Iron (Fe) has the same important position in the metabolism of the body. The low absorption of iron in food strings leads to deficiency. Iron is involved in oxygen transport, exchange and tissue respiration processes in the organism. Lack of iron can lead to iron deficiency anemia and, in severe cases, decreased immune function. Foods with high iron content include meat of beef and lamb, kidney, liver, oysters, beans, dried figs, nuts, especially almonds. Why are children susceptible to iron deficiency anemia? Infancy is the period of fastest growth and development of children, with a rapid increase in blood volume and a relatively high iron requirement. The iron brought by the newborn from the mother can guarantee the use of the child for 4 to 6 months. If the infant is breastfed in sufficient quantity within 6 months after birth, iron deficiency anemia generally does not occur, but if the amount of breast milk is insufficient and milk feeding is the mainstay, the iron content in milk is lower than breast milk, and the absorption rate of iron in milk is also lower than that of breast milk, so iron deficiency anemia is prone to occur; premature infants are more prone to this disease. Infants also lose more iron from feces and skin than children and adults, so if they do not pay attention to the addition of iron-containing supplementary foods, they will suffer from iron deficiency anemia, either mild or severe. At this time, iron-rich complementary foods should be added in time to prevent the occurrence of this disease. Experts remind that poor eating habits of older children, such as partial eating, picky eating, refusal to eat or poor nutrition supply, can also lead to this disease. In addition, hookworm disease, ulcer disease, epistaxis, thrombocytopenic purpura, long-term diarrhea, vomiting, enteritis, steatorrhea, etc., can affect the absorption of nutrients including iron, acute and chronic infections, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal malabsorption, which can also cause the disease. Are there any symptoms of iron deficiency anemia in children? The symptoms of iron deficiency anemia are: pale yellow or pale face, pale skin, light color of new membrane of mouth and lips and mucous membrane of eyelids, thin yellow hair, poor appetite, weak spirit, inactivity, easy fatigue, etc. The hematocrit is lower than the normal index. Poor resistance to disease, easily infected with other diseases, and even affect intelligence and learning. Experts remind: to determine whether a child is iron deficient, you can go to the hospital to test the child’s hematocrit, get the exact data, and then the doctor will determine whether the child should be supplemented with iron supplements for iron. So, for the health of your child, should you give him more iron supplements? There are many young parents who give their children iron supplements indiscriminately, mistakenly believing that iron supplement foods and pharmaceuticals are nutritional products that are beneficial to eat regardless of whether the child is iron deficient or not. In fact, iron, like other trace elements, has a certain content and proportion in the human body. If children are given iron supplements indiscriminately, it can cause adverse consequences. For the treatment of nutritional iron deficiency anemia in children, if oral iron supplements are needed, they can be stopped 1 to 2 months after the hemoglobin is normal. Therefore, parents should not blindly give their children iron supplements by believing in iron-supplemented food and medicine, but should add more animal liver, beef, mutton, egg yolk, fish and bean food to their daily recipes. Take some vitamin C, which can also promote the absorption of iron. In addition, the iron pot is a better iron vessels, the family should choose more iron pot cooking dishes. What are the dangers of iron to the body? First, when children’s food already contains enough iron, if you blindly supplement iron can cause children’s body iron content too much, so that iron, zinc, copper and other trace elements metabolism in the body out of balance, thus affecting the small intestine on zinc, magnesium and other trace elements absorption, so that the body’s immune function is reduced, susceptible to bacterial infections. Second, some iron food contains divalent iron ions, when a large intake, can make the serum concentration of iron ions significantly higher, if more than the plasma protein binding capacity, the free iron ions in the blood will increase, resulting in children’s heart muscle damage, heart failure and even shock may. Third, after the excess iron is absorbed, it will also be deposited in the pancreas, resulting in abnormal pancreatic function, which not only affects digestive function, but can also cause “bronze-colored diabetes”. Experts remind: to prevent iron deficiency anemia in infants and young children, you can choose iron-rich foods, generally high absorption rate of iron in animal foods, up to 10% to 20%, you can choose liver, blood, lean meat, fish, eggs, etc., these foods contain heme iron, easy to be absorbed and used. The absorption rate of plant food iron is only a few percent, and some vegetables and cereals contain oxalic acid, carbonic acid, phytic acid, etc., will interfere with the absorption and utilization of iron. Fruit foods contain more vitamin C, with food feeding, can improve the absorption and utilization of iron.