Use fats properly in children's meals.
Turn off the heat before adding refined oil to the food. The recommended ratio of animal fat to vegetable fat for children is approximately 30% and 70%.
In a baby's diet when they start eating solid foods, besides carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and fruits, fat is an indispensable nutrient. Typically, 1 gram of fat provides twice the energy of 1 gram of carbohydrate.
According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huong, Head of the Clinical Nutrition Department at the Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center, fats provide a rich source of energy for children's bodies and are components of cell membranes and brain tissue. Fats also act as solvents, helping vitamins A, D, E, and K dissolve and be absorbed into the body. This is why many vitamin supplements often contain essential oils.
According to Dr. Huong, during the first 6 months, infants receive a rich source of fat from breast milk. From 6 months onwards, when they start eating solid foods, children need to supplement their daily diet with fat. The energy provided by fat in the total energy intake of children under 6 months old is 45-50%, children 7-11 months old need 40%, and children 1-3 years old need 35-40%.
"The recommended ratio of animal fats to plant fats for children is usually around 30% and 70%," Dr. Huong emphasized.
Dr. Huong also shared that some parents have the mindset that when using expensive vegetable oil, they will use less. This is not advisable; regardless of the type of oil, enough should be used to ensure the child's energy needs are met. For children at the weaning age, each bowl of porridge or gruel should contain 5-10g of refined oil, equivalent to one large spoon or two small spoons. If the child is already eating rice, fats can be used flexibly in daily fried and stir-fried dishes. It is necessary to use fats flexibly, in a diverse and reasonable way, to make meals more palatable for children and to provide enough energy for their intellectual and physical development in the early years of life.
When choosing cooking oil for children, carefully check the instructions for use, clearly indicating which oils can be used raw and which need to be cooked... "If using refined oil, turn off the heat before adding it to the food because unsaturated fatty acids will turn into saturated fatty acids when boiled, which is not good for children's health. If using regular cooking oil to prepare meals for children, boil it together with porridge or baby food," Dr. Huong advised.
According to VnExpress - NT
