Moms who, for various reasons, have not been able to maintain breastfeeding, need to be careful when choosing artificial nutrition for their baby. After all, formula feeds intended for feeding children in the first months of life should be as close as possible to breast milk and include the appropriate ingredients for children of a certain age. Mixtures for children from 3 months of life should be enriched with iron, since the iron reserves obtained in utero are depleted and there is a risk of iron deficiency. The most beneficial for the child’s body is, artificial nutrition should have indicators as close as possible to breast milk.
What should a formula contain?
In addition to a balanced vitamin and mineral composition in maximum bioavailable form, the formula must contain components that are only found in the breast milk of the mother. And also DHA – omega 3 acid, choline, responsible for the health and development of the brain, eye muscles, eyes, and heart; vitamin D3, which participates in the formation of over 2000 genes and keeps the musculoskeletal system healthy; lecithin, without which healthy liver growth is impossible.
The formula should also contain galacto-oligosaccharides, prebiotic carbohydrates found in breast milk. They are derived from lactose. In addition, they are food for the intestinal microbiome, perform a variety of other functions, contribute to the absorption of minerals – calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and reduce the frequency of allergic reactions.
Popular among new parents, milk formula is Holle. This is a German organic infant formula with a good reputation. This brand manufactures its products based on cow’s and goat’s milk of the best grade. The formula contains all the vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and carbohydrates your baby needs. The formulas are divided by age categories and are designed both for complete nutrition for the baby and for feeding a mixed type of nutrition.
What baby formula should be avoided?
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers are conscientious. Some brands allow themselves to add low-quality raw materials or undesirable ingredients to their formulas.
For example, beta-lactoglobulin is a protein that is found in large quantities in cow’s milk, but not in breast milk. It is a powerful allergen for the baby.
Palmitic acid is completely foreign to the body of the child. And as a result of using palm oil is a loss of calcium, which inevitably leads to problems with mineralization of bone tissue, and in the future to the development of osteochondrosis, osteoporosis, and arthrosis (the destruction of bone and cartilage), if time is not taken preventive measures.
Rapeseed oil is extracted from rapeseed, and it would seem that due to its rich chemical composition the product is well assimilated by the intestinal walls, but erucic and beguine acids contained in this oil are toxic and can accumulate in the human body.
If your baby has any health problems or digestive difficulties, choose specialized or therapeutic blends. By the way, it is not necessary to completely transfer the child to a medicinal formula. In some cases, it is enough to replace them with 1-2 feedings a day. All well-known brands have a huge range of mixes to eliminate various digestive problems in the child. This is logical, since the use of low-quality raw materials generates a lot of problems that need to be solved.
Therefore, parents when choosing a mixture should be guided not only by advertising videos, but also to consult with pediatricians. And it is a real fact that high-quality formula milk cannot be cheap.
