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Low-Fat Diets Causing Deficiencies in Children

A modest study done at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has turned up the dismaying fact that low-fat diets may be causing vitamin deficiencies in children. Researcher Judy Driskell, looking at 22 local preschoolers, found that fully two-thirds of them were falling short on vitamin E, and one third weren't getting enough vitamin C.

Driskell attributed the deficiencies to children eating the same fat-reduced foods their parents are eating, and this makes sense for vitamin E, which is a fat-soluble vitamin. Using fat-free dressings, avoiding oils in cooking, and feeding low fat crackers instead of, say, nuts or seeds, would indeed cut the amount of vitamin E available in the diet. So would dropping the traditional eggs for breakfast, since eggs are a good source of vitamin E. (The banning of peanut butter in many schools, due to allergies, has also removed a source of vitamin E from children's diets, though of course I hope you'll feed your kids natural peanut butter instead of Skippy or Jif or the like, which have added sugar and hydrogenated oils.)

I wondered about other fat-soluble vitamins, which weren't mentioned in the reports I could find. It seems not unlikely that children who are on low fat diets might well be short on vitamins A, D, and K, as well as E. Still, vitamin A can be made in the body from the carotenes in vegetables and fruits, while vitamin D can, of course, be made in the skin on exposure to sun. Perhaps this is protecting children from deficiencies - or perhaps Driskell didn't test for these. (I do know that the rate of rickets, the bone-softening disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, has been on the upswing in the United States recently, after being considered non-existent for a number of years. The problem appears to be the fact that everyone is so afraid of sun exposure that they slather SPF 4,692 all over their kids any time they set foot out the door.)

It is puzzling to me why the lack of vitamin C in the children's diets is being blamed on a low-fat diet, however, since overwhelmingly the sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables. It seems to me that these should be part of a low fat diet. I fear that many parents are just feeding low fat processed stuff, which would account for the lack of C. Too, we've learned in the past few years that a steady intake of fruit juice is a bad idea, causing obesity with all that sugar. Apparently parents haven't compensated by handing their children a piece of whole fruit instead; the study suggested that many of them are afraid of causing allergies. It's good to know that there are many sources of vitamin C other than citrus fruit - peppers of all kinds are a terrific source, and so are tomatoes, so a snack of sliced peppers and cherry tomatoes with dip is a terrific snack. Kiwifruit are particularly rich in C, and so are berries. (Cabbage, broccoli, and spinach are good sources, too, but may not be as easy to get into your child.)

By the way, it's important to note Driskell feels that it's likely that the parents of these children are also deficient in vitamin E.

Hmmmm. Where are those articles from registered dietitians, warning about the dangers of a low fat diet - after all, that diet doesn't contain enough antioxidants!

Posted by HoldTheToast at April 22, 2005 02:12 PM