Should I give my 3-year-old son iron supplements to prevent anemia?

Not unless they are prescribed by your healthcare provider, says Dr. Kathleen J. Motil, a pediatrician with the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The unneeded iron from powerful supplements could overload young bodies and seriously damage the liver and kidneys.

 Children between 6 months and 10 years of age need just 10 milligrams of iron each day. Older boys need 12 milligrams a day through age 18, while girls over age 10 need 15 milligrams. Iron is used primarily to build hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying compound in red blood cells.

 The best dietary sources of iron are liver, lean red meat and the dark meat of poultry, followed by pork, light meat poultry and some fish and shellfish, fortified rice and grain products, bran, blackstrap molasses, legumes and beans, soybean nuts, prune juice, and pumpkin seeds.

 To improve iron absorption from bread, ready-to-eat cereals and other plant-based foods, serve with small amounts of meat or with vitamin C-rich foods like orange juice and strawberries.

 Also, caffeine found in colas and other substances found in tea and coffee inhibit iron absorption, so avoid serving these beverages at mealtime.

 If you wish to provide your son with additional iron, offer a child's multi-vitamin with iron.  But remember that young children can easily confuse these tablets with candy.  Keep all vitamins, supplements and medications in child-proof containers well out of the reach of inquisitive tots.

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