When you breastfeed a baby, you don’t have to worry about the nutrients that a kid receives or not because breast milk easily adapts to the baby’s needs. For example, if a child is sick, then the milk will produce more antibodies to fight infections. Ingredients to avoid while feeding –
However, things are a little different when a newborn is bottle-fed. You need to do a lot of research on what ingredients should be in the content and which shouldn’t. In addition, you have to visit a pediatrician to help you choose the right formula thus reducing the stress for a child. It is especially important to carefully choose the formula to avoid skin and allergic diseases. For example, an improperly selected formula can cause baby eczema. In such cases, it is better to give preference to the organic baby formula since it’s made from natural ingredients, which minimizes the risk of manifestations of such diseases. Let’s see what substances should be avoided when feeding a kid.
Genetically Modified Ingredients or to avoid while feeding
GMO products have a long life because they are resistant to diseases, viruses, insects, etc. Even though baby food with GMOs in the content provides a lot of affordable options, such products are strongly connected with cancer, organ disease, and so on.
Synthetic Nutrients
Lots of US-made baby food is enriched with synthetic nutrients which are processed with different harmful chemicals. Synthetic ingredients you need to avoid are lycopene, lutein, taurine, L-methionine, and nucleotides. But it’s significant to mark on the package where the source of each ingredient is located because they can also be produced naturally and in such cases they are safe.
Corn Syrup
Corn syrup is made from cornstarch and it is widely used as a cheap thickener and sweetener in baby formula. This product doesn’t give much saturation so a kid gets hungry soon so you will have to feed it more often causing overeating.
Moreover, formula products containing corn syrup may cause deformed lifelong tastes in your baby. Feeding them baby food with corn syrup may encourage them to look for harmful processed sugar instead of eating fruits and vegetables as they grow.
Therefore, avoiding baby food products with corn syrup is essential, as it leads to different health diseases in adulthood.
Soy
Soy is vegetable proteins and fats, which cannot replace animal products, which are especially important for the normal functioning of the immune system. If you feed your little one soy food for too long, it can lead to metabolic disorders. Therefore, soy products can only be a temporary solution or an addition to the menu (it applies to children of any age), but not a replacement for milk or meat.
Preservatives
As it implies, preservatives are used to preserve food for long life. The point is that there are no natural ingredients and they aggravate food allergies. There can also be other negative effects of feeding your baby with preservatives, such as headaches, heart palpitations, and breathing issues.
Because of this, you should keep away from baby food products with preservatives to protect your child against their side effects. Usually, preservatives are marked as additives on baby food cans. Hence, always carefully check the labels of the products before buying them. If you want to be extra careful, you can opt for organic products, which are free from harmful preservatives.
Dioxin
Dioxins in the content of baby food can lead to pathological skin changes and its long-term exposure damages the immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, and reproductive functions.
Gluten
Gluten is quite difficult to digest even for adults, for its processing a person must have one hundred percent healthy digestion. If gluten enters the kid’s body under one year old, it can irritate the intestinal and affect the process of digesting food in general. Wheat, rye, and barley, as well as products from these cereals, are the most common sources of gluten.
Heavy Metals to avoid while feeding
The content of heavy metals in baby food is indeed very dangerous, especially for children under two years of age. There can be very serious consequences, usually neurological disorders. There are cases where the gradual accumulation of heavy metals can lead to various pathologies up to autism, and a decrease in the level of intelligence. They can also cause oncological diseases, a decrease in the level of immunity, and allergies.
For this reason, choosing the right baby food products without heavy metals is essential. Some common examples of baby foods that are susceptible to heavy metals include rice cereal, puff snacks, teething biscuits, and certain formula products.
Always check the products you’re buying in the market and always buy from trusted baby food brands like Serenity Kids, which provide your kid with the nutrition they need without the harm associated with heavy metals.
Carrageenan to avoid while feeding
Carrageenan is derived from seaweed. Recent researches prove that the presence of ethylene oxide causes cancer. In baby formula production carrageenan is widely used as a viscosity stabilizer. Despite this fact, the element was banned from the production of baby formula in the European Union. However, it is still used in the USA.
Palm Oil
Palm oil with fatty acids is poorly absorbed. Under the intestinal enzymes, free long-chain palmitic acid is formed, which forms insoluble complexes with calcium, and is excreted unchanged in the feces. Lipids are in transit, as a result, a child does not receive the necessary norm of fat, and also suffers from calcium deficiency and reduced bone strength. Violations of the digestion of palmitic acid also negatively affect the work of the gastrointestinal tract. The digestive system at an early age does not function at full capacity, and insoluble fat complexes create an additional burden. Babies often suffer from constipation, they are 63% more likely to develop colic and 50% more likely to spit up compared to babies who eat formula without palm oil.
Of course, this is not a full list of substances to avoid, but these are the most harmful ones, and the use of which can be very harmful to the immature organism of your little one. Therefore, it is recommended to carefully select the formula and consult with a pediatrician. Your pediatrician knows the appropriate nutrients your baby needs and the best food alternatives to breastmilk that would not harm them, so follow their recommendations to ensure your little one’s overall health.
