Are Snacks a Friend or an Enemy to Your Child
Little babies all like to be good friends with snacks. But did you know that some snacks are not only not good friends for your baby, but can also become a major enemy threatening your baby's health. Moreover, some snacks are both friends and enemies. So how can you tell the difference between friend and foe?
Puffed Snacks: High in Lead, Consume Sparingly
Friend:
Cakes, biscuits, and other grain-based foods high in carbohydrates made into puffed foods are crispy, easy to digest, and can be consumed in moderation.
Enemy:
Puffed snacks have fragrant, crispy, and sweet characteristics that are quite suitable for a baby's "taste." However, they may contain lead, which is harmful to human health. Long-term consumption of substandard puffed snacks can easily cause blood lead levels to exceed the standard limit, leading to acute toxic effects. This can manifest in babies as: mental sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, anemia, and in severe cases, even toxic hepatitis.
Friend or Enemy?
For babies, lead is detrimental to brain development. Puffed snacks often do more harm than good, so parents should still put puffed snacks on the list of unwelcome bad friends.
Little Tip:
To ensure your baby's health, avoid letting them eat small puffed snacks.
Fruits: Eat in Moderation at the Right Time
Friend:
Fruits are a favorite food for babies of all ages. Fruits contain glucose, fructose, and sucrose, which are easily absorbed by the body. The organic acids in fruits can aid digestion and increase appetite. Soluble dietary fiber helps prevent constipation, and fruits are also a primary source of Vitamin C.
Enemy:
Not eating fruits scientifically and in moderation for your baby can also lead to problems, causing them to get "fruit sickness." This is because fruits have properties that are either "cooling" or "heating." For example, babies with a "heated" constitution who eat too many oranges may get "heaty," leading to mouth ulcers, angular cheilitis, sores around the mouth, swollen gums, constipation, or inflammation of the eyes or nose. This is because oranges are considered a "heating" fruit. Babies with a "cooling" constitution who consume too many "cooling" fruits like watermelon, pears, persimmons, or kiwis may experience diarrhea or abdominal discomfort.
Friend or Enemy?
Choose fruits based on your baby's constitution, and pay attention to selecting and scheduling the time for your baby to eat fruits.
Little Tip:
Schedule fruit consumption between meals or after a nap, so your baby can have it as a snack. Depending on your baby's age and digestive ability, you can prepare it as juice or puree. Babies aged 1-3 months are best off drinking juice, while babies aged 4-9 months can eat fruit puree.
Nuts and Seeds: High in Oil, Recommend Small Portions
Friend:
Peanuts, melon seeds, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc., are high in oil. After processing, they not only taste delicious but also contain essential fatty acids, B vitamins, and various trace elements needed by the body, all of which are nutrients that growing babies need.
Enemy:
These kinds of snacks are difficult to chew, and younger babies can easily inhale them into their trachea, causing difficulty breathing or even suffocation. Nuts are high in oil, so older children should not eat too many either. Some poor-quality nut products may also contain toxins, which are harmful to a baby's health.
Friend or Enemy?
The biggest problem for young babies eating nuts is difficulty in chewing and the risk of inhaling them. Parents can crush nuts into small pieces for babies to eat. The benefits of nuts outweigh the drawbacks for babies, so they can be put on the list of good friends.
Little Tip:
You can judge quality by tasting them. For packaged nuts, you can inspect their appearance to tell if they are good. High-quality nuts are generally bright in color, have a luster, are dry and free of debris, and will not have mold spots or insect holes.
Candy: High in Calories, Eat Small Portions and Rinse Mouth Afterwards
Friend:
Candy snacks are pure-calorie foods. Although chocolate contains some protein and fat, its main purpose is to provide energy.
Enemy:
These foods are not highly nutritious. Sweets are one of the causes of cavities, and sticky candy can easily form hard-to-brush plaque, which can easily lead to cavities. Candy snacks should not be a frequent choice for babies.
Friend or Enemy?
Because candy has a significant impact on teeth and can easily cause cavities, affecting the normal development of your baby's teeth, it is better to put candy on the list of bad friends for your baby's health. However, this is a controllable bad friend; you can control your baby's consumption.
Little Tip:
Pay attention to the principle of "moderation" when eating candy. Generally, one or two pieces a day is enough. The best time to eat candy is between lunch and dinner, as a snack. When choosing candy for your baby, consider their nutritional needs. If your baby is underweight, you can choose milk candy to supplement protein and calories; if your baby is deficient in calcium, you can choose calcium-flavored crispy candy. Sticky candies like chocolate, coffee, or cocoa-based candies should not be given to your baby in large quantities.
Cold Foods: High in Sugar, Choose to Consume Sparingly by Season
Friend:
Ice cream and other cold foods are the most popular snacks for babies, especially in the hot summer. Cold foods made mainly from milk contain nutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates, as well as a small amount of calcium.
Enemy:
Because these foods are high in sugar, eating too much can affect your baby's appetite and irritate the gastrointestinal tract. Many babies are brought to the hospital with poor appetite and a sallow, thin appearance, but no organic lesions are found. This is actually a condition of "disharmony of the spleen and stomach" in babies. Some babies are diagnosed with "superficial gastritis" after frequent abdominal pain, which is often related to overeating cold foods.
Friend or Enemy?
A baby's digestive system is not mature enough. Eating highly stimulating foods, with their own regulatory abilities not strong, can easily lead to diarrhea, loss of appetite, and affect normal development. Generally, cold drinks and snacks should still be considered bad friends for your baby.
Little Tip:
Even in the summer, don't let your baby eat too much cold food at once. After your baby eats cold food, remember to help them rinse their mouth with warm water.
Pastries: Brush Your Teeth After Eating
Friend:
Pastry foods are rich in carbohydrates and can supplement the nutrients and energy missing from a baby's diet, providing energy for the baby's brain cells. Eating a little pastry before a meal can help relieve a baby's hunger.
Enemy:
Frequent consumption of pastries can promote cavities in babies. The longer teeth are in contact with food, especially carbohydrates, the more time plaque bacteria have to produce acid that damages the tooth's enamel.
Friend or Enemy?
After eating pastries, parents should encourage their baby to brush their teeth or rinse their mouth to remove food particles stuck to or between the teeth. Therefore, pastries do more good than harm and should be considered a good friend.