What to eat when your baby has symptoms of zinc deficiency

In life, due to the traditional dietary habits of our country's people, dishes are usually cooked by high-temperature methods such as frying, stir-frying, boiling and deep-frying. The high-temperature cooking process will cause the loss of many nutrients in the dishes, especially the loss of zinc. Zinc can protect and promote the normal development of the baby's taste buds and gastrointestinal digestive function. If the baby is zinc deficient, it will cause the baby to lose appetite. So what should the baby eat when he is zinc deficient?

1. Loss of appetite. Picky eaters, anorexia, refusal to eat, generally reduced food intake, children have no sense of hunger, and do not take the initiative to eat;

2. Eat strange things. For example: biting nails, clothing, chewing toys, hard objects, eating hair, paper scraps, raw rice, wall dust, soil, sand, etc.;

3. Slow growth and development, height is 3-6 cm lower than the same age group, and weight is 2-3 kg lighter;

4. Low immunity, frequent colds and fevers, repeated respiratory tract infections such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, sweating, night sweats, etc.;

6. Hyperactivity, slow reaction, lack of concentration, and poor learning ability;

7. Vision problems: decreased vision can easily lead to night vision difficulties, myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, etc.;

8. Skin damage: When trauma occurs, the wound is not easy to heal; prone to dermatitis and stubborn eczema;

9. Recurrent oral ulcers.

The harm of zinc deficiency is mainly manifested in the following two aspects:

1. Zinc deficiency in the body will reduce the number of brain cells, especially during the fetal period to 3 years old. Zinc deficiency will affect brain development. According to relevant nutritional surveys, for some children with congenital idiocy, zinc deficiency is one of the important reasons after excluding genetic factors.

2. Zinc deficiency can also reduce immune function and lead to frequent illness because zinc has a great influence on the bactericidal ability of phagocytes. Studies have shown that among children with recurrent respiratory infections, the proportion of zinc-deficient babies is significantly higher than that of normal babies. Clinically, it has been found that injured children’s wounds heal slowly when they are zinc deficient.

1. Breastfeeding is encouraged. Breast milk contains zinc, which promotes the growth and development of babies. In particular, colostrum contains a large amount of zinc. Babies who are bottle-fed need to add complementary foods on time and pay attention to supplementing foods rich in zinc.

2. Moderate intake of zinc-rich foods is also the most effective way to supplement zinc. For example, whole grains are rich in zinc; seafood is rich in zinc, and green vegetables are also rich in zinc.

3. Excessive food processing will destroy zinc. Therefore, you must control the heat when cooking food to reduce the loss of zinc.

4. When the content of iron, calcium, phosphorus, copper and other ingredients in food is too high, the absorption rate of zinc will decrease. Food diversity should be ensured in daily diet, and efforts should be made to achieve a balanced diet.

What to eat when you are zinc deficient

Choose foods high in zinc and prepare a balanced diet that is nutritionally balanced and diverse in color, aroma, taste, appearance and shape. Foods with the highest zinc content are animal foods, including meat, fish, animal liver and kidneys, eggs, and aquatic products such as clams, mussels, oysters, etc., and shelled dried fruits such as walnuts, chestnuts, oranges, peanuts, sesame, etc. According to the zinc content of this food, pay attention to the proper combination in the three meals a day.