Finding Where Health and Enjoyment Collide with vitafusion™ and L’il Critters™
by Rebecca Scritchfield, MA, RDN, LD, ACSM HFS RebeccaScritchfield.com
As a dietitian, I encourage people to eat balanced every day, with a variety of colorful fruits, vegetables, lean proteins from both plants and animals, dairy and whole grain foods. I’m a big fan of quality foods as a foundation for longevity. I’m also a realist and I understand we all have foods that don’t earn an A+ in nutrition and there is a way to keep those foods in your life in a balanced way. Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too?
Why Take Multivitamins?
It can be difficult meeting vitamin and mineral recommendations every day. There’s food preferences, seasonal eating, work travel and other normal life events that pop up. Daily vitamin supplements can help you ensure that you’re getting what you need.
Many people, myself included, may have a medical need for supplements. I have had vitamin D deficiency for years, before I corrected it with a vitamin D supplement. I need to take vitamin D to help it stay out of deficiency range. I found out that my mom, sister, and brother also have vitamin D deficiencies. I’m also still supplementing my diet with a prenatal vitamin because I’m nursing.
Why do I love vitafusion™?
“It can be difficult meeting vitamin and mineral recommendations every day… Daily vitamin supplements can help you ensure that you're getting what you need.”
Well of course I love that they taste great – who doesn’t love gummies? Even my husband has been taking his vitamins and I’ve never been able to get him to take them before! They’re a great-tasting alternative to large, hard-to-swallow tablets.
Of most importance to me when looking at brands (and even deciding to try the product and work with them) was the quality of the products. They have natural fruit flavors and they’re made in the USA.
MultiVites:
vitafusion™ MultiVites are specially formulated for adults and offer a balance of nutrients, including 200% of the daily value of vitamin D3 (as much as a 5 oz. piece of salmon!) in one serving.
Why do we need vitamin D?
Vitamin D is especially important because it’s needed for calcium absorption. Almost 2/3 of Americans, don’t get the recommended amount of vitamin D. If you are deficient, supplementation is recommended to help bring up vitamin D levels, as food sources of vitamin D are difficult to reach.
L’il Critters™:
L’il Critters™ are a great-tasting children’s gummy vitamin that helps support and maintain healthy growth and development.* They come in a variety of natural flavors. Antioxidant vitamin C supports immune health and vitamin D helps support kids’ strong bones.*
I asked my “mommy friends” who already use L’il Critters™ why they give their kids a mulivitamin and they said various versions of this bottom line.
I do my best every day to make sure my kid is provided with a variety of healthy foods. But I’m not with them all the time and their appetite can seem so “off” like some days they aren’t eating much. They love the taste of L’il Critters™ and I feel better like they are getting what they need. There’s not a fight over food and I can be more flexible as a mom.
With my food and nutrition hat on, I can validate that this line of thinking makes sense. Trying to force your kids to eat a specific type and amount of foods each day is a losing “battle”. The strategy I recommend follows Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility” which says parents decide what comes into the house and when and where food is served. Kids decide how much they eat and whether they eat. As moms roll with the normal variations in kids eating, while continuing to offer a variety of nutritious foods, a kids multivitamin that is high quality and great tasting, like L’il Critters™ can give parents peace of mind.
Prenatal:
For all you moms (and wannabe moms!) out there vitafusion™ offers a Prenatal vitamin. With no iron, they’re easy on the stomach.* The prenatal vitamins are an excellent source of folic acid, vitamins A, C and D, and have 50 mg of Omega-3 DHA, which are important for fetal development.*