What are the dangers of adding complementary foods too early? Why can’t we add complementary foods too early?

Why can't we add complementary food too early? This is a question many new mothers have. When is the right time to add complementary food to babies? Today, let's introduce to you the harm of adding complementary food too early. Babies usually add complementary food when they are six months old. Is adding complementary food too early detrimental to the baby's physical development?

The harm of adding complementary food too early

Adding complementary foods too early will do more harm than good to your baby's health.

The most common harms are:

1. The baby's immune system is very fragile, and adding solid food too early can easily cause allergies. Wait until the right time to add complementary foods, and the baby will be able to accept it. Otherwise, it may cause the baby to be allergic to certain foods for life.

2. The baby's digestive system and kidney function are not yet fully developed. Adding solid food too early will add unnecessary burden and pose health risks in the future.

3. The nutrition of solid food is far from complete as breast milk. Breast milk is specially made according to the baby's physical needs, containing complete proteins, vitamins, minerals, immune factors, etc. Adding solid food will inevitably reduce the baby's intake of breast milk, thus destroying the nutritional balance.

4. Babies who add complementary foods too early are prone to obesity. Breastfeeding is a beneficial way to ensure the health of children. It is understood that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adding complementary foods to children 4 to 6 months after birth. 6 months is not an absolute bottom line. Some premature babies or babies with allergies refuse or cannot accept complementary foods due to physical reasons. They rely entirely on breastfeeding for eight or nine months or even longer, and they are also well-nourished and grow healthily. In fact, until the beginning of the last century, the vast majority of babies were completely breastfed before the age of one.

Before 4 months old, the baby's stomach and other organs are not fully developed, and they cannot digest porridge. If the baby is given complementary food too early, he may not digest it and have a bloated stomach. Before 4 months old, if you want to add complementary food, you can feed fresh fruit juice, vegetable juice, and rice soup. Generally, complementary food is added when the baby is 4-6 months old, such as rice flour, fruit puree, egg yolk, tofu, etc. You can also buy some children's complementary food noodles.

Do not add complementary foods to babies too early

Some parents feed their babies rice soup, rice paste or milk cakes from the first month after birth, regardless of whether the mother's milk is sufficient, thinking that this semi-solid cereal food is more nutritious and more resistant to hunger than the mother's milk. In fact, this is an unscientific practice.

Although breast milk looks thin, it actually contains more nutrients and provides more energy than rice paste and infant cakes, and is of higher quality. In particular, infants under three months old are not yet able to digest cereal foods (lack of amylase, etc.), and are not suitable for eating rice and flour foods. The phytic acid in cereal foods will combine with the iron in breast milk, which is not much, and precipitate, thereby affecting the baby's absorption of iron in breast milk and easily causing anemia in the baby. On the other hand, when the baby is full of rice paste, infant cakes and other foods, the amount of breast milk sucked will be reduced accordingly, and the milk secreted by the mother's breasts often cannot be sucked out, resulting in a gradual decrease in breast milk secretion. It is generally believed that the premature addition of cereal foods is one of the important reasons for the failure of breastfeeding. In addition, it is very easy to be contaminated by bacteria during the preparation of added foods, which can cause diarrhea in infants.

Here we must reiterate that breast milk is the most suitable food for infants. It not only provides children with very rich nutrients that are easy to digest and absorb, but also contains a large number of immune factors that enhance disease resistance. Direct breastfeeding by mothers is both hygienic and economical, and can also promote mother-child affection and help the psychological development of infants.

Why can't we add complementary food too early?

The currently recommended age for adding pureed foods is 6 months, and should not be later than 7 to 8 months.

1. The gastrointestinal tract of infants is not mature yet, and many digestive enzymes are insufficient, so it is difficult for them to digest different types of food before 6 months. For example, it is not suitable to feed starchy food before 4 months, because the amylase in the intestine of infants is immature and there is not much amylase in saliva (saliva secretion is low before 3 months), so they cannot digest starchy food well.

2. Adding complementary foods too early can easily cause allergies, especially in children with a family history of allergies.

3. Before the baby is 6 months old, the intestinal permeability is strong and the shielding effect is poor, which allows many proteins that are not suitable for the human body to enter the blood. After 6 to 7 months, the mature intestine can secrete immunoglobulin IgA, and the intestine forms a protective membrane to prevent allergens from passing through.

4. For most babies before 4 months old, the tongue is not coordinated with the swallowing movement, and the tongue will reflexively push solid food outwards, so do not give them solid food too early.

5. Studies have shown that adding solid food too early will affect the absorption of iron in breast milk.

6. It may cause obesity and high blood sodium levels in infants.