You want your kids to eat healthy so they get all the nutrition they need to grow and stay well. For some parents, getting your kids to eat healthy can be a challenge. You may consider supplementing your child's diet with a nutrition drink such as Pediasure, which is designed to help children between the ages of 1 and 13 meet their nutrient needs. Pediasure provides all the necessary vitamins your child needs for good health.
Features
Pediasure is made by Abbott Nutrition. It comes in five different flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, banana, berry and strawberry. It is meant to serve as an oral supplement to the diet, but it can act as a sole source of nutrition by itself. Whether acting as a supplement or as the primary source of nutrition for your child's diet, you should only use Pediasure under the direct supervision of a physician, according to Abbott Nutrition. Pediasure is a milk-based product but is well-tolerated by those with lactose intolerance. It is also gluten-free and kosher.
Basic Nutrition
The basic nutrition information can vary slightly between the different flavors. An 8-oz. container of the vanilla Pediasure contains 240 calories, 7 g of protein, 9 g of total fat, 3 g of saturated fat, 33 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of fiber and 90 mg of sodium. For the strawberry and chocolate Pediasure, all the nutrition information remains the same except that it contains 31 g of carbohydrates instead of 33.
Vitamins
Each 8-oz. serving of the different flavors of Pediasure contains the same amount of vitamins. One serving meets 8 percent of your daily value for vitamin A, 40 percent of your daily value for vitamin C, 30 percent of your daily value for vitamin D and 20 percent of your daily value for both vitamins E and K. Pediasure also contains all of the B vitamins, meeting 40 percent of the daily value for thiamin, 30 percent of the daily value for riboflavin and vitamin B6, 10 percent of the daily value for niacin and vitamin B12, 20 percent of the daily value for folate, 25 percent of the daily value for pantothenic acid and 15 percent of the daily value for biotin. The percent daily value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Precautions
Pediasure is not appropriate for all children. If your child has galactosemia, a disorder that affects how the body processes the simple sugar galactose, Pediasure is not a safe nutrition supplement. It is also not recommended for any children under the age of 1 unless approved by a physician. Pediasure is also not meant to serve as a source of IV, or parenteral, nutrition.
