Stop Giving Your Kids Gummy Vitamins

“You can’t out-brush a bad diet!” That’s the number one lesson in prevention year after year. So for 2022, let’s drink water and say no to gummy vitamins! 

If you want to improve the health of your child, stop buying gummy vitamins. Vitamins and nutrients are essential to the growth and development of children. Vitamins that are created with artificial dyes, high fructose corn syrup, and dipped in sugar crystals are not. Gummy vitamins can actually be detrimental to the growth and development of children. This is despite the packaging that labels them as healthy. The gelatin and pectin used to hold the gummy vitamins together is where the problem starts. It sticks to teeth, and combined with the sweet sugar, causes cavities. Recent research shows it causes additional problems too. 

According to ConsumerLab, the majority of vitamin supplements it reviewed, including children’s vitamins, were found to have troubling issues. The biggest offender were gummies. Two popular brands of gummy vitamins were found to include “more than twice their listed amounts of folic acid.” This is an ingredient that if concentrated in high amounts, can lead to kidney damage. ConsumerLab explains the reason for this troubling issue. Since gummy vitamins were originally designed as fruit snacks, not to hold nutrients, many gummy vitamin companies have trouble controlling the amounts of ingredients in each gummy. This includes elevated levels of heavy metals, which many gummy vitamin companies are not third-party tested. For years now, these supposedly healthy and delicious sugar bombs are damaging kid’s teeth across the country.

Since gummy vitamins are not the answer to children’s health, what is?

The first alternative to gummy vitamins is of course to receive your nutrients from whole foods. By eating a diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, you are naturally providing the body with optimal nutrients.  

The second alternative:  Chewable vitamins. Although chewable multivitamins may not taste as good as their gummy nemesis, they are a far better option. Choose a powdery chewable vitamin to give your children. They dissolve easily and wash away quickly with a sip of water. There are new multivitamins on the market (i.e. Hiya) that are naturally sweet with zero added sugar, zero gummy gelatin or pectin, and no unnecessary preservatives.

If you truly care about the health and nutrition of your child enough to give them a vitamin in the first place, care enough to stop giving them the gummy kind. Invest in a chewable multivitamin or do some research into what nutrients children need most and feed them real foods that contain those nutrients. It may not be as easy as offering a candy-like imposter, but it will improve their health and also teach them about nutrition and healthy living.

At Sunshine Smiles, we strive to not only treat the current health of teeth, but to prevent any harm that could possibly come to teeth. Prevention is key and our dentists are trained to be able to diagnose the cause of a cavity. What sets Dr. Kristin and Dr. Alvarez apart from other pediatric dentists is their true passion for prevention and overall health of their patients. They have seen far too much damage done to patient’s teeth by gummy vitamins. #nogummies

Contact Sunshine Smiles

If you have questions, concerns, or need to make your child’s six-month appointment for a checkup, contact our friendly staff at Sunshine Smiles today!