Porridge for children: the first product of complementary foods

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

No one will argue that the ideal food for a baby is breast milk. But by the end of the first six months of life, mother's milk already lacks nutrients, vitamins, fatty acids and a full range of microelements for the increased needs of a growing child's body. The full development and growth of the child already require vegetable proteins. Therefore, the diet should be enriched with various types of complementary foods. For exclusively breastfed infants, the Resolution of the 55th World He alth Assembly (2002) recommends starting complementary foods as early as six months, and for formula-fed babies as early as five.

Traditionally, cereals for children in most countries are the first product of complementary foods, because. they are similar in texture and taste to breast milk and its artificial substitutes. Complementary foods based on cereals are the primary source of dietary fiber, carbohydrates, vegetable proteins, selenium, iron, fats, B vitamins, etc. for babies after six months. The nutritional value of porridge for children is influenced by grain processing technology and its chemical composition.composition.

It is definitely impossible to answer the question of which baby porridge is better. So, semolina, most often used by mothers to prepare porridge for the first feeding, is rich in starch and vegetable protein, but it contains the least nutrients compared to other cereals. There is the same amount of starch in barley and barley porridge, but the content of vitamins and fiber is much higher. Buckwheat is the most valuable product from

cereals to feed children. It contains a considerable amount of protein, vitamins PP and group B, as well as microelements necessary for development. In rice, the highest content of starch, protein and minerals is small, and the content of vitamins depends on the degree of purification of the grain. And corn porridge for children contains less starch, but it has more iron and protein. The record holder for the content of fiber, fat, vitamins, vegetable protein and trace elements is oatmeal.

It is more economical and affordable to cook cereals for children directly from natural cereals at home. But in the course of recent studies, the disadvantages of such complementary foods have been established: deficiency of a number of vitamins (groups B, E, A), iron, zinc. During the cooking of “homemade” porridge, the content of vitamin C is reduced by half, and group B is even more - up to 75% than it was originally contained in the grain. Therefore, you should not completely exclude porridge from industrial production from the diet of children.

Now there are a large number of different cereals on sale. They may bemonocomponent (from one type of cereal), multicomponent, dairy-free or milk-based. To improve the taste and increase the nutritional value, powders from natural vegetables, spicy greens and fruits are introduced into some. They also produce special gluten-free cereals for children with celiac disease who are allergic to all cereal products.

Among such an abundance, it is easy to pick up porridge for feeding both he althy and children with various developmental pathologies so that they grow up strong and he althy.