Children's nutritional formula milk powder

Children's nutritional formula milk powder is not a necessary source of nutrition for children over 3 years old, nor does it have the magical effect of "drinking it will make you taller and smarter". It is essentially a customized dietary supplement plan for children with unbalanced dietary intake and special nutritional needs. Healthy children with a balanced daily diet do not need to purchase additional products.

When I was working in a maternal and infant nutrition clinic a few years ago, the most common question I encountered was "My baby has just turned 3 years old, should I switch to children's formula?" Last week, a mother rushed in with a can of children's milk powder labeled "Growth Patented" and said that the shopping guide said that drinking this can make her grow 5 centimeters in half a year. She gritted her teeth and bought 3 cans for more than 400 yuan a can, but then turned around and was afraid of paying the IQ tax.

In fact, the academic community’s attitude towards children’s formula milk has never been unified. Most public nutrition teachers think it is unnecessary - the digestive function of children after the age of 3 is not much different from that of adults. As long as the diet structure is normal, 300ml of pure milk + three regular meals a day can cover all nutritional needs. On the contrary, many children's milk powder adds white sugar and vanillin to please the taste of children. Drinking too much can easily lead to picky eaters and dental caries. It is completely worth the loss. But colleagues who work in clinical nutrition have different opinions. Last year, we adopted a 4-year-old Minbao, who is allergic to milk, eggs, and nuts. He only wants to eat white porridge and boiled potatoes. His blood test showed that he was deficient in vitamin D, zinc, and EPA. He vomited after taking supplements. In the end, he relied on non-allergenic formula for children's milk powder for more than half a year, and his growth curve finally returned to the 50th percentile.

To be honest, the premium of children's milk powder on the market is really a bit high now. Many brands boast of "black technology formulas", but the actual dosage does not reach the effective dose at all. I have previously opened the formula tables of more than a dozen popular children's milk powders. One model is mainly for "eye protection", and the added amount of lutein is only 0.05mg per 100g. Even if a child drinks 300ml a day, the lutein intake is not as much as half a head of broccoli, let alone "preventing myopia". There are also those that focus on "intelligence", and the added amount of DHA is only 2mg per 100ml, which is not as practical as giving your child a bite of salmon.

Oh, by the way, it’s not that all children’s milk powder is subject to IQ tax. You can buy it if you really need it, just don’t be led away by marketing. My general advice to parents is to keep a three-day food ledger first. If the children can eat enough meat, eggs, milk, vegetables and fruits every day, it will be much more delicious to save the money to buy toys and picture books. If your child is really picky about food, or has allergies or needs nutritional supplements after surgery, first look through the ingredient list when choosing. The top three are preferably raw milk and whole milk powder. Don't buy sugar or food flavors listed at the front of the ingredient list. Then look at the value of core nutrients. Calcium should be at least 100mg per 100ml. The added amounts of vitamin D, DHA and zinc should meet the recommended amounts of the national standard. It is more useful than how many celebrity endorsements and expert endorsements you see.

In fact, there is really no need to take these questions when raising a baby. I have seen too many parents stare at the formula chart of milk powder for a long time, then turn around and feed their children a bunch of puffed food and sweet drinks. Instead, they picked up the sesame seeds and lost the watermelon. To put it bluntly, no matter how good the formula milk powder is, it is just a supplement. If you want your child to grow strong and have a sharp mind, home-cooked meals with meat and vegetables and outdoor activities such as running and jumping every day are better than anything else.