immune function, wound healing, appetite, and normal growth. A child who repeatedly falls ill, heals poorly, or has an inexplicably reduced appetite may be zinc-deficient. Zinc is found primarily in meat, seafood, and legumes – and its absorption is reduced by phytates found in wholegrain bread. Paradoxically, a child who eats "healthily" and receives plenty of wholegrain bread may actually absorb zinc less efficiently than a child who eats white bread with meat.
B vitamins – particularly B12, B6, and folate – are further candidates for deficiency. Vitamin B12 is found exclusively in animal products, making its deficiency almost inevitable in children following a vegan diet without supplementation. But even in children who eat meat, intake may be insufficient if it is consumed only rarely. Folate, or folic acid, is crucial for cell division and the production of red blood cells, and its deficiency manifests as fatigue and impaired immunity.
What parents can do about it
As physician and nutrition researcher Michael Greger once said: "The best diet is the one that maximises nutrient intake and minimises the intake of calories without nutrients." This statement is simple, but it captures the essence of the problem.
The first step is variety. The more diverse the diet, the lower the likelihood that any micronutrient will be chronically lacking. But variety doesn't just mean different types of fruit and vegetables – it also means different protein sources, different types of grains, fermented foods, nuts, and seeds. In practice, this might look like lentil soup one day, fish the next, and eggs the day after – and this rotation helps cover different micronutrient needs.
The second step is paying attention to how food is prepared. Boiling vegetables in large amounts of water causes the loss of water-soluble vitamins – vitamin C and the B vitamins. Gentler methods such as steaming, brief sautéing, or eating vegetables raw are preferable. Food combinations also matter: vitamin C significantly enhances the absorption of iron from plant sources, so a vegetable salad with a lemon dressing served alongside lentils is not merely a matter of taste, but a nutritionally smart combination.
The third step – and this is a topic many parents still resist – is considering targeted supplementation. Not as a replacement for a varied diet, but as a complement to it in cases where a deficiency is demonstrable or where the conditions for its development are favourable. Vitamin D during winter months, omega-3 fatty acids if the child doesn't eat fish, iodine if the family doesn't use iodised salt – these are situations where supplementation makes sense and is supported by expert recommendations. Before starting any supplementation, it is of course advisable to consult with a paediatrician, ideally on the basis of blood tests.
The fourth, and perhaps most underestimated step, is paying attention to the signals a child is sending. Chronic fatigue, frequent illness, poor sleep, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, slow growth – all of these can be signs of micronutrient deficiencies that are easily overlooked or attributed to other causes. Parents who notice these patterns and don't settle for the answer "it'll pass" are doing more for their child's health than those who rely solely on a visually varied plate.
The fact that a child "eats well" is therefore only the beginning of the answer to the question of whether they are getting everything they need. Modern nutrition is more complex than it appears, and the gap between what a child eats and what their body actually utilises can be surprisingly large. Paying attention to it – without hysteria, but with genuine interest – is one of the most valuable things a parent can do for their child's healthy development.
