Liquid vitamins--trying to make things easier

[Claire]

Hi all,

 

Does Kirkmann only have natural (not artificial) ingredients? e.g. natural mango flavor and natural green apple flavor really does mean natural? I know some have sucralose, but that is specifically called out.

 

I am trying to replace capsules (too too many!) with liquid vitamins.

 

Here is what I found--it would be great if other parents posted palatable liquids for our kids who hate the pills:

 

-Kirkman Liquid Iron Supplement 18 Mg. (we do iron a couple of times a week, just for general health)

 

 

--Kirkmann liquid zinc, but it has sucralose

 

--Floradix liquid calcium, liquid magnesium and liquid combo (from Jennifer, thanks!)

 

--Kirkmann has Super-Nu liquid mutivite, no copper, has lots of B6, only .75 mg manganese, which I am personally okay with.

 

I haven't bought all these yet. So far:

 

Floradix liquid calcium --good taste, I add a drop of stevia

FLoradix liquid magnesium--I don't like the apricot taste

 

 

Claire

 

Please add any liquid vitamins you know of. I prefer those that have measurable quantities--too hard for me to judge dosage otherwise.

[Heather]

We were using SISU brand - Cal/Mag which is a liquid form. It is highly reputable in our area and offers many other types of supplements besides the cal

/mag.

 

Heather

[Claire]

Thanks Heather. I googled it and it has calcium carbonate, I believe this is the best form (other than MCA for Osteo).

 

I couldn't find what it was sweetened with, can you let me know?

 

I found a chewable Country life Cal-Snack. (Vanilla-Orange). Each wafer has 500 mg cal carbonate/citrate and 250 mag oxide/aspartate. I tried the chewable not great, but it saves 3 pills, so worth it.

 

Did someone say magnesium aspartate was bad?

 

Claire

[Guest Guest]

Hi Claire,

Why do you give your son iron? I thought that most people, unless they've been tested as anemic should avoid iron supplements.

[Claire]

I only give him iron about once a week, though I would like to do it twice a week.

 

When I review his diet, he doesn't get it from other sources. Most kids have iron fortified cereals for example, but he doesn't have cereal (except every couple of weeks, and it is not fortified.)

 

Anyway, I checked it with his DAN doctor, and he agreed that it was a good idea.

 

Just like magnesium, I give it once a week or so (and I also checked this with our doctor). I just think that other than copper (because I know his zinc/copper ratio is off), that bodies need a balance.

 

Not everyone agrees with this, I know some say to stay away from iron. But for example, there was an article on Braintalk on low iron and adhd... jcc posted it. The article link doesn't seem to work, so I have the Braintalk link. My son doesn't have adhd, but it just points out to me that I want the balance.

 

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showth...read.php?t=4290

 

 

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This article may connect the dots between gluten sensitivity and iron deficiency and ADHD. You must register, but it is free. Thanks, Anne.

 

Low Iron Stores May Contribute to ADHD

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/496088

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 15 - Iron deficiency in children may contribute to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to the results of a small study. Based on these findings, researchers suggest that iron supplementation may benefit ADHD children.

"Iron deficiency causes abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission and may contribute to the physiopathology of ADHD," Dr. Eric Konofal, of Hopital Robert Debre, Paris and colleagues write in the December issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

 

In a controlled group comparison study, the researchers examined iron deficiency in 53 children with ADHD and in 27 matched controls. Main outcome measures included serum ferritin levels, used to evaluate iron stores, and Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) scores to measure severity of ADHD symptoms.

 

The children with ADHD had lower mean serum ferritin levels than controls (p < 0.001). Forty-two (84%) of the ADHD subjects had abnormal serum ferritin levels (lower than 30 ng/mL) compared with 5 (18%) of the controls. Extremely low serum ferritin levels (lower than 15 ng/mL) were found in 17 (32%) ADHD subjects and 1 (3%) control.

 

The researchers observed a correlation between low serum ferritin levels and more severe general ADHD symptoms (p < 0.02). Low serum ferritin levels were also significantly correlated with greater cognitive deficits.

 

"Iron supplementation has been reported incidentally to decrease the CPRS and cognitive deficiency in children with ADHD with an iron-deficient diet, although serum ferritin levels were not measured in this study," Dr. Konofal's group notes.

 

"We suggest that iron supplementation might also improve central dopaminergic activity in children with ADHD, decreasing the need for psychostimulants."

 

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158:1113-1115.