What are the benefits of introducing complementary foods to babies?

1. Supplement the deficiencies of dairy nutrients

Infants and young children need a variety of nutrients for growth. As the baby grows day by day, some nutrients stored in the mother's body are almost exhausted and need to be obtained from food in time. Although breast milk and milk powder contain a lot of nutrients, the content of iron and vitamins is not high, and the protein content can not fully meet the growth needs of babies, so it is necessary to add complementary foods to babies.

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2. Promote the development of taste

4-5 months old baby is already very sensitive to the slight taste change of food. This period is a critical period for baby's taste development. You should start adding complementary foods with various flavors to familiarize your baby with the taste of various foods.

3. Promote intellectual development

Babies have many primitive reflex behaviors at birth. They establish contact with the outside world through perception, such as sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, etc. These communication channels with the outside world need to be continuously improved and developed to lay a good foundation for their future growth and development. Base. Different types of complementary foods can give the baby a rich sensory stimulation, which can help to activate the baby's intelligence in time.

4. Develop eating habits

Adding complementary food to the baby in time can better exercise swallowing and chewing ability, and can gradually let the baby quit relying on breast milk, so as to transition from simple and delicate baby food to adult food in eating habits.

5. Improve digestive function

Babies are born with an immature digestive system and can only adapt to dairy foods. As the age increases, the stomach capacity gradually expands, and the digestion and absorption functions continue to improve. After the addition of complementary foods, the stimulation of various new foods can promote the secretion of oral amylase and intestinal digestive enzymes, thereby promoting intestinal development.

What are the contraindications for baby food supplements?

1. Don't be too early

Babies who have just left their mother's body have very delicate digestive organs, underdeveloped digestive glands, poor secretion function, and many digestive enzymes have not yet been formed. At this time, they do not have the function of digesting complementary food. If complementary food is added too early, it will increase the burden on the baby's digestive function, and the indigestible complementary food will also cause abdominal distension, constipation, and anorexia in infants and young children.

2. Don't be too late

Adding complementary foods too late is not conducive to the growth and development of babies. Babies aged 4 to 6 months have a greatly increased demand for nutrition and energy, and breast milk and other milk can no longer meet the growth needs of babies. Moreover, the baby's digestive organs and taste organs are gradually developed and sound, and they have the conditions to add complementary food. Timely addition of complementary foods will help exercise your baby's chewing and swallowing ability, better absorb nutrients, and increase the body's immunity. Adding too late will affect the growth and development of the baby, weaken the immune system, and be prone to illness.

3. Avoid too much

The addition of complementary food should gradually diversify from a single variety, and the amount should also be from thin to thick. It should not be added in haste, arbitrary additions, random test categories, and scientific and regular additions. No matter what is added and the concentration, it must be based on the baby's gastrointestinal adaptability, so as not to cause indigestion and unbalanced nutrition in the baby.

4. Avoid supplementary food that is too fine

The size and thickness of the baby’s complementary food should be adjusted at any time. Some parents’ homemade complementary food for the baby is too fine, so that the child’s chewing function cannot be properly trained, which is not conducive to the eruption of the teeth and the arrangement of the teeth after the eruption. Food Without chewing, there will be no sense of taste, which will not stimulate the child's appetite, nor is it conducive to the development of taste, and the development of cheeks will also be affected.