As parents, we often worry about how much our children need to eat and whether they are getting all the nutrients they need.

 

Iron is one nutrient in particular that can impact how kids feel, function, grow and develop.  Iron is an important mineral found in red blood cells and is mostly responsible for carrying oxygen, a source of energy, around the body.  It is vital for life and essential for muscle function, brain development and keeping the immune system working to fight disease.  In other words, iron is a super nutrient to help your child reach their full potential.

 

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia are the most common health problem in children and adolescents and affects girls more than boys. Low iron intakes are common shown at the rates of:

• 15% in 1-year-old children
• 20% in 3-year-old children
• 5.9% and 10.8% of boys and girls aged 4-8
• 3.3% and 10.5% aged 9-13 
• up to 40% teenage girls
• up to 50% of women

 

If iron deficiency is not treated, it can lead to iron deficient anaemia and can result in the following symptoms: fatigue, poor concentration, poor memory, sleep disturbance, hyperactivity, poor appetite, taste changes, pica ( eating non-food items), irritability, mood changes (like more defiant, tantrums, easily set off, emotional dysregulation), anxiety, depression, growth concerns, developmental issues including neurodevelopmental and social-emotional concerns. It can appear to look like Autism and / or ADHD.  These issues can persist into adulthood even without anaemia, however even with supplementation to correct levels, some effects are thought to be irreversible.

 

Children can consume an inadequate iron intake for a range of reasons including:

• Infants with a late introduction to solids or late introduction of iron rich foods.
• Babies and toddlers consuming high amounts of milk, the calcium competing with iron to be absorbed.
• Fussy eaters may be at risk due to poor intake or lack of variety in the foods they eat and have low intake of vegetables, iron- fortified cereals, red meat or other iron rich food sources
• Rapid growth that occurs during childhood
• Meat is difficult to eat and requires strength from the back jaw muscles so the teeth can grind the tough fibres. At the end of the day children may be too tired to eat meat.
• Vegetarian and vegan eating
• Gut concerns or malabsorption from conditions like Coeliac disease
• Gluten free diets can often mean iron fortified breakfast cereals are not consumed.
   

If you are concerned about your child, make an appointment with a doctor who can test for iron deficiency through a physical exam, medial history, and a blood test. It is also important to check your child’s vitamin B12 levels as it is common for those who are iron deficient to be low in vitamin

B12. Vitamin B12 plays a key role in the formation of red blood cells, where iron is found, therefore, vitamin B12 deficiency may also contribute to iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can also go hand in hand with zinc and magnesium deficiency.

 

Your Dietitian can assist to assess the diet work with you to work through the barriers your child has with eating and recommend supplementation to meet your child’s nutrition needs.

 

 There are two types of iron found in the diet.
1. Haem iron is found in animal foods and is easily absorbed by the body. Foods that contain haem iron include

• Meats: beef, lamb, pork, kangaroo, venison
• Poultry: chicken and turkey
• Fish and shellfish: sardines, tuna, salmon
  Remember the darker the meat, poultry, fish or legume, the higher it is in iron

2. Non-haem iron is found in some plant foods and is not as easily absorbed. Foods that contain non-haem iron include

• Wholegrains: breads and cereals
• Iron fortified breakfast cereals
• Legumes: baked beans, beans, lentils, chickpeas
• Green leafy vegetables
• Dried fruit
• Eggs
• Nuts, seeds and pastes

Tips to get more iron in your child’s diet:

• Eat with your child even at snack times and eat the same foods. They will be more likely to try the food if they are watching you and there are a lot of subliminal messages they will be picking up about how you enjoy eating!
• Offer 5-6 meals a day to give your child the chance to eat variety of foods across all food groups, helping to meet their iron and other nutrient requirements
• Offer water as the main drink throughout the day. Milk and juices will fill up their bellies quickly and suppress their appetite for food. Think of milk as a food and if offering juice dilute it 1 part juice to 10 parts water.
• Add lentils, kidney or cannellini beans in spaghetti, casseroles, soups, savoury mince dishes
• Choose breakfast cereals with added iron
• Use wholegrain breads / pasta / rice instead of white varieties
• Include nuts or seeds and their butters (peanut, cashew butter) to snacks  

 

Tips to maximise your child’s iron absorption

• Include vitamin C in their diet as this helps the body absorb more iron. Make sure your child has a variety of vitamin C rich foods such as different fruit and vegetables offered at each meal and snack time. This will also provide a range of other essential nutrients such as fibre.  
• Tea, unprocessed bran, some soy proteins, and medications may block iron absorption. Avoid eating these at the same time of meals and snacks.

 

Here are some meal and snack suggestions

Breakfast:

• Weet-bix with milk and strawberries
• Wholemeal toast with eggs, tomato and spinach

Lunch

• Wholemeal sandwich with tuna with either tomato / beetroot + piece of fruit  
• BBQ Beef /kangaroo/lamb with potato and 3 different coloured vegetables
• Wholemeal wrap with hummus, egg, and 3 salad veggies like grated carrot, beetroot and baby spinach

 

Dinner

• Wholemeal pasta with tuna, tomato-based sauce with zucchini, mushroom and onion
• Turkey meat balls (recipe below) with wholemeal pasta, broccoli, spinach and pumpkin
• Wholemeal toast with baked beans

 

Snacks

• Hummus/peanut butter with vegetable sticks: carrot/cucumber/capsicum
• Boiled egg on Vita-Weet crackers with tomato and cucumber

 

If your child does get enough iron from their diet but they are still deficient it may be from other causes including

• Gastrointestinal conditions which affect the ability to absorb iron such as Coeliac disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease or surgery affecting the intestine 
• Blood loss including from heavy menstrual bleeding, injury, ulcers or polyps in the gut
• Certain medications that may prevent iron absorption

Working with a Dietitian is essential to ensuring your child thrives, physically, developmentally, emotionally and academically.  If you have any concerns with your child’s food intake, get in touch today for an appointment to help your child shine with the power of food.