Beyond calcium – getting enough nutrition for toddlers with limited diets
Worry about young children getting enough nutrition can be something that niggles all parents, but this is often even more the case for children who have a restricted diet. Whether it’s food allergies, food refusal or following a plant-based diet, it’s natural to worry whether your little one is getting the nutrition they need.
This can feel even more in the spotlight during the winter months, when kids get sick – and immunity is on our agenda as parents too!
Here’s the thing – it’s common to hear about the ‘big’ nutrients you need to think about like calcium (especially when your little one is milk-free). But did you know children with food allergies – especially cow’s milk allergy or multiple food exclusions – are at higher risk of deficiencies including Vitamin D, iron, zinc, B12, and are more likely to have poorer antioxidant status and lower intakes of Vitamins A, C, D and E due to their reduced dietary variety?
We’re absolutely not here to add to your worry with this. In fact, this is exactly one of the reasons why we developed Grow with Iris! We asked our dietitian for her top tips on getting in these key nutrients with our toddlers!
1: Eyes on iron intake
Iron can be a particularly tricky nutrient to get into toddlers. It’s found abundantly in lots of foods your child may not be able to eat (if plant-based or with food allergies), or may be more likely to reject during these tricky toddler years – such as meat, oily fish and eggs. To help ensure your little one gets enough iron think about;
- Offering an iron rich food with at least three meals a day
- Including well-fortified foods like ready oats, cereals, fortified milk alternatives – even tinned spaghetti hoops!
- Getting friendly with beans and pulses, from baked beans to blending butter beans in white sauce and black beans into brownies to adding hummus as a dip with vegetables or sandwich spread. It all adds up.
- Pairing any iron rich foods based on plants with a Vitamin C rich food to support absorption e.g. citrus fruits, kiwi, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli
- Whether you can cook some foods with cast iron pans or a lucky iron fish.
If you’re worried about your child’s iron intake, chat with a GP or Dietitian – as low iron can impact energy levels, growth and appetite
2: Zinc savvy?
Zinc is a nutrient often overlooked but more likely to be low in children with food allergies, and especially those with eczema. Low zinc can also impact growth, and eating behaviours.
Zinc isn’t needed in large amounts, but it is worth ensuring zinc rich foods feature regularly in your child’s diet. Top options to consider include; meat, pumpkin seeds, lentils, wholegrains, shellfish and nuts (if you child can have these).Immunity supporting foods – The reality is there is no food or supplement that can ‘boost’ the immune system, but thinking about the nutrients and foods that do support optimum functioning of the immune system is helpful. These nutrients include zinc, iron and Vitamin D (mentioned above or below), but also;
3: Vitamin A
It’s true Vitamin A supports sight, but it also has an important role in immune functioning. You can find animal-based Vitamin A sources in eggs and oily fish, and plant-based Vitamin A in yellow, red, orange and dark green fruits and vegetables.
4: Vitamin C
This nutrient is often top of the mind when thinking about immunity, and can be consumed easily from foods such as kiwi, strawberries, citrus fruits, bell peppers and other fruits and vegetables. In fact, a toddler’s Vitamin C requirements can easily be met with ½ a kiwi or 4-5 medium strawberries.
(p.s. don’t get sucked in by expensive high dose Vitamin C supplements! Vitamin C is water soluble so most of that high dose will just be passed out in your child’s urine rather than stored for later)
5: Overlooked iodine
Iodine is a nutrient many parents haven’t heard of, but one I always discuss with parents who have children with multiple allergies or who follow plant-based diets.
Iodine is essential for brain development and metabolic health in children, but in the UK most children hit their daily quota from dairy consumption, and after this white fish. With one or both of these foods often off the menu for this group of children, ensuring iodine from other sources is essential.
Choosing an iodine fortified milk alternative is a top recommendation, but for some children iodine supplementation may be necessary (under the advise of a dietitian, as dose is important)
Did you know?
Gut health is immune health! With 70%+ of the body’s immune cells housed in the gut, considering foods which support and feed that community of bacteria in your child’s gut can have a knock-on impact on their immunity. Gut bacteria love fibre, so focussing on a wide variety plant-based foods is a great place to start. Think fruits, vegetables, beans, pulses, seeds and wholegrains.
6: Know what you need to supplement!
As a dietitian, I will always advocate for a diet-first approach to nutrition for our children. When kid’s do have a more restricted diet, it’s important to know when supplementation can step in to help fill the gaps. Of course, some specific supplementation should be advised by your individual health professional, but here are some basics every parent needs to consider:
• Vitamin D
This is not a nutrient many children reliably obtain from food. Even though you can find it in fortified products, it’s recommended to ensure all children under 5 are having 10ug of Vitamin D (ideally D3) daily. The only exception to this is when children are having >500mls formula milk per day. If your little one is over 5 – they should also be supplementing with Vitamin D, at least during these darker winter months (October-March).
• Vitamins A and C
NHS guidance continues to recommend that these two nutrients are supplemented daily in children between 1-5 years of age, again unless they are having >500mls formula milk per day.
If your child follows a Vegan diet, then supplementation of B12 and Iodine should also be considered from 10-12 months of age.
• Omega 3 fatty acids
Specifically DHA and EPA are both found in oily fish, and incredibly helpful nutrients for brain development (which is rapid in these early years). If your little one can’t or won’t eat foods like salmon, sardines, mackerel then supplementing with a baby/child DHA and EPA Omega 3 supplement is worth considering.
Above all else, one of the best tools you have in your arsenal to support your child’s dietary needs are offering variety. Think about adding a different food to your shop this week, picking up a different fruit or vegetable, or adding a sprinkle of something different into their porridge. Little additions can add up to big nutrition! Of course if you’d like more support with your child’s diet, then do reach out to their dietitian.
References
Di Cesare, G., Carciofi, A., Borgiani, F., Cappelletti, D., Correani, A., Monachesi, C., Gatti, S., & Lionetti, M. (2025). Are We Meeting the Needs? A Systematic Review of Nutritional Gaps and Growth Outcomes in Children with Multiple Food Allergies. Nutrients, 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17091590.
Pendezza, E., Nava, C., Leone, A., Riccaboni, F., Bosetti, A., Zuccotti, G., Bertoli, S., & D’Auria, E. (2023). Antioxidant potential of the diet in Italian children with food allergies. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1096288.
