Nutrients Required in a Sole Source of Nutrition: What to Know?

For a food to be used as a sole source of nutrition, it should be able to be given to children on its own, rather than as a supplementary food in addition to a normal diet. This means that the sole source of food has to have enough nutrition to use on its own.

• The Food Standards of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) define a sole source of nutrition as foods that meet strict criteria for the levels of nutrients they contain, to be used as the only source of nutrition^[1]. These requirements are especially for foods that are used for children who can’t get all the essential nutrients they need from normal food alone, or need additional nutrients they are missing, because they have a health condition and/or may require medical attention.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a sole source of nutrition as one that is nutritionally complete (including all essential nutrients)^[2] for the same reasons.

Which Nutrients Constitute a Sole Source of Nutrition?

A minimum amount of nutrients required for foods to be a sole source of nutrition are the most essential nutrients. They also include those that can be easily lost by the body during illness or infections. For instance, electrolytes are crucial in children with diarrhea as they are lost through all body fluids. Therefore, it is essential to replenish them to maintain a proper balance.

According to FSANZ^[3], these include:

*These are nutrients not commonly found in all children’s nutrient formulas, so those formulas should only be used as a supplement to normal foods, rather than on their own.

How to Provide Comprehensive Nutrition to Children?

The word “comprehensive” describes sources of nutrition that contain an absorbable selection of all nutrients that are normally represented in a child’s regular diet every day. Ideally, this diet should be balanced and nutritious, with nutrients properly proportioned. In the real world, we know this is not always the case, because children love convenience foods that are high in sugar and fats, and low in nutrients, also called “empty calories”^[4].

Nutrient formulas are a convenient way of providing all these nutrients in one place, especially if:

• Parents don’t have access to enough variety of foods
• Children need nutrients sooner rather than later
• Children are not tolerating home-cooked foods very well

Focusing on foods with the following nutrients is particularly important for kids to develop properly:

• Calcium & phosphorus: dairy foods, shellfish,
• Iron, magnesium, zinc: beef, chicken, fish, rice
• B-vitamins: fruits and vegetables, nuts
• Less common minerals: sources of molybdenum, chromium, selenium, copper, iodine can be hard to find in regular foods, especially for kids with allergies, or low appetite (eg, broccoli, nuts, lentils, fish, etc).

This guide is for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose health conditions or make changes to medical treatments. Always consult with your healthcare professional for advice.