How to improve the appetite of children who don't eat

When children are growing, if their diet does not keep up, their appetite is poor, and they eat too little, it will seriously affect their physical development and even cause malnutrition. So what should we do if children don’t eat? How to improve their appetite? In fact, children’s poor appetite is related to many factors. At this time, they need to supplement some calcium and vitamins, and zinc supplementation is also essential.

Zinc deficiency in the body can lead to reduced synthesis and secretion of phosphatase in saliva, easily causing hyperplasia of the oral mucosa, incomplete keratinization and difficulty in shedding, thus covering the small holes of the taste buds, causing children to lose their sense of taste, and chewing food is like chewing wax, with no taste, thus causing loss of appetite or anorexia.

For medical supplementation, oral zinc sulfate is used, with a course of 2-3 months, or zinc supplement should be added for those who simply receive intravenous fluid replacement. Please refer to the doctor's instructions for details. Dietary supplements are also very important. Although the zinc content in breast milk is not as high as that in cow's milk, its utilization rate is high. Generally, babies will not be zinc deficient before 4 months old. When the baby's zinc deficiency is not very serious, there is no need to supplement zinc with medicine, and excessive zinc is also harmful to the body.

Supplement a variety of foods rich in zinc. Zinc is mainly found in animal foods, such as lean meat, liver, fish, egg yolks, etc. When the baby is 6 months old, you can start adding complementary foods. If the baby is zinc deficient, you should supplement the baby with more zinc-rich foods. At the same time, you should help the baby get rid of bad habits such as partial eating, picky eating, and eating too many snacks.

If your baby does not eat well, has a poor appetite, and has no appetite, and you have ruled out the possibility of playing too much, partiality, or picky eating, you should be alert to whether the child has zinc deficiency. You can take your child to the hospital to test serum zinc. The normal value of serum zinc is 75-150 mg/L. If it is lower than 75 mg/L, zinc supplementation is necessary.

Zinc is an essential trace element for the body. It is involved in the metabolic process of more than 50 enzymes and plays an important role in human energy metabolism, protein and nucleic acid metabolism, and endocrine hormone metabolism. When a child's body is deficient in zinc, his or her physical development, intellectual development, digestive function and immune function will be affected to a certain extent. The most prominent impact is digestive dysfunction, leading to symptoms such as poor taste, loss of appetite and anorexia.

Everyone is clear about what to do if children don’t eat and how to improve their appetite. When mothers see that their children have a poor appetite, they should not worry too much or blame them for being picky eaters. At this time, they should take their children to the hospital to consult a doctor or undergo an examination, and supplement them according to the nutritional deficiencies in the body, which will be more effective.