At what age can babies have baby food

When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods | Nutrition

For more information about how to know if your baby is ready to starting eating foods, what first foods to offer, and what to expect, watch these videos from 1,000 Days.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different. How do you know if your child is ready for foods other than breast milk or infant formula? You can look for these signs that your child is developmentally ready.

Your child:

Sits up alone or with support.
Is able to control head and neck.
Opens the mouth when food is offered.
Swallows food rather than pushes it back out onto the chin.
Brings objects to the mouth.
Tries to grasp small objects, such as toys or food.
Transfers food from the front to the back of the tongue to swallow.

What Foods Should I Introduce to My Child First?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that for most children, you do not need to give foods in a certain order. Your child can begin eating solid foods at about 6 months old. By the time he or she is 7 or 8 months old, your child can eat a variety of foods from different food groups. These foods include infant cereals, meat or other proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, yogurts and cheeses, and more.

If your child is eating infant cereals, it is important to offer a variety of fortifiedalert icon infant cereals such as oat, barley, and multi-grain instead of only rice cereal. Only providing infant rice cereal is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration because there is a risk for children to be exposed to arsenic. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Administrationexternal icon to learn more.

How Should I Introduce My Child to Foods?

Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.

Now that your child is starting to eat food, be sure to choose foods that give your child all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Click here to learn more about some of these vitamins & minerals.

Let your child try one single-ingredient food at a time at first. This helps you see if your child has any problems with that food, such as food allergies. Wait 3 to 5 days between each new food. Before you know it, your child will be on his or her way to eating and enjoying lots of new foods.

Introduce potentially allergenic foods when other foods are introduced.

Potentially allergenic foods include cow’s milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Drinking cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages is not recommended until your child is older than 12 months, but other cow’s milk products, such as yogurt, can be introduced before 12 months. If your child has severe eczema and/or egg allergy, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse about when and how to safely introduce foods with peanuts.

How Should I Prepare Food for My Child to Eat?

At first, it’s easier for your child to eat foods that are mashed, pureed, or strained and very smooth in texture. It can take time for your child to adjust to new food textures. Your child might cough, gag, or spit up. As your baby’s oral skills develop, thicker and lumpier foods can be introduced.

Some foods are potential choking hazards, so it is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help prevent choking, prepare foods that can be easily dissolved with saliva and do not require chewing. Feed small portions and encourage your baby to eat slowly. Always watch your child while he or she is eating.

Here are some tips for preparing foods:

Mix cereals and mashed cooked grains with breast milk, formula, or water to make it smooth and easy for your baby to swallow.
Mash or puree vegetables, fruits and other foods until they are smooth.
Hard fruits and vegetables, like apples and carrots, usually need to be cooked so they can be easily mashed or pureed.
Cook food until it is soft enough to easily mash with a fork.
Remove all fat, skin, and bones from poultry, meat, and fish, before cooking.
Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and then cut the fruit into small pieces.
Cut soft food into small pieces or thin slices.
Cut cylindrical foods like hot dogs, sausage and string cheese into short thin strips instead of round pieces that could get stuck in the airway.
Cut small spherical foods like grapes, cherries, berries and tomatoes into small pieces.
Cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels of wheat, barley, rice, and other grains.

Learn more about potential choking hazards and how to prevent your child from choking.

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Feeding Your 4- to 7-Month-Old (for Parents)

Most babies this age are ready to try solid foods. Experts recommend starting solid foods when a baby is about 6 months old, depending on the baby's readiness and nutritional needs.

Be sure to check with your doctor before giving any solid foods.

Is My Baby Ready to Eat Solid Foods?

How can you tell if your baby is ready for solids? Here are a few hints:

Does your baby swallow food or push it out of their mouth? Babies have a natural tongue-thrust reflex that pushes food back out. Wait until this reflex disappears (typically when babies are 4–6 months old).
Can your baby support their own head? To eat solid food, an infant needs good head and neck control and should be able to sit up.
Is your baby interested in food? Babies who stare, reach and grab, and open their mouths for food are ready to try solid foods.

If your doctor gives the go-ahead but your baby seems frustrated or uninterested in solid foods, try waiting a few days before trying again. Breast milk and formula will still meet nutritional needs as your baby learns to eat solid foods. But after 6 months, babies need the added nutrition — like iron and zinc — that solid foods provide.

Do not add cereal or other food to your baby's bottle because it can lead to too much weight gain.

Watch for signs that your child is hungry or full. Respond to these cues and let your child stop when full. A child who is full may suck with less enthusiasm, stop, or turn away from the breast or the bottle. With solid foods, they may turn away, refuse to open their mouth, or spit the food out.

How Should I Start Feeding My Baby Solid Foods?

When your baby is ready and the doctor says it’s OK to try solid foods, pick a time of day when your baby is not tired or cranky. You want your baby to be a little hungry, but not so hungry that they’re upset. So you might want to give your baby a little breast milk or formula first.

Have your baby sit supported in your lap or in a high chair with a safety strap.

Most babies' first food is iron-fortified infant single-grain cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. Place the spoon near your baby's lips, and let the baby smell and taste it. Don't be surprised if this first spoonful is rejected. Wait a minute and try again. Most food offered to your baby at this age will end up on the baby's chin, bib, or high-chair tray. Again, this is just an introduction.

When your little one gets the hang of eating cereal off a spoon, it may be time to try single-ingredient puréed meat, vegetables, or fruit. The order in which you give them doesn't matter, but go slow. Offer foods that are high in iron and zinc — such as meat, poultry, eggs, and beans — especially if your baby is breastfeeding. Try one food at a time and wait several days before trying something else new. This will let you identify any foods that your baby may be allergic to.

Which Foods Should I Avoid?

Foods that are more likely to cause allergies can be among the foods you introduce to your baby. These include peanuts, eggs, cow’s milk, seafood, nuts, wheat, and soy. Waiting to start these foods does not prevent food allergies. Talk to your doctor if you’re concerned about food allergies, especially if any close family members have allergies, food allergies, or allergy-related conditions, like eczema or asthma.

Infants with severe eczema or egg allergies are more likely to have allergies to peanuts. Talk to your doctor about how and when to introduce these foods to your child.

Possible signs of food allergy or allergic reactions include:

rash
bloating or an increase in gassiness
diarrhea
vomiting

Get medical care right away if your baby has a more severe allergic reaction, like hives, drooling, wheezing, or trouble breathing.

If your child has any type of reaction to a food, don't offer that food again until you talk with your doctor.

Babies shouldn't have:

foods with added sugars and no-calorie sweeteners
high-sodium foods
honey, until after the first birthday. It can cause botulism in babies.
unpasteurized juice, milk, yogurt, or cheese
regular cow's milk or soy beverages before 12 months instead of breast milk or formula. It’s OK to offer pasteurized yogurt and cheese.
foods that may cause choking, such as hot dogs, raw carrots, grapes, popcorn, and nuts

Tips for Feeding Your Baby Solid Foods

With the hectic pace of family life, most parents try commercially prepared baby foods at first. They come in small, convenient containers, and manufacturers must meet strict safety and nutrition guidelines.

If you prepare your own baby foods at home, here are some things to keep in mind:

Follow the rules for food safety, including washing your hands well and often.
To preserve the nutrients in your baby's food, cook it in ways that keep the most vitamins and minerals. Try steaming or baking fruits and vegetables instead of boiling, which washes away the nutrients.
Freeze portions that you aren't going to use right away.
Whether you buy the baby food or make it yourself, texture and consistency are important. At first, babies should have finely puréed single-ingredient foods. (Just applesauce, for example, not apples and pears mixed together.)
After your baby is eating individual foods, it's OK to offer a puréed mix of two foods. As babies get older, they will learn to eat a greater variety of tastes and textures.
If you use prepared baby food in jars, spoon some of the food into a bowl to feed your baby. Do not feed your baby right from the jar — bacteria from the baby's mouth can contaminate the remaining food. If you refrigerate opened jars of baby food, it's best to throw away anything not eaten within a day or two.
Around 6 months of age is a good time for your baby to try a cup. You might need to try a few cups to find one that works for your child. Use water at first to avoid messy clean-ups. Do not give juice to infants younger than 12 months.

Over the next few months, introduce a variety of foods from all the food groups. If your baby doesn't seem to like something, don’t give up. It can take 8 to 10 tries or more before babies learn to like new foods.

Canned nutrition - Understanding age

Viktoria Levchuk©

Parents often come across complementary food tables and schemes that indicate the approximate portion at each age stage, and when which product should be introduced into the child's diet. The dream of any mother is a unified policy for the introduction of complementary foods, so that the industrial production of baby food agrees with pediatricians and mothers on the age of introduction of the product into complementary foods. Some brand labels can be confusing when to use prepared foods, as well as how to combine canned food with home cooking.

The popular Gerber brand has registered trademarks labeled "1st Foods", "2nd Foods" and "3rd Foods". Other brands simply use "1", "2" or "3" or indicate the child's age in months, and some use it to indicate the stage at which a child is ready for a certain type of food consistency.

WHO baby feeding steps

Table of Contents:

The World Health Organization, in its booklet Infant and Young Child Feeding and Nutrition, divides childhood into several stages. These main stages are calculated up to the year of the child, they imply a smooth transition of the baby "from mother's milk to food from the family table." The most popular brands of baby food use the main stages of the transition of the child's diet in the labeling of canned food. There are four stages in total, starting at 4 months and ending at 12 months. These steps are not standardized.

You can read more about the age stages of baby food in the following articles:

First stage of baby food: (4) 6-7 months
Second stage of baby food: 7-8 months
Third stage of baby food: 8- 10 months
Fourth stage of infant feeding: 10-12 months

Food can label

Stage 1: Age at (4) 6 to 7 months

Start of complementary foods at (4) 6 to 7 months of age, includes foods from one-ingredient, smooth, light texture without a single lump, with a low level of allergy, without salt, sugar and seasonings, for example, rice porridge or zucchini puree.

Here are some examples of popular brands:

Rice porridge Silent Fleur Alpine from 4 months
rice porridge HIPP from 4 months
rice porridge Sempler Sempler from 4 months
puree from
zucchini Sady pridonya from 4 months
Gerber zucchini puree from 4 months

Stage 2: Age 7 to 8 months

When children are 7 to 8 months old, they are given one-component and two-component products, simply pureed, medium density, sometimes products that seem to rubbed, i.e. food appears in pieces that are easy to swallow, but do not choke. Products are given with a low level of allergy, but slowly they begin to introduce the child to the average.

Second step product examples:

Bebivita vegetable soup with beef from 8 months
Bebivita mixed vegetable puree from 7 months
Rabbit ragout with Gerber broccoli from 8 months
Semper veg with veal liver from 8 months
Carrots with potatoes and salmon Hipp from 8 months
Mixed vegetable puree Hipp from 7 months
Welling oatmeal with banana and prunes Semper from 8 months

Stage 3: Age from 8 to 10 months

Between 8 and 12 months of age, babies receive a thicker textured meal that is easy to chew and swallow. There are more three-component purees. Foods with small pieces help stimulate baby's chewing. Sugar, salt and spices are still missing from baby food.

Examples of products from the third stage:

Hipp noodles with sea fish and vegetables in creamy sauce from 10 months
Mediterranean risotto with sea bream Semper from 10 months
Gerber Italian treat from 10 months
Marmaluzi mashed potatoes with fish pieces from 9 months
Vegetable stew with salmon and Semper rice from 9 months

3-stage jar food is very easy to find in the store. Around this period, according to manufacturers of baby food, the child's appetite increases, respectively, and the portion he consumes, so we focus on jars of 200-250 grams per serving. But usually a child is not able to eat that much at the age of 9-10 months, even if this portion is written in all textbooks on baby food. But what about throwing away the leftovers?

Calm down, around this period, many mothers begin to cook for 2 times (the dish is stored in the refrigerator for about 24-36 hours), the child's body is already strong enough and adapted to complementary foods that pathogenic microbes in the finished dish are not dangerous to him. We just follow the rules of cleanliness, namely, we took a clean spoon, put a small portion from the jar into a separate plate, put the jar in the refrigerator with the rest of the food, and warmed up the postponed dish, fed the baby.

Stage 4: 10 to 12 months

Approximately one year old, the consistency of baby food is close to that of an adult table. If by 10 months the dish is thick with pieces of food, then closer to 12 months the baby eats small pieces of food, by 1.5 years it completely eats adult dishes, only occasionally large pieces that are difficult to chew, for example, meat, are crushed by adults.

By the age of 2, the child eats completely from the common table without the help of strangers. At this point, you can continue to feed the baby with canned food or completely transfer the baby to an adult table. Parents who initially fed the baby only canned food, by about 2 years old, are transferred to homemade food, i.e. up to 2 years they do not refuse jars, simply because they are used to it and it is convenient, safe, etc.

Examples of products of the fourth stage:

Young potatoes with green beans and Hipp rabbit from 12 months
Italian pasta with trout in Semper cream sauce from 11 months
Heinz0 apple-raspberry-blackcurrant milk porridge from 12 months 0 from 12 months
Multi-cereal Semper porridge from 11 months

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Vegetables with rice and beef stroganoff Semper from 18 months
FrutoNyanya apple-raspberry puree (fruit pieces) from 12 months
Fleur Alpine Organic apple marmalade cookies from 18 months

However, it should be noted that after a year, all age restrictions indicated on canned food most likely carry information on products allowed for a given age, and not food consistency. We also take into account that the portion for a 3-year-old child is much larger than for a one-year-old baby. For example, Frutonyan has milk porridges of 200 ml from 6 months, and 500 ml from 3 years old, the porridge can be identical in composition, the difference is only in the portion.

Canned food age recommendations

Please note that the age recommendations for each stage are only general recommendations. The age of introduction of complementary foods for each child is individual, so one will be ready at 5-6 months, and the other closer to 7 months. We look at signs of readiness for complementary foods, consult a pediatrician.

Moreover, the transition to a new consistency also occurs individually, as the baby is 7-8 months old, it is impossible to abruptly transfer the baby to thicker food or add hard pieces, there may be consequences in the form of vomiting or suffocation. It is important that the child gradually learns to chew food, with gradual complication, for effective skill acquisition. Don't forget our pediatricians, who can help a mother determine if a baby needs extra time to learn chewing skills or if it's time to move on to the next stage.

Consistency of food up to a year. Click on me!!!

And a little about baby food manufacturers. They indicate early dates for the introduction of complementary foods, this is a common marketing ploy to sell more, or they simply do not want to revise the layout of their labels, taking into account the recommendations of Russian pediatricians or the World Health Organization. Although recently, there is less and less canned food on sale, recommended from 3 months.

The main thing is that parents understand and know the rules and terms for the introduction of complementary foods, as well as listen to their intuition, which does not deceive. The appearance and abilities of the baby will tell parents more about the readiness for complementary foods than the age marking on canned food.

Chaos in canned food

A strange name for a subtitle, but it's hard to describe in another way what is happening in the industrial production of baby food. Each brand has its own recommendations for the introduction of complementary foods, based on their data, they label jars. Moreover, it is very difficult to understand their logic. The first two steps are easy for many parents because in general one or two ingredient purees are easier to navigate than multi-ingredient purees.

Therefore, the first 2 stages parents either listen to a pediatrician, or look at a diagram from the Internet, or follow a complementary food table, which is listed on the website of their favorite canned food manufacturer. Although here, too, manufacturers can spoil the situation, so I met thickeners in the form of oatmeal in one-component baby purees (to which an allergy is possible at the beginning of complementary foods). Think for a moment, a one-component puree should contain 1 product and water, the only additional ingredient, but no, they can put any thickener, and it’s good if it’s rice or oat flour, but if the thickener is a preservative? Therefore ALWAYS read the composition of baby food before you buy it.

The first 2 stages seem to be not difficult, but as soon as the child approaches the 3rd stage or lumpy food, then it's just a disaster. Either some manufacturers do not produce food with pieces, then they do, but the composition is complex, there are many ingredients, more than half of the child was not introduced into complementary foods. Parents have to switch from one brand to another or choose 2-3 brands that inspire confidence.

Consider the situation on the example of milk. Now pediatricians, scientists and most parents agree that it is better to introduce dairy products into complementary foods gradually, starting with fermented milk, and milk is given after a year. But what do manufacturers of baby food offer us, milk porridge from 6 months old, or goat milk porridge from 4 months old. It seems that the recommendations of doctors for brands of baby food are empty space, the main thing for them is to offer an assortment, and parents will have to take care of the children. Therefore at the beginning of complementary foods, it is important to decide on a strategy, namely, to choose at least approximately a table of complementary foods or to make a list of the introduction of products, focusing on the recommendations of a pediatrician. You can not blindly buy canned food, looking at the age on the label.

No one canceled the risk of an allergy to a product, and the earlier a child gets acquainted with a highly allergenic product, the stronger the reaction, read here for more details. If you feed the baby only canned food, focusing on age markings, that the child will eat delicate light food that will not teach him to chew, and then at 2 years old the question arises: Why does the child vomit on adult food? And the answer is simple, his body simply does not know how to chew, swallow and digest ordinary adult food. Therefore, as always0007 I speak and will speak and write, everything in moderation, the golden mean.

Canned nutrition is convenient, simple and easy, but should be in moderation. Up to a year, diversity, diversity, the first 2-3 months is a quiet pace, which grows and grows by the year. We offer the child different food, canned and homemade, but at stage 3 we try to give more homemade food, because it is always different, well, it is not possible to make mashed potatoes always the same, especially if you use only a fork, this is what the baby needs, different textures, different components, as in the game - different levels, for complication.

Therefore, from the above, there are some rules to follow:

Never look at the age marking on canned food;
Always check the composition of the canned food;
Always taste baby puree before giving to baby;
Comply with safety measures for the quality of canned food, such as cotton when unscrewing the lid, storage temperature, etc.
If the composition is multi-component, even if the products were introduced separately into complementary foods, give a jar very carefully, for example, give not all, but only 1/3 of it.

how to choose the right baby food and what is the best?

The ideal "baby food" for an infant is breast milk. However, not all mothers can breastfeed their baby, usually this is due to the health of the mother or child. It happens that the woman herself has a serious condition after childbirth and in the early postoperative period, reduced lactation or diseases in which breastfeeding is contraindicated. In such cases, the baby is given formula milk - this is the only alternative to mother's milk. Subsequently, at four to seven months, complementary foods should be introduced into the child's diet, regardless of whether he is breastfed or artificial. The mother is faced with the task of choosing the right baby food for complementary foods.

In this article, we will talk about what foods for babies are and how to choose the best baby food.

Legislation defines "baby food" as food products that meet the physiological needs of a child under 14 years of age. And nutrition for young children is food intended for children from birth to three years[1]. It is necessary to make a diet taking into account the age of the baby and the characteristics of his physical condition.

The Union of Pediatricians of Russia created the National Program for feeding children in the first year of life and the National Program for optimizing the nutrition of children from one to three years old[2]. They describe recommendations regarding what formula to feed the baby from birth, how to introduce complementary foods and expand the baby's diet. These programs provide detailed information on what nutrients and nutrients should be included in the diet of children of different ages.

First you need to figure out what kind of baby food is[3]. Products for toddlers can be divided into two categories:

Infant formula. There are for children from birth to six months (formula 1 mixtures, or initial), from six months to a year (formula 2) and from a year (formula 3). The composition of such baby food is adapted, that is, as close as possible to the composition of breast milk.

In the initial mixtures, the amount of protein is reduced to 1.2-1.5 g / 100 ml - in accordance with the composition of breast milk. They also changed the fat and mineral profile. The initial mixtures are enriched with such an essential amino acid as taurine, and micronutrients, probiotics, vitamins.
After six months, the baby's need for protein increases, mother's milk changes its composition. And babies on artificial feeding begin to be fed with a more nutritious mixture of formula 2. Taurine is no longer always needed: the body of a baby aged from six months to a year is able to synthesize this amino acid itself. Meanwhile, the content of iron, calcium, zinc increases compared to the initial mixtures, because by this age the child's reserves of minerals received from the mother during pregnancy are depleted, and they need to be replenished.
A child's diet changes after one year - he is already able to eat a variety of solid foods. However, it is advisable to continue to feed him with a mixture, though already formula 3. Pediatricians recommend it as a source of vitamins and minerals that the baby can easily absorb.

Complementary foods As we have already noted, it is introduced when the baby is four to seven months old. This interval is referred to as the "critical window" and is considered optimal for initiating complementary foods for several reasons:

The baby needs a wider range of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. In addition, his baby's digestive system is already ready to accept more solid and complex foods than mother's milk or infant formula.
At this age, the child develops an interest in food, and it is necessary to offer him the right foods to develop his taste.
During this period, the risk of developing a food allergy to a new product is lower.
Timely introduction of complementary foods prevents the risk of micronutrient deficiencies and iron deficiency anemia.

Usually the first food is vegetable puree or monocomponent gluten-free cereals, milk or dairy-free. Over time, cereals containing gluten, supplements from fruits and berries, and also consisting of several cereals are added. A six-month-old child can already be given several types of vegetables and cereals. Also, at about six months, they begin to give meat puree, then fruit, and from eight months - fish. A child from seven months is allowed the yolk.

From 12 months of age, complementary foods already form the majority of your baby's diet. At this age, it is especially important to diversify the child's diet: he can be given soups with small pieces of vegetables, meat, fish and cereals.

For information

During the first feeding, the child's eating habits are laid, and it depends on the parents how correct they will be. Often, mothers introduce fruit juices into complementary foods too early. And because babies have an innate preference for sweet tastes, they can become naughty and stop eating the unsweetened foods they need, especially vegetables. Unhealthy taste habits are formed, which can later provoke obesity.
Domestic doctors are concerned about such irrational nutrition of young children - due to the wrong approach to nutrition, many babies experience a deficiency of vitamins and an excess of fast carbohydrates.

How to choose baby foods

Finding the right foods for your baby is not an easy task. Store shelves are bursting with boxes, jars and bottles, and manufacturers write on every second package that the baby will be healthy, strong and cheerful after feeding. Of course, the baby will receive the necessary substances, no matter what product his parents choose, because all the production of baby food is strictly controlled by the state. By the way, Russia has some of the most stringent requirements for the quality of baby food in the world.

However, products for children differ in their properties. It is necessary to select food so that by the end of the first year of life the baby has actively developed chewing skills and an interest in independence, and the diet of complementary foods is reasonably varied.

For children from one to three years of age, the diet should be even more varied. It is important that the child receives daily something new from the main food groups: dairy, vegetables and fruits, meat and fish, cereals, butter and vegetable oil. Of course, the baby's diet should be expanded taking into account his state of health.

When organizing the nutrition of a child from the moment of introduction of complementary foods and up to three years, a mother needs not only to know what can be fed, but also to consider what foods should not be included in the diet. Among the prohibited products for children under three years of age:

any mushrooms, vegetables and fruits in a marinade;
pickles, preserves in tomato sauce;
commercial juice concentrates, carbonated drinks, coffee and strong tea;
various condiments - mustard, ketchup, hot sauces, horseradish, pepper, vinegar, mayonnaise;
products containing flavors, industrial colors, including chewing gum;
margarine and refractory fats - lamb, pork;
chocolates, sweets and other sweets.

To choose the right baby food, you need to know exactly what you should pay attention to and what you don't need to worry about.

When choosing mixtures, it is important to check:

Absence of palm oil. Formula manufacturers may use palm oil (more specifically palm extract) because, like breast milk, it is rich in palmitic acid. However, in human milk, palmitic acid is in the beta position, while in palm oil it is in the alpha position. Such alpha-palmitic acid can interfere with the absorption of calcium and fats and is generally less well absorbed by the child's body. This can negatively affect the work of the intestines, lead to constipation, regurgitation. Milk fat is better suited for baby food as a source of palmitic acid[4][5].
Protein ratio. Breast milk protein is primarily whey proteins and casein. A child needs both types of protein, while proteins are easily digested, which cannot be said about casein. If baby food contains a lot of casein, it stays longer in the digestive tract, which can cause problems with the baby's stool.
The presence of additional functional elements in the composition - lutein, nucleotides, pre- and probiotics. The task of lutein is to protect vision from ultraviolet rays. Nucleotides are low molecular weight compounds that promote the growth of beneficial bifidobacteria in the intestines. And pre- and probiotics in the composition of infant formulas help to establish comfortable digestion.

When choosing complementary foods, pay attention to:

Age appropriate. It is important that in the diet of a child under three years old who receives complementary foods, special children's products prevail - in their composition the components are selected taking into account the age-related needs of the baby's body. It is impossible at an early age to transfer children to "adult" foods like pickles, smoked foods, fast food, and so on.
For fortified foods. It is important that the composition contains vitamins and minerals. The National Child Nutrition Optimization Program recommends choosing complementary foods that contain elements designed to prevent anemia, rickets, and vitamin deficiencies.
For a varied diet. The menu for a baby up to six months is quite monotonous. But as they grow older, the baby needs more various nutrients - proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals.
On the individual reaction of the baby. If the child is already receiving complementary foods, then it is worth introducing a new product only after the previous one has been fully introduced. If the baby is allergic to the product, then it should be administered carefully, carefully checking the reaction of the body.

Ingredient safety testing is optional. Of course, the content of any "chemistry" in the product for feeding a child, whether it be a mixture or complementary foods, is unacceptable. There is no need to worry about this: baby food is carefully checked. If it is registered on the territory of the Customs Union and hit the shelves, then it complies with SanPiN 2.3.2.1940-05 and there will be no "prohibited" components in its composition. Also, contrary to popular misconception, in Russia it is forbidden to use GMOs in children's products.

Note

Baby food in jars (usually mashed potatoes) has a short shelf life after opening because it does not contain preservatives. However, before the jar is opened, the products can stand for quite a long time on the shelves of stores or in the refrigerator at home. This is possible thanks to a special production technology, sterilization and vacuum packaging. If a soft pop is heard when opening the jar, this is a good sign: the puree is not spoiled. But products in jars with swollen lids or a protruding bottom should not be used: microorganisms already multiply in such food, it is not suitable for food.

Features of the choice of dairy products

It is necessary to choose dairy products for babies, following the recommendations of a doctor. The specialist will take into account the health of the baby, especially if he is allergic to cow protein. In Russia, such an allergy occurs in 30–40% of children [6]. Such a reaction may occur due to hereditary predisposition and immaturity of the body. But most often, allergies go away when the child grows up.

Goat milk baby food may be a suitable option for young children with a predisposition to allergies. Its protein is perceived by the body better than cow's: alpha-s1-casein, contained in large quantities in cow's milk, makes a product based on it difficult to digest - food stagnates in the baby's gastrointestinal tract, motor skills are disturbed, as a result, allergies often occur. In goat milk, as in breast milk, there is practically no alpha-s1-casein [7]. Therefore, goat's milk, and hence the mixture based on it, are better absorbed.

Of course, with the introduction of complementary foods, other dairy products will appear in the baby's diet. Unadapted fermented milk drinks, such as kefir, yogurt, biolact, can be introduced into the diet from eight months and in an amount not exceeding 200 ml. Also during this period, it is recommended to give cottage cheese - no more than 50 g per day, but according to indications, it can also be prescribed from the age of six months. Whole milk cannot be used as the main food, and it is advised to introduce it into the diet of babies no earlier than a year (in the amount of 100-150 ml per day) [8].