The Importance of Quality Nutrition for Your Baby!
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Many parents are much more responsible for their children’s nutrition than for their own diet, since food plays the most important role in the development of a child’s body. Proper nutrition improves mental acuity, memory, mood, promotes proper growth and development of the body, helps maintain weight and metabolism. With the help of a balanced healthy diet, you can prevent the development of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and a number of others.
Microelements for a Healthy Growth
Since a baby is born, it is essential to take care of its eating habits. The best food for a newborn child is breast milk. It contains all important microelements, like vitamins and minerals, that a baby needs to grow healthy. However, sometimes, there is no breast milk available for a child. Then parents have to choose baby formula to feed it. Quality formula has to include all of the following elements to help a child:
- Protein. It is the main building material for cells and tissues of the body: muscles, organs, enzymes and many others. Insufficient amount of protein can lead to slower growth and weight gain, decreased immunity, slower neuropsychic development, hematopoiesis and other disorders. For small children, the quality of proteins in their food is also very important. Quality protein has more amino acids that also help a baby with development.
- Fats are the main source of energy for the baby. In addition, they help produce and absorb vitamins such as A, E, D and K. Fats also provide the body with Omega-3 and Omega-6 acids, which are not produced on their own. They form the nervous system, have a significant effect on the vision, and have an immunomodulatory effect.
- Carbohydrates perform the most important function in a child’s growing body – they supply it with energy for motor and mental activity. Carbohydrates provide more than 50% of the energy a child gets from food. Their deficiency causes slower physical growth and even gastrointestinal tract diseases.
- Vitamins and minerals. Every parent knows about the benefits of vitamins for children. Vitamins give the child everything it needs to live. They influence absolutely all life processes and their qualities. Strong immunity, healthy skin and eyes, strong bones and teeth are just part of what vitamins and minerals are responsible for.
We all understand the importance of quality nutrition for a baby. Usually, all of those components are present in breast milk. On the other hand, choosing the right baby formula is not so easy. At this point, some mothers think about mixing breastmilk and formula and its pros and cons.
Mixed Feeding of the Baby
There are situations when the mother has milk, but the baby begins to grow too quickly and there is not enough of it. So, what are the pros and cons of mixing breastmilk and formula Is it possible in this case to mix breast milk with the formula in order to preserve all the beneficial functions? There are 2 options.
- If mother’s milk is not enough, the baby can be fed both milk and formula throughout the day. Thus, the child will receive all the essential trace elements from the mother’s milk and will be full of the formula. Also, the baby will still receive close contact with the mother while breastfeeding, which is also very important. The only downside is that choosing a good formula for a child is not very easy.
- You can add a small amount of milk to the mixture. Actually, this doesn’t make much sense. Of course, the child will receive some of the vitamins from the mother’s milk but adding it to the formula changes its composition. Also, microelements in the formula will become so much more concentrated, which may even be dangerous for the baby’s kidneys. Much better idea is to feed your child with breast milk and then add formula if needed.
Mixed feeding of a baby when you have both breast milk and formula has its pros and cons. In order to give your little one healthy nutrition and do no harm, be very responsible with every step.
*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.
