Breastfeeding is known to be one of the most effective ways to ensure the health and survival of children. If breastfeeding were practiced mandatory, approximately 820,000 children’s lives could be saved each year. Globally, only 40% of children under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. This is evidenced by WHO data.
Understanding the importance of the natural feeding of young children for full mental and physical development allows it to be favored and promoted among the population. But, for reasons when breastfeeding is not possible, it is necessary to know the characteristics of artificial formulas and the rules for their use, to ensure the normal development of children.
Infant formula
If the child, for some reason, is on artificial feeding, it is extremely important to take responsibility for its choice. Because the health of your baby directly depends on its quality. And young parents should be guided in the composition of the formula because certain ingredients should be avoided in baby food. First, in order not to miscalculate in the question of how to choose a baby formula, it is better to consult with a pediatrician, who will recommend the formula or its composition, taking into account the health of the baby. So, the key to the successful growth of your baby is, above all, in your hands.
Every year, manufacturers of baby food try to make progress in the field of infant nutrition and the adaptation of formulas to the mother’s breast milk. But it is quite difficult to do so because natural milk is unique, it has a perfect balance of all the nutrients necessary for the baby, which can protect the baby’s health and produce its protective properties of immunity.
Many young parents understand the importance of choosing a quality organic formula for their baby. After all, the wrong baby food can cause digestive disorders, allergic reactions, colic, regurgitation, and baby eczema.
List of ingredients to avoid in baby formula
The first on the list is sugar, for small children it can be quite a dangerous product. As it turned out, this substance provokes in children’s bodies a lack of B vitamins, which are very important for the normal digestion of babies. In addition, sugar changes the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in children’s blood, increasing the level of one of them (namely calcium) and reducing the content of the other. This disorder leads to a lack of absorption of calcium in the body in the proper amount, this trace element or leached from the body with the urine or begins to form deposits in the soft tissues. Poor calcium absorption can provoke the development of rickets in children, or adversely affect the formation of teeth and bone tissue in general. That is why it is so important to choose baby formulas, purées, and cereal without sugar or to give preference to products containing sugar substitutes.
Next comes gluten, which is contained in most cereals and can provoke gluten enteropathy as a result of a poor breakdown in the child’s body. In this disease, the absorption of nutrients in the intestine is impaired. But fortunately, it is a hereditary disease, not an acquired disease, in 80% of children. Gluten, however, interferes with the absorption of many nutrients through the intestines even without the specific disease. Consequently, children’s food containing gluten is not desirable. Speaking specifically about cereals, it is better to exclude cereals such as semolina, rye, millet, oats, and barley from the baby’s diet until the age of 1 year.
Phytin is an extremely undesirable ingredient in infant formula, as it interferes with the absorption of calcium, iron, and vitamin D into the body. The problem is that phytin contains phosphorus, again a substance that binds calcium salts, preventing them from being absorbed. And when a child’s body lacks minerals and vitamins, the child will develop poorly and even get rickets. The lowest content of phytin among cereals in rice gruel.
The baby’s intestines are covered with special villi that absorb nutrients and are responsible for the body’s nutritional function. Gliodin, a substance found in the shell of cereals, provokes the necrosis of these villi. It can also affect the mucous walls of the intestine and cause diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, and weight loss.
The debate about the harms and benefits of soy has been going on for quite some time. But, children’s food should by no means contain genetically modified soy, because it is not worth experimenting on the health of future generations. However, there are cases of complex intolerance of cow’s milk proteins, and then pediatricians prescribe soy nutrition for children based on organic, natural soy. In addition, children with lactase deficiency (a disease caused by a complete absence or lack of lactose digesting enzymes in the child’s intestines) need soy formula.
Palm oil, unfortunately, is a very popular product for baby food until one year of age, mainly because it contains palmitic acid, which is available in mother’s milk. However, the palmitic acid molecule of breast milk differs significantly in its structure from the structure of the substance derived from palm oil. This acid in palm oil, getting into the intestines of the baby, binds with calcium, forming insoluble soaps, which is quite dangerous for the condition of the baby, as it leads to the formation of hard stools, colic, and constipation in the intestines. So we recommend following the composition and buying baby formula without palm oil if you do not want problems with digestion and health of your baby.
What a good baby formula should contain
Vitamins are desirable in a good formula. Since vitamins from the baby formula are less easily absorbed, there should be 15-20% more vitamins than in mother’s milk. For example, for iron to be absorbed well, a baby formula must have 5-10 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 ml. As for minerals, the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in the mixture is very important for a baby, and the recommended ones are selenium, manganese, copper, zinc, and iodine. The optimal ratio is 2:1 (this is the proportion in which calcium is better absorbed). Probiotic and prebiotic formulas have a positive effect on digestion and the overall immune state of the baby. Polyunsaturated fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6 are responsible for the growth and development of the body as a whole.
To acquire the appropriate value of energy value, infant formula must contain both essential and conditionally essential amino acids in amounts at least equal to their content in breast milk.
So moms should carefully study the composition of infant formula before buying it. I would also like to advise parents not to feed their baby food cooked on the machine. It is necessary that an empathetic parental heart participated in the preparation of baby formula. After all, only the food prepared by caring and gentle hands, processed soul, filled with love, is useful. It is also scientifically proven that children who were touched and nurtured more by their parents in childhood have better mental health in the future since stroking and cuddling develop stronger neural connections. So eat right, have more positive emotions and everything will be great!
