How important are micronutrients to the human body?

Micronutrients are essential for growth, physical development, stature, intelligence, improving health, and strengthening the body's resistance.

Therefore, increasing micronutrient supplementation is important to improve physical and mental health.

 Children aged 6-35 months need to be supplemented with vitamin A twice a year. (Photo: Minh Quyet/VNA).

What are micronutrients?

Micronutrients are substances that the body only needs in very small amounts but play a very important role . When lacking, it will lead to serious effects on the body.

These are vitamins (A, B, C, D, E.) and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, copper.). They play a role in energy production, improving immunity and strengthening bone health, necessary for body growth and a number of other processes.

Most micronutrients are involved in the body's processes. In particular, some also act as antioxidants to protect against cell damage associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer's.

The role of micronutrients

Our bodies cannot synthesize micronutrients themselves, but sources of micronutrient supplements are available in nature, including foods from animals and plants. Therefore, we can increase micronutrient supplementation with foods rich in micronutrients in our daily meals.

Although the amount of micronutrients that the body needs is not large, its deficiency can cause major physical and mental effects. Specifically, iron helps the brain develop and strengthens the immune system. Iron deficiency in children will cause anorexia, reduced intelligence quotient, and reduced ability to work and study.

 Micronutrient deficiency can lead to serious effects on the body, especially in young children. (Photo: Minh Quyet/VNA)

Zinc is an important factor in the digestive and immune systems. Zinc deficiency causes children to have poor height development, anorexia, and are susceptible to infections.

Meanwhile, vitamin A plays an important role in the development of eyes and skin. Children lacking vitamin A are susceptible to infections and poor vision; women lacking vitamin A are at risk of giving birth to premature babies and low birth weight babies.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 30% of women and 40% of children worldwide suffer from anemia and iron deficiency. This rate is much higher in children in African countries, at over 60%. Vitamin A, iron and zinc deficiency is quite common in poor and developing countries, including Vietnam.

According to a survey by the National Institute of Nutrition in 2019-2020, nationwide, up to 60% of children under 5 years old are zinc deficient and 1 in 3 children are iron deficient. In particular, iron deficiency often goes hand in hand with zinc deficiency.

The rate of preclinical vitamin A deficiency (deficiency without symptoms) in children under 5 years old is 9.5%. Anemia in children under 5 years old is at 19.6%, pregnant women is 25.6%. Zinc deficiency in pregnant women is 63.5% and 58% in children under 5 years old.

Vietnam is currently facing three nutritional burdens: malnutrition coexisting with micronutrient deficiencies and overweight and obesity. The causes are people's unreasonable diet (consuming a lot of meat, eating few fruits and vegetables.) and lack of physical activity.

How to supplement micronutrients properly?

According to experts' recommendations, to prevent and combat micronutrient deficiencies, in addition to the short-term solution of taking micronutrient supplements (such as high-dose vitamin A capsules, multi-micronutrient tablets, etc.), the medium-term solution is to use micronutrient-fortified foods, and the long-term and fundamental solution is to improve the quality of meals.

 Workers' lunch. (Photo: Dai Nghia/VNA).

Therefore, it is necessary to proactively diversify and combine many types of food for daily meals; prioritize choosing and using foods rich in micronutrients.

The Ministry of Health also provides some advice to prevent micronutrient deficiencies.

• Breastfeed your baby within the first hour after birth . Breastfeed your baby exclusively for the first 6 months; breastfeed your baby until 24 months of age or longer.
• Use locally available micronutrient-rich foods for your child's daily supplementary meals; add fat or cooking oil to enhance absorption of vitamin A and fat-soluble vitamins.
• Give children of appropriate age vitamin A twice a year according to the instructions of the commune or ward health station.
• Children aged 24-59 months need to take deworming medicine twice a year ; Practice good food hygiene, personal hygiene, and environmental hygiene to prevent worm and parasite infections.
• Women of childbearing age and pregnant women should take iron, folic acid or multivitamin tablets as directed.
• In addition, daily and proper exposure to sunlight to prevent vitamin D deficiency and ensure food safety also contributes to preventing micronutrient deficiencies.

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