When combining food intake and vitamin supplements, the report calculates that more than 10 million American children are getting too much vitamin A; more than 13 million get excessive too much zinc; and nearly 5 million get too much niacin. To help reduce the amount of vitamin A, zinc and niacin that kids consume, EWG says parents should limit the fortified cereals and other foods kids eat to those that contain no more than 20% to 25% of the adult daily value for each of the nutrients.
– We're told to get our vitamins—but there's a line when enough is enough, and when kids eat fortified breakfast cereal, they may be crossing that line, USA Today reports. "Millions of children are ingesting potentially unhealthy amounts" of three nutrients: vitamin A, zinc, and niacin, per a new report by the health research- and advocacy-minded Environmental Working Group. It found fortified cereal is the biggest source of excess, and says that's because the nutrients are packed in with adults' needs in mind—and labels list daily values set for adults in 1968. Just "a tiny, tiny percentage" of cereals show kids' daily values, says the group's director of research. Per the report, some 10 million US kids get too much vitamin A; 13 million get too much zinc; and almost 5 million get too much niacin. While the three nutrients are necessary, too much vitamin A can eventually cause liver and skeletal problems, too much zinc can be bad for your immune function, and too much niacin can lead to rashes and vomiting. But a Kellogg's rep counters that kids need fortified cereals to get enough vitamins, and points out that of the 1,556 cereals EWG analyzed, only 23 had nutrient levels considered "much greater" than what kids 8 and under should eat—"and the vast majority of these are adult-oriented cereals not regularly consumed by children." Researchers say kids should only eat foods containing a max of 25% of the adult daily value of the nutrients in question.