Is it okay to add egg yolk to baby's first complementary food?

People always pay special attention to babies' diet. As babies' bodies are not fully developed and their resistance is very different from that of adults, the food they eat must be very fine, otherwise it will cause indigestion. Many parents add egg yolks when adding complementary foods for the first time. Is this practice advisable? Let’s take a look at what the experts say.

1. The first time your baby starts eating complementary food, there should be no egg yolk.

In the past, egg yolks were often recommended as a preferred complementary food. However, the iron in egg yolks is difficult to absorb, with an absorption rate of only 3%, which is much lower than lean meat and animal liver (iron absorption rate of 20%). In addition, egg yolks are one of the ingredients that are most likely to cause food allergies in babies. Therefore, egg yolks should not be included in complementary foods starting from 6 months. Egg yolks should be added between 7-9 months, gradually increasing from 1/4 to 1 egg per day.

2: The best time for the baby to add complementary food for the first time is six months

In addition to age in months, the baby's weight reaching twice that at birth and the 24-hour milk intake reaching 800-1000 ml can also be used as a reference for adding complementary foods. Taking into account the specific situation of the baby's development, it is allowed for a few babies to add complementary foods slightly earlier. However, some families start feeding their babies fruit juice, rice soup, etc. from 3 months old. What's more, some families feed their babies with Coptis chinensis water, Scutellaria baicalensis water, etc. shortly after the baby is born. This is very wrong. The nutritional value of fruit juice, rice soup, water, etc. is far less than that of breast milk. Adding them too early will reduce the baby's nutritional intake; medicines such as Coptis chinensis and Scutellaria baicalensis may also have side effects.

Well, after reading this, I believe you already know that the first time your baby starts to eat complementary food, there should be no egg yolk. The baby's intestines are still relatively fragile. Eating egg yolk too early may cause indigestion and symptoms such as getting angry. Before the baby is six months old, the first choice of complementary food should be rice flour. In addition, complementary food should not blindly pursue soft and mushy, which is not good for the baby's development.