Can babies take nutritional supplements? What should I pay attention to?

Many parents often consider buying nutritional supplements to make up for their children's dietary deficiencies when they think their children are growing slowly, have poor appetite, or have picky eating habits. In fact, many research results have pointed out that for most healthy children, a variety of natural foods that are diverse and balanced are sufficient to provide the nutrients needed for growth and development.

Infants and young children who really need to use nutritional supplements are only in the following situations: when they have obvious growth retardation, unbalanced nutritional intake, increased disease needs, are strict vegetarians, or have serious picky eating habits. All of the above situations should be evaluated by a pediatrician or nutritionist before deciding on the type of nutritional supplement to be taken.

Prioritize natural nutrition

In terms of the different growth stages of children, healthy infants within 4 to 6 months of age should take breast milk or infant formula as the main source of nutrition, and no additional supplements are needed. When adding complementary foods after 4 to 6 months of age, it is necessary to choose "iron-fortified" cereals and gradually add natural foods to meet the needs of growth and development.

For children over 1 year old, the types of food they can accept are almost the same as those for adults, and they only need to gradually increase the coarseness and size of the food. Therefore, it is recommended that parents use more natural and fresh food as a priority for nutrition, rather than relying on artificial nutritional supplements as the basic principle.

Can infant nutrition products be eaten?

Since vitamin and mineral supplements do not require a prescription and are inexpensive, many parents choose to give their babies these supplements to achieve certain desired goals.

We would like to remind parents that they should first analyze their children's nutritional status to understand which nutrients are really insufficient or lacking. On the other hand, they should also make sure whether these nutrients have been proven by reasonable clinical research to be suitable for infants and young children and beneficial to their health before they can use them with confidence. Therefore, it is an incorrect attitude to wishfully regard vitamin and mineral supplements as the only way to make up for the baby's inadequate diet.

A report from the American pediatric medical community pointed out that about 50% of parents give multivitamins to infants under 2 years old, and some famous parenting magazines also recommend that parents give vitamin and mineral supplements to infants 3 to 4 times a week, especially to picky eaters. In fact, these are unnecessary practices. Because medical research has confirmed that most infants can get various nutrients from various foods and dairy products. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend the use of vitamin and mineral supplements for infants who eat a balanced and varied diet.

Recommendations for use of infant nutrition products

Neonates: All neonates should receive a single intramuscular dose of vitamin K to prevent neonatal hemorrhagic disease due to postnatal depletion of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (factors 2, 7, 9, and 10).

Breast-fed infants: The mother's diet has a significant effect on certain water-soluble vitamins in breast milk. For example, vitamin B12 deficiency has been reported in infants of vegetarian breast-feeding mothers. But other than that, a healthy full-term breast-fed infant does not need any vitamin or mineral supplements as long as the infant is exposed to enough sunlight.

Formula-fed infants: As long as they consume adequate amounts of formula milk daily, infants do not need vitamin and mineral supplements, especially in the first 6 months. In the second half of the year, as long as they have an appropriate amount of formula milk plus solid food, they do not need additional nutritional supplements. However, it should be noted that after 4 months of age, iron-fortified formula milk or cereals are more convenient and better sources than iron supplements.

Premature infants: Due to the demands of rapid growth and poor gastrointestinal absorption, premature infants have higher requirements for vitamins and minerals than full-term infants. In the first few weeks, when the monthly energy intake is less than 300 kcal/day, or the body weight is still less than 2,500 grams, a multivitamin supplement covering the same "recommended daily nutrient intake" as full-term infants should be given. As for iron supplementation, it is best to postpone it for a few weeks, because without proper vitamin E intake, too much iron can lead to hemolytic anemia. When premature infants consume more than 300 kcal/day, vitamin supplements are not needed. However, some special nutrients such as vitamin D and iron can still be provided through supplements.

Older infants: Infants aged 7 to 12 months do not need supplements if they are in good health, fed with formula milk or iron-fortified cereals, and increase their intake of solid food, but they should pay attention to the adequate source of vitamin C in their diet. For those with special lifestyles, economic poverty or disease factors, vitamin and mineral supplements can be used to make appropriate additions.