Nutrients Guide for your 6-12 Month Baby

Despite the young age, you must ensure that your baby is eating healthy. Your child has much need for vitamins, energy and minerals and thus, as you begin the exciting process of introducing solid foods to your baby, you must empower yourself with the nutrients guide for your 6 to 12 months baby. Feeding your child with healthy, nutrient dense food is critical in supporting your baby’s growth and taste development. Therefore, you must ensure that your baby food diet is full of vitamins and minerals as well as micronutrients.

Vitamins and minerals guide for your 6 to 12 months baby

You should ensure that your baby is getting all vitamins and minerals necessary for growth especially vitamin D and Iron. Babies younger than 12 months should not take less than 400 IU of Vitamin D on a daily basis. Although breast milk has a significant amount of vitamin D, it is not adequate for your baby development and thus, you must ensure that your baby is feeding on foods rich in vitamin D. if your baby is taking infant formula, he or she will need to take at least 32 ounces of standard infant formula per day to get the needed 400 IU amount. Making sure that your baby diet contains fish, eggs, and vitamin D-fortified products like cereals and yogurt is a perfect way to ensure that your baby gets enough vitamin D. Sunlight is also a good source of vitamin D.

Iron is paramount for every child growth. It helps red blood cells carry oxygen through the body while also supporting the baby’s ability to learn. Lack of adequate iron can lead anemia lowering the baby’s ability to carry oxygen throughout the body and thus, it is vital to ensure that your baby is eating foods rich in iron. Iron found in foods come in two forms that include heme and non-heme iron.

Heme iron is the most easily absorbed type of iron. It usually comes from animal products like poultry, seafood, and red meat. Non-heme iron is mostly found in iron-fortified products as well as plants. The major sources of non-heme iron include Tofu, iron-fortified infant cereals, dark green leafy vegetables, and beans and lentils. It also helps to pair non-heme iron sources with foods rich in vitamin C like tomatoes, oranges, dark leafy vegetables, broccoli and berries. Vitamin C helps in the absorption of non-heme iron.

Micronutrients guide for your 6 to 12 months baby

Although micronutrients are needed in small amounts, they are essential to the development, disease prevention and wellbeing of your baby. They are also not produced in the body and thus, the only way your child can get them is through foods. Deficiencies in essential micronutrients like iodine, iron, folate, vitamin A, and Zinc can have devastating consequences. Iodine is essential for brain and cognitive development while vitamin A supports immune system functions and healthy eyesight. Zinc promotes immunity and resistance to infection while enhancing proper growth and development of the nervous system. Folate is imperative for healthy development of the spinal cord, brain and skull. Feeding your child with foods fortified with these micronutrients ensures proper growth and development.

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