Vitamins and microelements as specific regulators of physiological and metabolic processes in the body of children and adolescents

Abstract

The review shows that vitamins are not a source of energy or plastic material, but they play an important role in specific regulators of physiological and metabolic processes that underlie the implementation of most vital functions of the body, balanced work of all its organs and systems. On the other hand, it is emphasized that micro- and macroelements are essential substances and include a several compounds involved in the construction of organs, tissues, cells and their components, the maintenance of ionic balance in cells, the regulation of the activity of many enzymes. The main causes of vitamin deficiency in childhood and the age requirement of vitamins and trace elements in different periods of childhood and adolescence are highlighted. The importance of the issue of the need for additional complementation of children with complexes of vitamins and trace elements and the need for an individual approach to solve the problem in each case is emphasized, as lately the diet of children and teenagers in Ukraine has become increasingly a feature of the Western diet, given the depletion of soils and, consequently, the reduction of vitamins and trace elements in the growing fruits. Particularly vulnerable categories are children of the first years of life, because during this period are the processes of maturation of organs and tissues of the body, as well as teenagers, most of which have distorted eating behavior and eating disorders. The groups of children for whom supplementation is mandatory are listed: with anorexia, poor appetite and those who practice dieting; with chronic diseases (cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease, liver, etc.); families with disadvantaged socio_economic background, orphans / abandoned children; those who are in diet programs to reduce weight; those who do not consume milk and dairy products; children with developmental delays.
No conflict of interest were declared by the author.