How many capsules of Moringa oleifera should I give to my 7 years old daughter ? Any idea for hides ?

Pediatrics recommend 300 gr of fresh vegetable for a 4 - 7 years old child. 
 

A capsule of Moringa oleifera weighs about 0.5 gr,  10 times less than its corresponding fresh matter. So the intake of 1 capsule is more or less equivalent to 5 gr of the fresh plant : a few capsules daily for a 7 years old child is still far under the required 300 gr of fresh matter ( noteworthy Moringa is grown without pesticide , which is not the case for many vegetables ).

About toxicity is dose dependent in all foods : a study has found intake of dry extract of Moringa oleifera to be safe up to 1000 mg ( about 2 capsules ) per kg of body weight : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22101359

If your daughter weighs for instance 25 kg then 50 capsules daily would still be far under the toxicity threshold according to the paper. This is a very high quantity. But 1 or 2 capsules daily could be enough, mainly because of the need to vary our food so that Moringa can be associated with other food sources.

Moringa is not very bitter and can be sprinkled everywhere. It will go unnoticed in fungi and fish sauce, or in ketchup, except that it will darken the bright red color. ( a trick is to cover the mix with a layer of non mixed, bright red ketchup ) If you use Curcuma with chocolate powder, for instance in pancakes ( a regular intake of Curcuma is highly recommended ) Moringa and even the bitter antibiotics like Andrographis paniculata can also be introduced in small quantities without altering the taste. The taste of the chocolate changes when Curcuma is associated, it is richer but your 7 years old daughter may appreciate this richer taste and take Moringa with it !

Mean nutritional values of 1 gram ( 2 servings of 500 mg capsules ) of Moringa oleifera leaf powder.

Proteins 0.20-0.26 grams ( a recommended intake for children between 4 and 9 years is above 10 gr )
Total ash (= total minerals) 0.08-0.11 grams
Calcium (Ca) 16-22 mg. This is about 2.5% of the recommended intake for children between 4 and 9 years
Potassium (K) 8-18 mg
Magnesium (Mg) 3.5-5 mg
Phosphorus (P) 2-6 mg
Iron (Fe) 0.18-0.28 mg. This is about 3 % of the recommended intake for children up to 12 years
Manganese (Mn) 0.05-0.09 mg
Zinc (Zn) 0.015-0.03 mg
Copper (Cu) 0.07-0.011 mg
Vitamins
Vitamin C 0.15-1 mg
Vitamin A (as s-carotene) 40-80 ug retinol eq.
Vitamin E (as a-tocopherol) 0.80-0.15 mg  

According to a study :
http://www.moringanews.org/doc/GB/Posters/Broin_poster.pdf  30 gr of dry leaves ( that would equal about 60 capsules ) for children under 3 can cover  " one third of the daily
allowance for proteins, 75% of the calcium needs, more than half of the iron necessary, the
totality of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin A, and almost one third of the needs in
vitamin C. "

Compare the mineral intake in dry moringa oleifera and dry broccoli

Are the expensive Moringa capsules cost effective against other vegetables in our diets ? " Use as much as you can to minimize your total cost " , the Solver says, Moringa oleifera is even more cost effective than tomatoes ! ... and we are just talking about basic nutrients.
There is no doubt that if we selected more subtle phytochemicals Moringa would always be on top of the combinations with the smallest possible cost !
http://aleyagarden-medicinal-plants.blogspot.com/2013/09/are-expensive-moringa-capsules-cost.html

  
Herbs and Spices, Hoya, Hoya seeds, Orchid seeds, Ferns, Fern spores are for sale on aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com