backend said that her child is going to kindergarten and the school requires trace elements to be tested. In order for her children to go to school, she took the test with her. But the test results made her very worried, showing that the child was deficient in zinc and calcium. For this reason, she always felt that she did not feed her child well, which caused the child to lack this and that, which affected his health.
In fact, this mother really does not need to blame herself, because many methods for detecting trace elements are unreliable, and the results are not authoritative.
What are trace elements in the human body?
The human body is composed of many chemical elements . There are 11 elements that account for more than 99.95% of the human body weight, so they are called macroelements, including the familiar carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, There are 4 types of nitrogen, and metal elements such as potassium, sodium, and calcium, which account for about 4%-5% of human body weight.
There are also some elements that are less than 0.01% of human body weight. These are called trace elements. There are iodine, iron, zinc, selenium, etc. that have been proven to be necessary for the human body. There are also manganese, silicon, boron, etc. that the human body may need. Fluorine, lead, cadmium, mercury, etc. are needed by the human body but are potentially toxic.
To what extent are trace elements present in the human body? Some of them contain only a few grams, while some contain only a few milligrams. But even though the quantity is very small, it cannot be lacking. Because without them, people will lose their health.
For example, if you are deficient in iron, people will feel dizzy, weak, and have symptoms of anemia. Of course, you should not overdose. Excessive iron will cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal adverse reactions.
The trace elements in the human body should be within a reasonable range. If you just detect the lack of certain trace elements and start supplementing, it may also cause the child to get sick. Why is
trace element detection unreliable?
As for trace element testing, as early as 2013, my country stipulated that it should not be used as a physical examination item, but it did not stop many places from still requiring it. In 2021, the General Office of the National Health Commission issued another notice changing "inappropriate" to "must not". It’s a word difference, but the requirements are clearly stated: trace element testing cannot be used as a routine item in children’s physical examination. The reason why
makes such a request is that firstly, this test is not reliable, and secondly, the results of this test are not authoritative. The reason why
is unreliable starts with the detection method. This test is usually done by testing the child's blood, hair, or even using an instrument to clamp the wrist or finger.
- blood
This method uses the child's venous blood or peripheral blood, and the results have particularly large deviations.
Because this method can only measure the content of trace elements in the blood, but there are very few trace elements in the blood, and more trace elements exist in cells and tissues. Therefore, this method cannot objectively reflect the overall level of trace elements in the human body.
- Hair
Measuring hair is not as good as measuring blood. There are fewer trace elements in hair, and it can only reflect the content of trace elements within a few weeks. It is also easily affected by many factors, such as sweat, residual shampoo, etc.
- Clamping detection
This is even more unreliable. It can even be said to be a scam set up by merchants to promote equipment or health care products. The instrument clamps on the wrist or fingers to collect bioelectrical signals, and cannot measure any data on trace elements in the body at all.
Therefore, these detection methods for trace elements may seem quite “high-end”, but in fact they are not reliable and cannot be used as a basis for supplementing trace elements for children.
So, how to determine whether a child is deficient in trace elements?
Some parents may be anxious when they see this. The human body cannot lack trace elements, otherwise problems will occur. However, the testing method is unreliable. How do you know if your child is deficient in trace elements?
In fact, parents have too many worries. Under normal circumstances, with our current living standards, as long as children are not picky eaters, have no partiality, have a balanced diet, and have good digestion, the trace elements they absorb from food are enough and no additional supplements are needed.
If your child has a severe partial eclipse and the height and weight are too different from the standard, you can take your child to a professional hospital for professional trace element testing.What the National Health Commission prohibits is "non-diagnostic and treatment needs". If it is necessary for diagnosis and treatment, it can be tested.
Professional doctors will make a comprehensive diagnosis based on the test results, other examination indicators, the child's diet and symptoms, and will also prescribe scientific and effective treatment.
Therefore, according to national regulations, children do not need to be tested for trace elements when entering kindergarten. If the kindergarten requires it, parents can only test for their children to enter the kindergarten smoothly, but they do not need to care about the test results, nor do they need to follow the results to give their children Replenish.
