Types of baby food – what is the healthiest food for children?

At present, the choice of food for babies is so great that in the abundance of assortment rows of all kinds of mashed potatoes, cereals, mixtures, sometimes even very experienced parents who have raised more than one child are lost. What is better to choose for the child, what will be useful for him, how to provide the baby with only the best complementary foods?

The content of the article:

Which one to prefer?

Before choosing a brand of baby food for a baby, you must carefully read types of food for babies…

Milk-based baby food

These are, of course, formulas that are designed to replace a woman’s breast milk for the entire period of feeding the baby, or as an additional food to the mother’s milk (artificial and mixed feeding). These are milk infant formulas, which are close in composition to a woman’s milk, and are used to feed crumbs during the first year of life from birth.
Dairy baby breast milk substitutes can be adapted and partially adapted, dry, concentrated and liquid, fresh and fermented milk.
The second group of baby food includes dairy products in liquid or pasty form. These are all kinds of dairy curds, yoghurts, milk, cottage cheese, which are made from very high quality cow’s milk. Paste and liquid dairy products can be fed to infants in their first year of life for complementary feeding purposes, as well as to older children.

Grain, cereal based

This group of food products for children is represented by milk dry cereals-semi-finished products, flour, pasta, various varieties of instant cookies. Products with a grain base can be introduced into the diet of crumbs even in the first year of life, from 4.5 or 5 months, as complementary foods. These products are enriched with calcium, iron, the main group of vitamins, mineral salts, sugar, honey, vanillin, dextrinmaltose, dry powder of fruits and vegetables, vegetable oil can be added.
Cereals are instant cereals that contain starch and dietary fiber, which is very beneficial for the growing body of the baby.

Vitamin baby food based on vegetables, fruits, berries

This group of food products for young children includes canned products, represented by a wide range of berries, fruits, vegetables, as well as mixed purees and juices. Products with a fruit and vegetable base can be given to a baby from 3-4 months of age, as complementary foods. These products contain carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral salts, dietary fiber, which are very well absorbed by the body of the crumbs. The acidity of fruit and vegetable baby food should not be high – no more than 0.8%.

According to the degree of grinding of the product, canned fruits and vegetables can be

• homogenized;
• finely chopped;
• coarsely crushed.

This group of foods for babies includes various canned meals with a complex composition, which consist, for example, of vegetables and meat, fish and cereals, fruits and cottage cheese.

Nutritious baby meat products

This group of products for feeding babies includes various canned meat from veal, pork, horse meat, offal and poultry. These products can be given to a baby from 7-8 months, and according to individual indications – a little earlier.

Fish for older babies

These are various canned fish and seafood dishes that are offered to babies from 8 or 9 months as complementary foods. Fish dishes are very useful for the growing body of the crumbs, as they contain omega-3 fatty acids, iron, phosphorus, vitamins D and group B.

For children of preschool, school age

This is a wide line of products that includes all types of baby food: dairy, grain, meat, fish, fruit, vegetable products. Food products for preschoolers and schoolchildren are intended for two categories of ages of children – from 3 to 6 years old; from 7 to 14 years old… These products for baby food include all kinds of yoghurts, vegetable and fruit juices, curd cheeses, biscuits, cookies and crackers, fruit milk and dairy drinks, fermented baked milk, canned meat and fish, semi-finished products, drinking water.
Children’s products for preschoolers and school-age children are necessarily certified, contain only ingredients useful for the child’s body and are designed to give it saturation, vitamins and micronutrient complexes, must be attractive in appearance and tasty.

Medicinal and dietary food for children

These baby food products are allocated in a separate group, as they are intended for children with health problems, any diseases and disorders, underweight or overweight, constipation or diarrhea, allergies, intolerance to breast milk or cow’s milk. In medicinal and dietary food for children, several categories can be distinguished:

• Lactose-free baby products – these are food products that contain no more than 0.1 grams of lactose per one liter of the finished product. Lactose-free products are intended for children with lactase deficiency.
  Low lactose products baby food contains no more than 10 grams of lactose per one liter of the finished product. Low-lactose products are intended for children at risk of developing lactase deficiency.
• Gluten Free Products baby food is produced with a gluten (fiber) content of no more than 20 milligrams per kilogram of the finished product. These baby foods are intended for children with celiac disease, or at risk of developing celiac disease.
• Food for children based on complete or partial hydrolysis of protein cow’s milk, goat’s milk, soy. These products are intended for children at risk of developing food allergies to milk proteins, for children with severe milk protein allergies.
• Children’s products with various additives – iodine, calcium, fiber, iron, vitamins, trace elements…
• Baby food products for children with frequent regurgitation, dysbiosis, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal cramps; baby food with bifidobacteria…