Nutritional Gummies: A smart mom’s nutrition hack

Food battles with your little ones can start at the breakfast table and continue throughout the day. How do you deal with complexity of nutrition your little one needs daily? For working moms it can become another full-time job to handle. For stay-at-home moms it can become the toughest part of their day. Kids can be fussy about eating a healthy balanced diet. Many children remain deficient in micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals due to improper eating habits. As a consequence, parents often wonder if supplementing is a good addition to a healthy diet.

As a parent you want the best for your kids, even while you are choosing supplements. Swallowing a tablet or a capsule is unpalatable and unlikely with kids. And here starts the struggle to find a supplement that is loved by kids. You don’t want to run behind your child for feeding the pill. You want a supplement that attracts attention in terms of colour, shape, and taste.  It should be simple and fun to consume. With innovation in the health and the fitness industry, there is an alternative for kids who do not want to swallow the pill and that is ‘Gummies’.

Go gummy because your kid is not a pill-swallower

What are Gummies?

Gummies are a delicious alternative to the dull capsule that your child will love to take daily. They are the latest trend in the Indian supplement industry. It is convenient for mothers to give one individually packed gummy to the kids. A child can eat on his own, on the go. Since gummies can carry the same or a higher dose of vitamins and minerals it is always a better option than a capsule. Some of the positives of gummies over traditional capsules/tablets are:

  • Taste: Most capsules and tablets do not have any taste, gummies on the other hand are tasty.
  • Flavour: Gummies can come in various flavours like strawberry, lemon, mango, and so on.
  • Colour: Kids are attracted to colours and gummies come in different colours like red, pink, yellow, green, etc.
  • Shape: Bears are the most common shape worldwide for gummies. However, they come in the shape of bottles, worms, babies, etc
  • Convenience: A child can have the gummy on its own, without the water. It can be taken on the go, anytime, anywhere.
  • Individual doses packed separately: Gummies are individually packed to make sure that the nutrition is intact and kids can have one on their own.
  • Recommended serving size: Every single gummy has the correct prescribed amount of nutrients. 

Supplementation in the form of gummies is popular in adults as well. Gummies are made up of corn syrup, sucrose, gelatin, starch, and water. Other gelling agents are used in place of gelatin to make gummy candies are starch and pectin. Vegetarian gummies are made up of pectin.  Did you know, Gummy Bears were actually a gummy candy created by the Haribo company in 1920? Almost 100 years ago, they were made by a German confectioner known as Hans Riegel Sr. Now they’ve been adopted as a perfect, palatable solution to deliver essential nutrients to growing kids. Try wonderful allergen-free, soy-free, gluten-free vegan alternatives for all the nutrition and none of the down sides.

References:

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gummy_candy
  2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chelseadavis/2020/03/27/20-fun-facts-about-haribo-the-original-inventor-of-the-gummi-bear/?sh=4b82edeb3d73
  3. https://www.encyclopedia.com/manufacturing/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/gummy-candy

Ms. Misbah Wasi

Functional Nutrition Specialist ,Scientific & Regulatory Advisor for Health Supplements

Misbah Wasi is a seasoned professional in the field of Nutrition Science and Food Regulation for over 13 years.

Currently she is lending her expertise in the area of Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals, and is an active member of Standards Review Group (SRG) - Nutraceuticals FSSAI.

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