5 Most Important Nutrients American Child May Be Missing

America's children are missing out on five essential nutrients critical to their growth and good health. Coming up short are calcium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin E, and potassium, according to the latest "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" from the U.S. government.

Are your kids getting enough of these vital nutrients? Read on to find out which nutrients your child may lack, why, and how to get these five essential nutrients back into your child's diet.

Calcium: A Bone Building Essential Nutrient

Calcium is best known for optimizing bone growth and contributing to a fracture-free skeleton during childhood and decades later. The majority of calcium is found in bone tissue, but calcium also circulates in the blood stream.

Getting enough calcium bolsters your child's bones by balancing the withdrawals with deposits from the diet.

Increasing Calcium: Shield suggests offering children low-fat or flavored milks instead of other beverages that offer little more than calories. Including dairy at every meal also insures that children meet their calcium goals.

Eight ounces of any type of milk (including lactose-free); 8 ounces of yogurt; and 1.5 ounces of hard cheese, such as cheddar, each contain about the same amount of calcium. As a bonus, milk and certain yogurts are fortified with vitamin D, necessary for calcium to do its job.

Orange juice with added calcium and vitamin D is another calcium-rich, but dairy-free, option; added vitamin D makes it all the better. Children who don't consume enough dairy or fortified choices may need a calcium supplement.

Fiber: An Essential Nutrient for Satiety

On-the-go lifestyles are one of the reasons why kids are eating less fiber than they should. Fiber is necessary for curbing constipation by adding bulk to bowel movements, stimulating the gut to pass waste with greater ease. Fiber also helps kids feel fuller, a handy weapon in the battle of the bulge.

When consumed as part of a balanced diet, fiber helps head off type 2 diabetes and high blood cholesterol concentrations in adults, and may work for kids, too. Diets rich in fiber-filled foods may reduce the risk of heart disease later in life.

Increasing Fiber: Boost your family's fiber intake by serving a fruit or vegetable (or both) with meals and snacks. Opt for whole-grain breads and cereals, pasta, and other grains.

Also, try to include legumes, including chickpeas, lentils, and white beans in salads, soups and omelets. Coincidentally, many of these same foods provide potassium and magnesium, too.

Magnesium: An Essential Nutrient for Growth

Magnesium is involved in about 300 bodily functions responsible for keeping your child going and growing. This amazing mineral helps maintain normal muscle, nerve, and heart function; contributes to a robust immune system; fosters energy production; and bolsters bone health.

In fact, about half of the body's magnesium is housed in your child's bones; the remaining half is found inside his cells and in his blood stream.

Increasing Magnesium: Food labels don't typically feature magnesium content. No matter. Offering your kids dark green vegetables; a variety of nuts and seeds, particularly pumpkin seeds; whole grains; and white, black, and navy beans as part of a balanced diet will help them meet their magnesium needs.

Another example: 24 ounces of low-fat milk, 4 slices whole-wheat bread, 1 cup whole-grain cereal, and 2 ounces of almonds satisfies the daily magnesium quota for a 15 -year-old male.

Vitamin E: An Essential Nutrient Superhero

Vitamin E is a cellular superhero of sorts. As a powerful antioxidant nutrient, vitamin E battles free radicals, the by-products of normal metabolism, and exposure to ultraviolet rays, air pollution, and cigarette smoke. Vitamin E is also vital for a strong immune system.

Vitamin E is found in abundance in fatty foods, which you may curb out of concern for your child's weight, but fear of fat can hinder healthy eating in kids.

"Offering your child too many low-fat foods may limit his vitamin E intake," says Bridget Swinney, MS, RD, author of Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids, and mother of two.

So can restricting nuts. The prevalence of nut allergies may have you holding off from offering them until later in childhood.

"At that point, children may not accept nuts and nut products as readily," says Swinney.

According to the AAP, only high-risk children need to be concerned about food allergy. When mom and dad have allergies or one parent and a child's sibling has allergies, you should be extra cautious. Speak with your pediatrician about allergy risk if you fall into one of these categories.

There are actually eight forms of vitamin E in food, with the alpha-tocopherol (ATE) form being the most useful to the body, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Increasing Vitamin E: Vegetable oils, wheat germ, fortified foods, and dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, are rich in ATE. Just one ounce of almonds satisfies the daily ATE needs of 4- to 8-year-olds. Sunflower seeds are packed with ATE vitamin E, too: one-quarter cups provides 9- to 13-year-olds all they need for the day.

There are other ways to get vitamin E besides eating nut and nut butters and sunflower seeds. Fortified cereals are a great way to work in the vitamin E your child needs. Using sunflower and safflower oils for cooking and salad dressings provides more vitamin E than corn and canola oils.

Potassium: A Heart-Helping Essential Nutrient

Potassium insures normal heart and muscle function; maintains fluid balance; participates in energy production; and promotes strong bones.

A potassium-rich diet helps head off pressure in adults. Getting children in the habit of including high-potassium foods may help them keep blood pressure in check as they age, too.

Potassium is in every food, so why don't children get enough? Blame it on too many processed choices.

Increasing Potassium: Dairy foods and fresh (cooked) meats and seafood are also good potassium sources. Generally speaking, the more processed the food, the less potassium it provides, and the more sodium in a food, the lower the potassium.

Serve at least one fruit or vegetable at every meal and snack and encourage your child to eat a balanced diet with fresh meat and seafood and dairy foods to maximize his potassium intake.

If you're concerned your kids aren't getting the nutrients they need, have a talk with their pediatrician. And remember, a diet low in processed food and rich in produce, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy can help them -- and you -- get the essential nutrients they need.