What’s in Your Kids’ Vitamins & Supplements?
By the KidStar Team
Did you know that a supplement’s non-medicinal ingredients are just as important as the medicinal ones? Kids’ vitamins and supplements can contain potentially harmful ingredients like sugar and artificial colours, artificial flavours, and artificial sweeteners. Why are these ingredients used in nutritional supplements?
Non-Medicinal Ingredients
Every supplement sold in Canada is required to list the non-medicinal ingredients, in descending order on the label. According to Health Canada, “a non-medicinal ingredient is defined as any substance added to a natural health product formulation to confer suitable consistency or form to the medicinal ingredients.”
Some non-medicinal ingredients are good for our kids, like fruits and vegetable blends, as they add fibre and additional nutrients. But other non-medicinal ingredients are not. Many non-medicinal ingredients are often used for the manufacturing process (fillers, binders, and flowing agents) or to keep tablets together (glues and gums). Artificial colours are used to make tablets and gummies visually appealing. Sugars and artificial sweeteners and flavours are used to improve taste.
Helpful or Harmful Ingredients?
What is most concerning is that nutritional supplements that are supposed to be healthy for kids can be full of ingredients that are potentially harmful to their health. One product can contain multiple types of sugars and artificial sweeteners and flavours—which are simply unnecessary.
Non-medicinal ingredients to avoid in kids’ vitamins and supplements include:
- Artificial colours
- Artificial sweeteners
- Artificial flavours
- Artificial preservatives, e.g. sodium benzoate
- Common allergens
- Sugar
Kids’ Vitamins and Supplements with Clean Ingredients
KidStar Nutrients was founded because co-founder Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe was tired of being disappointed when reading the labels of kids’ vitamins and supplements on the market. The lack of clean supplements fueled Caitlyn’s mission to create a line of nutritional supplements that she would be proud to give to her own children.
KidStar Nutrients promises to deliver the highest quality nutritional supplements without harmful ingredients. KidStar’s products contain only the ingredients needed and nothing more.
Learn More About Kids’ Nutrition
Shop
Complete multi vitamin and mineral formula with the highest quality essential nutrients.
StarMulti®
$32.99
Easy on the stomach, delicious, tiny chewable iron tablet.
BioFe® Pure Iron Chewable
$18.99
Gentle, delicious iron liquid formula for toddlers, children, and older.
BioFe+® Iron Liquid
$32.99
A high-DHA formula with added vitamin D3 in a yummy lemon blueberry chewable softgel.
Omega 3
$36.99
Easy-to-use Vitamin D3 spray, flavoured with delicious organic orange.
Vitamin D3 Spray
$19.99
Plant-Based mix packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, prebiotic fibre, DHA, and organic fruits and vegetables.
All-in-One Plant-Based Protein
$44.99
About the Author
Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe, B.A., B.Ed., is a health advocate, licensed teacher, and CEO of KidStar Nutrients. Caitlyn’s experience spans more than a decade of supply chain and ingredients sourcing in the natural products industry. As a mother of three daughters, Caitlyn’s mission is to help educate parents about kids’ nutrition and provide clean nutrients for kids and families.
About the Author
Rhianna Ross, R.H.N., is a registered holistic nutritionist based in Vancouver, BC. Rhianna has more than a decade of experience in the natural health and wellness industry, and currently works at KidStar Nutrients, where she enjoys reviewing and analyzing the latest nutritional research papers, meta-analyses, and journal articles.