Breast milk and cow's milk lack minerals such as Vitamin C, D, and iron. Therefore, it is necessary to add complementary foods like fruits when the infant is 1 to 2 months old. Late spring and early summer are the peak season for fruit harvest, and infants can enjoy a wide variety of fruits during this period. However, parents should pay attention... Correct fruit feeding is very important.
It is best to eat fruit after breastfeeding
According to experts, there are three ways for infants under 1 year old to eat fruit:
First, drink fresh fruit juice. Choose fresh, ripe fruits such as citrus, watermelon, apples, and pears. Wash them with water, peel them, cut the flesh into small pieces, or mash it directly into a bowl (remove the pits first). Then, squeeze the juice with the back of a spoon or with sterile gauze, or use a juicer to extract the juice.
Second, cook the fruit. Cut the fruit into small pieces with a knife, place them in boiling water, cover the pot, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
Third, scrape fruit puree. Infants as young as 4 to 5 months old can eat fruit puree. First, wash the fruit, then scrape it into a puree with a small spoon. It is best to scrape it just before eating to prevent it from oxidizing and changing color, and also to avoid contamination.
One-year-old toddlers can eat a variety of fruits, but it is important to wash and peel the fruit. Be especially careful with small, round fruits like grapes and cherries to guard against the risk of choking and suffocation.
Experts remind parents that it is best for infants and young children to eat fruit after breastfeeding or a meal, because fruits contain a lot of sugar, and eating before milk or a meal will affect the amount of food consumed during the main meal.
Cooking can reduce allergies
Pineapples contain bromelain, which can cause allergic symptoms such as skin itching and redness. Therefore, the correct way to eat pineapple is to first peel the fruit, then slice it and soak it in a 1%-2% salt solution for 20 minutes, or heat and steam it.
Pineapple treated in this way not only becomes sweeter but also destroys the bromelain, so allergic reactions will not occur.
Some children's lips swell and turn red after eating mangoes. It turns out that fresh mangoes can easily cause contact dermatitis on the lips.
When parents add fruit as a complementary food for their baby, they should follow the principle of "from little to much, from simple to complex." It is recommended that parents give their baby the most common fruits, such as bananas, apples, oranges, and pears, and not choose rare or uncommon imported fruits, as this helps to reduce allergies.
"Infants and young children with a predisposition to allergies should be especially careful when trying a fruit for the first or second time." Parents should first give the child a small amount to try, and then observe for two hours to see if a rash appears. If you are not sure, you can observe for another 3 days to see if delayed allergic symptoms appear. If no allergic reaction occurs, it means the child will not be allergic to that fruit and can eat it safely in the future.
Eating seasonal fruits is nutritious
Seasonal fruits mature in their natural environment, resulting in less loss of nutrients. They do not require ripening agents and require fewer preservatives for storage, making them safer to eat. In addition, traditional Chinese medicine believes that "seasonal products treat seasonal diseases." Eating watermelon in the summer can cool down and relieve heat, and eating apples in the autumn can warm the stomach and stop diarrhea. Therefore, parents should try not to give their children off-season fruits or canned fruit. Also, when choosing fruit for younger children, it is best to choose organic fruits to avoid pesticide residues.
Although fruits are beneficial to health, eating too much can also cause illness. For example, some children like to eat oranges and eat several at once. Oranges are rich in carotene. A large intake of carotene in a short period can cause hypercarotenemia, where the skin on the whole body or in parts turns yellow. In severe cases, it may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and limb weakness. Once these symptoms appear, you should stop eating oranges immediately, drink plenty of water, and the skin will return to its normal color naturally after 5 to 7 days.