Flintstones Vitamins have been around since 1968, and many teens and adults reflect back fondly on their childhood of taking these chewable supplements. Still a popular item, the kids who once took these vitamins now have the option of giving them to their own kids. Though the questions then arise: Should these chewables be passed down? Are they really beneficial to children’s development? It depends.
Flintstones Vitamins do in fact boost concentrations of beneficial nutrients and minerals, but until recently, the health drawbacks were debatably not worth the health advantages. The original formula contained artificial flavors and colors, which are notorious for negative health impacts. Along with those, the vitamin’s main ingredients included fructose, a sugar known for links to diabetes and obesity, and sorbitol, commonly used in laxatives and producing side effects as such.
Flintstones Vitamins do in fact boost concentrations of beneficial nutrients and minerals, but until recently,the health drawbacks were debatably not worth the health advantages.
Recently, The health company that produces the vitamins, Bayer, reinvented their recipe to get rid of added sugars and colors. This was met with a largely negative response due to customer dissatisfaction with flavor, but the products now have noticeably healthier ingredients. This change, while a step in the right direction, does not eliminate issues within the vitamin industry in general.
In theory, vitamins are a prerequisite to good health. If the body is not getting enough of what it needs, it makes sense to add what is missing. In practice, however, the vitamin industry struggles to regulate vitamin dosage consistently. A study done by the healthcare company Kaiser Permanente looked into the variability of dosage within standard bottles of vitamin D pills. Through various tests, they found that the variability from bottle to bottle, and pill to pill within a bottle, was much larger than expected. While the United States Pharmacopeia verified that bottles were relatively close to the intended dosage, the study found variability of all pills to be between 9% and 146% of the expected dosage. A study in Pediatrics also noted a case where seven kids overdosed on vitamin D due to a manufacturer error resulting in pills having 4000 times the expected dosage.
… seven kids overdosed on vitamin D due to a manufacturer error resulting in pills having 4000 times the expected dosage.
While vitamins are thought to have positive consequences in managing a child’s health, the shaky industry of vitamins gives reason for a lack of confidence in using them. Even with changes in its recipe, balancing the vulnerable generation’s diet may be a stronger solution than Flintstones Chewables.
Sources:
JAMA Internal Medicine (2013). DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.3812
Pediatrics (2014). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-0711
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