What milk to give to babies after the year? Tips to find out more
A child is not a small adult! For him, a specific, tailor-made diet is necessary: we should not think about sharing food for adults, simply by reducing portions. It is well known that breast milk is the perfect nutritional form for the newborn. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months of life and in any case as long as possible, according to the wishes of mother and baby. But, after the year, when there is no milk, what to give to the child? In the absence of breast milk, cow's milk (the common cow's milk, so to speak) is not the best choice: a suitable choice may be growth milk, which contains the nutrients indicated for the growth of the child.
Cow's milk, which has three times the protein content of breast milk and is low in iron, is in fact not suitable for newborns and infants and, in any case, is not recommended before 12 months. An even more prudent attitude suggests postponing the introduction of cow's milk after 24 months. The early introduction of cow's milk could in fact lead to an imbalance in the child's diet: for example, this food does not respond to the need for iron which, compared to that of an adult, it is 4 times higher, in proportion to the weight.
Growth milk is designed to meet the specific needs of a baby after the 12th month; in fact it has a balanced protein content and helps to reach the daily requirement of iron, calcium and vitamins
Iron deficiency in children's diets and cognitive development
The nutrition of children may have deficiencies and, among these, we recall the iron deficiency which, in the early ages, could also be related to a deficit in the child's cognitive development. As shown by the data of the Nutrintake study, which investigates the eating behaviors of a sample of 400 children aged 6 to 36 months from the moment of weaning onwards, there is a substantial deficit of this micronutrient: at 18 months of life, eight out of ten children are not reach the recommended iron requirement. At the time of birth, the total amount of iron present in a newborn's body is about 75 mg / kg, twice as much as in an adult when considering body weight. During the first six months of life, the amount of iron slightly increases and breastfeeding as an exclusive source of nourishment is sufficient to maintain an optimal balance in the iron intake in the infant. Subsequently, it is important that the iron also comes from the complementary diet. Numerous factors can cause a nutritional iron deficiency during childhood, including a low birth weight, a high postnatal growth index, a low amount of iron in the daily diet. It is therefore important to help the child maintain a balanced iron intake through proper nutrition.
The fibers in the baby's nutrition
Alongside iron, another deficiency affecting the diet of children is represented by fiber: the inadequate intake of fiber is in fact one of the other problems detected by Nutrintake * which highlights how 48% of children at the age of one of the sample takes less fiber than necessary and how the situation worsens over the months, concerning 58% at 2 years and 67% at 3 years. Dietary fibers play a fundamental role in the well-being of the whole organism: they favor the development of a balanced intestinal microflora, effectively help intestinal motility and contribute to the health of the intestine, which is at the center of the individual's well-being.
* Nutrient Intake in Italian Infants and Toddlers from North and South Italy: The Nutrintake 636 Study -Nutrients 2014, 6, 3169-3186.
