At what age is calcium supplementation most suitable for babies?

We all know that calcium is an indispensable trace element in the body of both adults and children. Calcium deficiency will cause many symptoms. For example, calcium deficiency affects our growth, or it will lead to low resistance and make us particularly prone to illness. However, especially for babies, many parents do not know at what age the baby should start calcium supplementation, which is more conducive to calcium absorption and will not have side effects on the baby. Let’s find out at what age the baby is most suitable for calcium supplementation!

At what age is calcium supplementation most suitable for babies?

Premature babies and twins should start taking vitamin D supplements 1-2 weeks after birth, while full-term babies should start at 2-4 weeks and continue until 2 and a half years old. Under normal circumstances, babies under 6 months old should supplement 400 international units per day, and babies over 6 months old should supplement 400-600 international units per day.

When it comes to children's tonic, calcium supplementation is particularly important, but there are standards for calcium supplementation and selection for children, and you cannot make blind choices. Because each person's environment, climate, and eating habits are different, the minerals they need to supplement are also different. Therefore, we must consider the physiological characteristics of infants and young children, which are different from those of adults, and try to choose calcium products specifically for infants and young children that have a good calcium source, good absorption, good taste, and do not irritate the stomach and intestines.

Secondly, grasp the ideal time for your baby to supplement calcium. In medicine, the infant and toddler period is called the "critical period for calcium supplementation". After the critical period, even if more calcium is supplemented, the baby's already backward body tissues cannot develop back to normal levels. If your baby already has symptoms of calcium deficiency such as "rickets, X-shaped legs, O-shaped legs", he must receive diagnosis and treatment in time and cannot rely solely on calcium supplements.

Infants and young children are at the time when their bodies grow the fastest, and a large amount of calcium is needed for the development of their bones and muscles, so their demand for calcium is very high. If calcium is not supplemented in time, infants under 2 years old, especially infants under 1 year old, are prone to calcium deficiency. In addition to this reason, premature babies, twins, and infants and young children who suffer from frequent diarrhea or are prone to respiratory infections are more likely to be deficient in calcium.

Early warning of misunderstandings about calcium supplementation for infants

1. Don't believe in exaggerated promises. Calcium is very important for the healthy growth of babies. Some businesses take advantage of people's desire for calcium supplements and often exaggerate the effects of their products when launching them, misleading consumers. The human body's absorption rate of various calcium supplements can only reach 40%, but some manufacturers directly use animal experiment results as high as 99% or more for human absorption rate propaganda, deceiving consumers. Therefore, when purchasing, you must find out the product's calcium content, absorption rate, whether there are any side effects, etc., and do not easily believe in words such as "high efficiency, high energy, and active".

2. Do not take too much calcium supplement. Although calcium supplementation is important, more is not necessarily better. There are different standards for people of different ages. You must strictly follow the daily calcium intake recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society for Chinese people. If a normal person supplements more than 2000 mg of calcium per day, it will not only cause waste but also produce side effects. If a baby consumes 4180 kilojoules of food containing 100 mg of calcium, his systolic blood pressure will drop by 2 mmHg. Because the baby is young, changes in diastolic blood pressure are difficult to measure. Arterial blood pressure is an important indicator of circulatory function. Low blood pressure and slow blood flow will affect the blood supply to the body's tissues, hinder normal activities, and especially have a greater impact on the head. When a baby is in the developmental period, if his blood pressure is low in the early stage, he will not only have difficulty concentrating, slow thinking, and low intelligence, but he will also be prone to heart disease. Therefore, the baby must not take excessive calcium supplements.

3. The more vitamin D content in calcium salt, the better. If people take more than 400 international units of vitamin D per day, they may suffer from vitamin D poisoning, which is manifested by symptoms such as decreased appetite, nausea, diarrhea, and headache. Therefore, when choosing a calcium supplement, you must pay attention to its vitamin D content.

4. Babies should also supplement zinc and iron while supplementing calcium. Zinc can inhibit the absorption of calcium. Zinc deficiency can reduce the body's immune ability and make the baby sick. Illness will affect the intake and absorption of zinc and calcium, forming a vicious circle and affecting the baby's growth and development. Iron is the main component of hemoglobin in red blood cells and is involved in the circulation, exchange and tissue respiration of oxygen in the body. 72% of the iron in the human body is present in hemoglobin. After 6 months of age, babies are very likely to develop iron deficiency anemia because the original iron in their bodies has been depleted and the iron content in breast milk is very low. Therefore, while supplementing calcium, zinc and iron should be actively supplemented.

The above content is an introduction to what age is most suitable for calcium supplementation for babies. In fact, when a baby's body is deficient in calcium, there will be some symptoms, such as bow legs or baldness on the back of the head, which are obvious manifestations of calcium deficiency. Therefore, parents must pay more attention to observation when taking care of their babies. Breastfeeding mothers can add more high-calcium foods to their diet, and mothers of babies who can eat can make more bone soup for their babies to eat, which will have a good effect on calcium supplementation.