Baby Nutrition Care

Marmite is a nutritious food that should be introduced to your toddler. My son likes it very much. It is a dark brown-colored savory spread made from the yeast that is a by-product of the brewing industry. It has a very strong, slightly salty flavor. The most common use is as a spread on toast or in sandwiches. It is generally spread very thinly because of its strong flavor. In addition, it can be mixed with porridge and fed to your toddler.

It contains the following ingredients :

• Protein
• Carbohydrate
• Fat
• Fibre
• Sodium
• Niacin
• Thiamin
• Riboflavin
• Folic acid
• Vitamin B12

Fruits should be introduced to toddler after he/she is able to digest the vegetables. The fruits can provide essential vitamins and minerals to the toddlers. It is recommended to scrape the fruit and give it fresh to your toddler. You can also give the fruit slice by slice if the fruit is soft like papaya and banana.

The recommended fruits are :

• Banana. This fruit is an excellent source of prebiotic which nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. Probiotics produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve toddlers ability to absorb nutrients and compounds to protect them against unfriendly microorganisms and the body’s ability to absorb calcium.
• Kiwifruit. This fruit is rich in vitamin C and a very good source of dietary fiber. It is also a good source of the minerals such as potassium, magnesium and copper. In addition, kiwi fruit is a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E.
• Apple. This fruit contains both insoluble and soluble fiber and are an excellent source of antioxidants especially the peels.

• Papaya. This fruit is a rich source of three very powerful antioxidants, vitamin A, C and E.
• Pear. This fruit is rich in pectin, a soluble fiber, which helps the body to eliminate cholesterol and also protects against environmental toxins. Pears are also a good source of potassium, protein, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K.
• Avocado. This fruit contains fourteen minerals to stimulate growth, including iron and copper. In addition, it is a great source of antioxidants like vitamins C and E.
• Mango. This fruit is rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The vitamin C in mango enhances the absorption of iron and so prevents anemia.
• Watermelon. This fruit is rich in the B vitamins which are necessary for energy production. It is also a very good source of vitamin B6 and a good source of vitamin B1, magnesium and potassium.

Some pregnant women may be advised or choose to restrict milk consumption and may not take appropriate supplements. We hypothesized that maternal milk restriction during pregnancy, which can reduce intakes of protein, calcium, riboflavin and vitamin D, might represent a health risk by lowering infant birth weight.

Milk is an important source of vitamin D, calcium, riboflavin, protein and energy during pregnancy, yet many women choose or are advised to avoid drinking milk for a variety of reasons, including the prevention of allergies in their children. Limiting milk intake compromises the quality of the maternal diet; women who avoid milk may not obtain adequate levels of vitamin D, calcium, protein or riboflavin. Milk restriction is a risk factor for pregnancy-associated hypertension. Low vitamin D intake is associated with neonatal rickets and decreased birth weight. Inadequate consumption of riboflavin is associated with decreases in weight, length and head circumference of babies at birth.

Although most nutrients in milk may be replaced from other foods or with supplements, vitamin D is found in few commonly consumed foods except for milk fortified with the vitamin. Dermal conversion of the precursor cholecalciferol to activated vitamin D is a seasonally unreliable source, particularly when the exposure of skin to sunlight is limited, and may not compensate for low nutritional intake. Under optimal conditions, 15 minutes of daily exposure of the hands and face to sun is required to produce adequate vitamin D, but this conversion is reduced by the prolonged winter season at more polar latitudes, by use of sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) above 8, and by ozone air pollution. People whose skin pigmentation is dark are more vulnerable than others to insufficient vitamin D conversion.

According to a study, women whose daily consumption of milk during pregnancy was 1 cup (250 mL) or less consumed less protein and vitamin D. As a result, they gave birth to smaller babies than did mothers who drank more milk. The conclusion is every 1-cup increase in daily milk consumption increased birth weight by 41 g; 0.000001g increase in daily vitamin D intake increased it by 11 g.

Clinicians should be alert to the effects of milk restriction and its associated reduction in vitamin D intake, and encourage pregnant women to maintain milk consumption. Adequate intake of vitamin D is especially important during winter months.

Toddlers should have 500 milligrams of calcium a day. This requirement is easily met if your child gets the recommended two servings of dairy foods every day. An important part of a toddler’s diet, milk provides calcium and vitamin D to help build strong bones. In addition, milk also contains carbohydrates, protein, fat, and zinc, as well as vitamins A, B2 and B12. Kids under age 2 should have whole milk to provide the dietary fats they need for normal growth and brain development. Offer cow’s milk in a cup after the child has begun the meal. If you are breastfeeding, only offer milk in a cup and avoid the bottle habit.

Most experts agree that kids can switch from infant formula or breast milk to whole cow’s milk when they reach 1 year of age. Before this age, cow’s milk is more likely to cause an allergic reaction and is tough for babies to digest. In addition, it is not the best source of iron.

Once you switch to cow’s milk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and other health experts advise parents to buy only pasteurized milk, which has been heated and processed to kill bacteria. Raw milk, they warn, may harbor contaminants and micro-organisms that can cause food-borne illness.

Some kids initially reject cow’s milk because it doesn’t taste like the familiar breast milk or formula. If your child is around 12 months and having this difficulty, mix whole milk with some formula or breast milk. Gradually adjust the mixture over time so it becomes 100% cow’s milk.

Some parents are anxious to wean their babies to cow’s milk, especially those who have been feeding formula since it can be a bit costly, but there are several good reasons to wait. Cow’s milk isn’t as rich in several nutrients, especially iron, as breast milk or formula, which is important for healthy first year development. Until the baby is eating a variety of iron-rich foods, feeding breast milk or commercially prepared formula ensures that the baby will get a sufficient amount of iron. Additionally, there is evidence suggesting that the early introduction of cow’s milk increases the chances of developing diabetes later in life. This is especially important in families with a history of the disease. Finally, children who switch to cow’s milk before their first birthday have higher incidences of allergies and eczema than those who wait.

For the first 12 months of life, there are only two types of milk that you should use to feed your baby, breast milk or infant formula milk (unless you are recommended otherwise by a doctor). Any other type of milk, such as cow’s milk, or goat’s milk, will not satisfy your baby’s nutritional needs, and should not be given to babies under one year of age

In this case, breast milk or infant formula milk supplies all the nutrition an infant needs in the first few months. Infant formula milk also contains the lipids DHA and ARA, nutrients found naturally in mother’s milk that supports infant mental and visual development.

Nowadays, the quality of infant formula milk has been improved by adding substances beneficial to the infant health, such as nucleotides, calcium, iron and vitamins. Addition of such substances in infant milk seems to promote a beneficial intestinal microflora to newborns by lowering the buffering capacity of the milk. Requirements for vitamins depend on the intake of calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and amino acids. Iron-fortified infant formulas have actually been credited for the declining incidence of anemia in infants.

Many breastfeeding mothers are anxious as to whether or not her baby is getting enough milk. Mothers who give their child infant formula milk don’t have this concern. Therefore, many mothers choose a combination of breastfeeding and feeding with infant formula milk.

Breastfeeding is the best choice for the mothers. Nevertheless, infant formula milk which has been added the essential nutrition is an only alternative way for the mothers who do not have enough breast milk to feed her baby.