If you want your child to grow up healthily, you should prepare and plan from the moment you plan to conceive! Physician Yang Chen uses the concept of “1000 days of life” to tell you which nutrients should be supplemented during pregnancy? How should babies get nutrition from birth to 2 years old?
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Yang Chen, director of Aiqun Children’s Growth Clinic and adjunct chief physician of the Pediatric Genetics, Metabolism and Endocrinology Department of Taipei Medical University Affiliated Hospital, said that the so-called “1000 days of life” refers to the stage from the mother’s pregnancy to the child’s 2 years old. The nutrition of the fetus comes from the mother, from birth to 6 months of age, from breast milk, and from 4 months to 2 years of age, the non-staple food, the nutritional intake of 1000 days of life is related to the future development of the child.
Indispensable nutrients during pregnancy for expectant mothers to supplement like this
From the moment of pregnancy, the nutrition a mother takes is not only for herself, but more importantly, for the baby in her belly! Mothers should first know what nutrients the fetus needs most, so as not to make up for it indiscriminately and eat too much. Yang Chen reminded that you should take more nutrients such as folic acid, calcium, iron, vitamin D and zinc during pregnancy:
- Folic acid:Folic acid supplementation can be started 3 months before you are trying to conceive. It is helpful for fetal cell tube development, and it is also an important component of brain and spine development, and plays a role in fetal growth and health. Dark green vegetables, fruits, and beans are rich in folic acid. If you can eat 3 bowls of green vegetables a day, the amount is enough.
- calcium:When you are pregnant, you need 1/3 more calcium than usual. Milk is an important source of calcium. You can drink 3 cups of milk every day, and then sunbathe in time to supplement vitamin D to help calcium absorption; you can also eat more foods containing vitamin D. Such as eggs, fish oil, etc., to supplement the required calcium.
- iron:Sufficient iron and larger red blood cells carry more oxygen, and the fetus and placenta will grow better. During pregnancy, you should take twice as much iron as usual. You can eat more red meat such as beef and pork, or vegetables such as seaweed and red amaranth. Supplement with vitamin C following meals to help absorb iron.
- Zinc:Pregnancy is prone to morning sickness, loss of appetite, hair loss, memory loss, chronic fatigue and other symptoms. Zinc can boost appetite and enhance immunity. At the same time, zinc deficiency can easily lead to fetal growth retardation, leading to premature infants and low birth weight infants. Zinc is also very important for fetal development. Lean meat, animal liver, nuts such as walnuts, and apples, bananas, mushrooms, and onions are all foods that contain zinc.
Master the 4 keys in life so that children will not lag behind in their growth and development
By age 2, a child’s brain is three times as heavy as at birth, and by 6 months, the neurons are rapidly connecting, and by age 2, the connections are dense. Yang Chen said that breast milk, folic acid, iron, and DHA are the four keys to life, which deeply affect brain development and are indispensable.
- Breast milk:Nutrients, growth factors, active cells, etc. in breast milk are very important for infant brain development. Breastfeeding is usually recommended for at least 6 months. Due to the lack of vitamin D in breast milk, vitamin D supplementation should be started within a few days following birth; for infants at high risk of iron deficiency and zinc deficiency, iron and zinc should be added in time.
- Folic acid:May reduce the risk of neural tube defects, ADHD and severe language delay, improve children’s attention, social skills, language skills and executive function. 3 months before pregnancy or as early as 6 months before pregnancy, start to pay attention to the nutritional supplement of the mother.
- iron:Iron deficiency can directly affect the neurodevelopment of the fetus, and even emotional and behavioral problems. Even if iron supplementation is performed later, it cannot be restored to its original state. However, iron deficiency in adolescence can also affect neurocognition, memory loss, and attention, but it can be recovered following iron treatment. Therefore, the sooner the iron deficiency is, the more serious it is, and more attention must be paid to it.
- DHA ：DHA is a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, which affects the development of fetal brain nerve cells, retinal cells, and nerve tissue, and can also reduce the chance of premature birth.
0 ~ 2 years old diet intake by age focus on nurturing healthy babies with few diseases
1. 0~1 year old stage
During infancy, breast milk or formula milk is the main source of nutrition, 6 to 8 meals a day, 3 to 4 hours between each meal, and 100 to 120 cc per kilogram per day. At the age of 4 months, you can start adding non-staple foods, and change to 3 to 4 meals a day, with 180 to 240cc of breast milk or formula milk per meal. At the same time, it is necessary to remind breastfeeding babies to strengthen non-staple foods containing iron and calcium.
From 8 to 12 months, you can give your child tooth cakes because they like chewing food; in another week, you can eat egg yolks (iron supplement) 3 to 4 times, and you can also start to eat a small amount of cheese and yogurt.
2. 1 year old stage
At this stage, babies can start to use fresh milk instead of breast milk or formula milk. The choice of milk powder is still full-fat milk. Do not give low-fat or skimmed milk, because fat is the biggest source of brain development.
The nutrition of a 1-year-old baby mainly comes from fish, eggs, meat, fruits, vegetables, bread, grains, dairy products, and a variety of foods to ensure adequate intake of vitamins and minerals.
Since the activity of infants has increased a lot compared with that before the age of 1, it is possible to supplement nutrition by taking 4 to 6 meals a day, small and frequent meals. When children at this stage also start to be picky eaters, it is recommended that parents continue to try and persevere, and let their children try more.
3. 2 years old
At the age of 2, it is necessary to maintain a variety of food, and a balanced intake of fish, eggs, meat, fruits, vegetables, bread, grains, and dairy products. At the same time, a large amount of calcium needs to be supplemented. Milk, yogurt, cheese, green vegetables and fish are rich in calcium and can be eaten more.
As long as you maintain a balanced diet, you do not need to supplement with multivitamins. If the appearance is lighter than that of children of the same age, but the head circumference and height are normal; such as a balanced diet, there is no need to worry too much.
Text/Photo by Lai Yiling/Su Yuting
Further reading:
Nutrition is also phased!Nutritionists analyze essential nutrients for children’s growth stage
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