Parents trying to cut fat from their families' diets may also be cutting out natural vitamins and nutrients their preschoolers need. Two-thirds of preschoolers in a small study conducted by Judy A. Driskell, Ph.D., R.D., were deficient in vitamin E, important in the formation of red blood cells.
Driskell, a professor of nutrition and health sciences at the University of Nebraska, suggests that parents who are cutting down on saturated fats are also cutting back on liquid oils, such as canola or sunflower, which are important sources of vitamin E. A national survey found that many adults, in fact, are vitamin E deficient.
"People usually cut back on both the fat and the oil," Driskell says, but the oil isn't associated with obesity.
Parents can add vitamin E to their children's diets by offering a couple of ounces of nuts or sunflower seeds, two tablespoons of regular (not nonfat or low-fat) salad dressing on salad, or fortified whole-grain cereals.
"Parents need to be sure that they give their young children enough vitamin E in the meals they eat with them," Driskell says.
© Parenthood.com, used with permission.
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