When choosing complementary foods for babies, mothers have always believed that vegetables are very beneficial and nutritious for babies. However, how to select and feed vegetables to babies is a big science for mothers.
When preparing a vegetable diet for a baby, it should be reasonably combined. The combination of baby vegetables is an important source of minerals, dietary fiber, and vitamins. Remember some incorrect combinations of baby vegetables to avoid affecting the baby's health.
1. Feeding tomatoes to the baby before a meal
Tomatoes should be eaten after a meal. This way, the acidity can be greatly reduced when gastric acid mixes with food, avoiding increased pressure in the stomach that can cause gastric distension, leading to symptoms like abdominal pain and stomach discomfort in the baby.
2. Mixing carrots and radishes into a puree
Do not grind carrots and radishes into a puree together. This is because carrots contain an enzyme that can destroy vitamin C, which will completely break down the vitamin C in the radishes.
3. Cleaning mushrooms too thoroughly or soaking them in water
Mushrooms contain ergosterol, which turns into vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. However, excessive washing or soaking before cooking will cause a significant loss of nutrients. Mushrooms should also not be cooked in an iron or copper pot to avoid nutritional loss.
4. Excessive intake of carotene
Although carotene is very nutritious for babies, it should be consumed in moderation. If a baby drinks too much vegetable juice made from carrots or tomatoes, it can lead to carotenemia, causing the skin on the face and hands to turn orange-yellow. This may be accompanied by loss of appetite, unstable mental state, irritability, and even restless sleep, along with symptoms like night terrors, crying, and talking in one's sleep.
5. Be wary of the carcinogenic effects of excessive carotene
The traditional view is that supplementing with carotene can not only reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cataracts but also has anti-cancer effects. However, many recent test results have found that compared to a normal control group, the group that took β-carotene did not have a lower incidence of lung cancer; on the contrary, it was 28% higher.
Nutritionists analyze that supplementing with a physiological dose (5 mg/day) of carotene does have a cancer-inhibiting effect. However, excessive intake of carotene will prevent vitamin A from binding to its corresponding receptors, thereby inhibiting the transformation of tumor suppressor genes. The result is not cancer inhibition but the opposite.
Therefore, the human body only needs to supplement with a physiological dose of carotene and must never arbitrarily increase the dose. It is sufficient to regularly consume natural foods rich in β-carotene, such as various animal livers, milk, carrots, chives, tea, etc.
6. Feeding bitter gourd to the baby without blanching it in boiling water
The oxalic acid in bitter gourd can hinder the absorption of calcium from food. Therefore, before eating, the bitter gourd should be blanched in boiling water to remove the oxalic acid. Babies who need a large amount of calcium supplementation should not eat too much bitter gourd.
7. Feeding the baby too much spinach
Spinach contains a large amount of oxalic acid and should not be given to babies in excess. Oxalic acid in the body combines with calcium and zinc to form calcium oxalate and zinc oxalate, which are not easily absorbed and excreted. This affects the absorption of calcium and zinc in the intestines, easily causing calcium and zinc deficiency in babies, leading to poor development of bones and teeth, and can also affect intellectual development.
8. Eating undercooked bean sprouts
Bean sprouts are tender, delicious, and nutritious, but they must be thoroughly cooked. Otherwise, eating them can cause adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness.
9. Cooked chives being stored for too long
Leftover chives can become toxic. Chives are best cooked and eaten fresh and should not be stored for long. If stored for too long, the large amount of nitrate in them can turn into nitrite, causing a toxic reaction. In addition, babies with indigestion should not eat chives.
10. Stewing green leafy vegetables for too long
Green leafy vegetables should not be stewed for too long during cooking. Otherwise, the nitrates in the green leafy vegetables will turn into nitrites, which can easily cause food poisoning in babies.
11. Cooking frozen vegetables for too long
Most frozen vegetables have been blanched, so they do not need to be cooked for too long, otherwise they will become mushy and lose many nutrients.
Cold dishes are a popular choice on the tables of many housewives. However, during the summer, pests and diseases are active, and farmers tend to use more pesticides. Since cold dishes are not cooked at high temperatures, if the pesticide residue exceeds the standard, they can be very harmful to the human body. Therefore, when eating cold dishes or raw vegetables, it is best to choose pollution-free green vegetables or organic vegetables.
Mashed garlic with cucumber, cold bean sprouts, wood ear lettuce with a savory flavor, spicy shredded radish... on a hot summer day, when people feel listless and have no appetite, a plate of colorful, refreshing and appetizing cold dishes can greatly increase one's appetite.
However, cold dishes are a high-risk food for causing food poisoning, especially for vegetables with excessive pesticide residue. The methods of eating cold or raw dishes are also high-risk. This is because during their growth, vegetables can easily be contaminated by bacteria, viruses, and parasite eggs in the soil. In the summer, when pests and diseases are relatively active, the probability of excessive pesticide residue on vegetables is also higher.