Diet for children after weaning

At this stage, children are susceptible to digestive disorders, so they need a balanced diet, diverse foods, easy to digest, rich in fiber such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, milk, yogurt.

Illustration: Health.

According to specialist 1 Tran Thi Minh Nguyet, breastfed babies rarely have digestive disorders because breast milk is the most perfect source of nutrition. The main ingredient of breast milk is protein with a reasonable ratio of casein and whey, so it is very easy to absorb, which other types of milk cannot compare to. Besides, there is also a lot of alpha-lactalbumin, a type of protein that is easy to digest, easy to absorb, providing essential amino acids for the body. Breast milk is also rich in lactoferrin, especially in colostrum, which helps protect the digestive system, inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, and promotes the absorption of nutrients.

Most parents are very worried when their children start to wean from breast milk and switch to formula milk. At this time, babies often have digestive disorders such as diarrhea, loose stools, and constipation. Meanwhile, digestive health plays a very important role in the development of children. With a healthy digestive system, children can effectively absorb nutrients, increase immunity, strengthen resistance, and develop comprehensively.

Doctor Nguyet explains: Children in the transitional stage after weaning are very susceptible to digestive disorders due to many reasons, especially the decline in protective factors in breast milk. Therefore, parents need to pay attention to their diet to help their children adapt and limit digestive disorders:

- Ensure hygiene, feed children cooked food and boiled water. Wash hands with soap regularly for children and caregivers, especially before eating or feeding children, when preparing food, after using the toilet, after cleaning up baby's feces.

- Use antibiotics only when prescribed by a doctor. Antibiotics kill disease-causing bacteria but also kill beneficial bacteria in the digestive system, causing an imbalance in the intestinal microflora, easily causing digestive disorders, diarrhea, constipation, and loose stools.

- Pay attention to your baby's daily diet, which must be balanced and varied, using foods that are easy to digest, absorb, rich in fiber, and help boost immunity such as milk, yogurt, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits...

- Use formula milk supplemented with digestive system protection factors such as lactoferrin, alpha lactalbumin, probiotics, prebiotics...

According to VNE