Zinc is a very important microelement which is necessary for human body. If children are short of zinc, it will affect their intellectual development. What are the symptoms of zinc deficiency for children? Let's have a look.
For children, zinc can promote growth and development, promote immune function, improve digestive function, increase appetite, protect skin and vision (especially night vision).
Zinc, which is so important to our body, is widely found in all kinds of foods, but the zinc content is different in different foods. The foods with high zinc content include animal food such as liver, lean meat, fish, eggs, yoghurt, oyster, etc. the zinc content of peanut oil, beans, pine nuts, etc. in plant food is also high; the zinc content of vegetables and fruits is low. In addition, different sources of zinc body absorption is not the same, generally speaking, the absorption rate of animal food zinc is high, plant food zinc absorption is relatively poor.
Zinc deficiency in children may lead to the following symptoms: (1) digestive dysfunction. Children may show anorexia, pickiness, anorexia, or refusal to eat. Some children show no hunger and do not ask for food actively. (2) Growth and development are backward. The body is short, the height is shorter than the children of the same age, and the weight is lighter than the children of the same age. Therefore, zinc is a very important nutrient for children who are in the period of vigorous growth and development. Children with severe zinc deficiency even have delayed sexual development and zinc deficiency dwarfism. (3) Immune function reduction: it is easy to have infectious diseases, and may often have cold and other recurrent respiratory infections, such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. (4) Mental retardation: may be manifested as memory decline, slow response. (5) Skin damage: zinc deficiency may cause skin roughness and dryness. (6) Picaresis: biting nails, clothing, toys, hard things, eating hair, paper scraps, raw rice, wall ash, soil, sand, etc. (7) Others: fidgety, sweating, nail white spots, hair yellow sparse or fall off, etc.
It should be noted that these symptoms are not unique to zinc deficiency, and not all symptoms will appear in children. Therefore, whether zinc deficiency is based on children's eating habits, clinical manifestations and blood zinc measurement should be comprehensively judged.