Several misunderstandings about baby supplements---ignorant love equals harm

As a nutritionist and a mother, I certainly pay more attention to the healthy growth of my baby. The baby weighed 5.6 catties when he was born, started to eat complementary food at the age of six months, was breastfed until one year old, weighed 23 catties, was 79 cm tall, and all growth indicators were above average. The baby is usually easy to take care of. He sleeps well, eats happily and is very energetic when playing. From the time my baby was born to now when she is one year old, she has not been given any supplements except vitamin D. Because I have read a lot of relevant information and books, the book I recommend most in China is Dr. Zhang Silai's book. It is scientific, reliable, and easy to understand. You can study it in detail when you have time. It is really helpful.

1. Superstitious about trace element testing

Currently, all test results for detecting trace elements cannot truly reflect the actual levels of macro- and trace elements in the body. For example, even if a baby's blood calcium level is normal, it does not mean that the baby is not calcium deficient. Because when blood calcium is low, most of the calcium in the bones can be released at any time to supplement the deficiency of blood calcium and maintain the stability of the internal environment. Therefore, it is inaccurate to test the nutritional status of calcium in the whole body through finger blood or venous blood testing.

2. Poor appetite and picky eating are signs of zinc deficiency

Whether it is breast milk or formula milk, the zinc content is very rich and generally not deficient. It is even less likely to be deficient for older babies who can eat normally, because milk, lean meat, aquatic products, nuts and other foods are rich in zinc. If a child doesn’t like to eat, it’s likely that the food is not to his or her liking, or is too monotonous to attract the baby’s attention. The most likely possibility is that there are no restrictions on baby's snacks, allowing him to eat whatever he wants, which results in him not being hungry at mealtime and of course not being able to eat.

3. Occipital protrusion, convulsions, loss of sleep, late teething, etc. are all signs of calcium deficiency.

It should be said that calcium deficiency may lead to the occurrence of the above symptoms, but the above symptoms cannot be diagnosed as calcium deficiency. For example, if the pillow is rough or too hard and children often lie on it, once they sweat and feel itchy, the little ones will shake their heads left and right to relieve the itch. Over time, the hair on the pillow may be worn off, resulting in pillow baldness. For example, late teething may be due to the baby's gums being too thick, which is related to genetics and is more common in fat babies.

4. The lie of “calcium and zinc supplementation”

Every time I see that classic advertisement for a best-selling domestic supplement that says “calcium and zinc supplement together for easy absorption of nutrients”, I can’t help but get angry for a long time. You should know that when calcium, zinc and iron enter the body at the same time, calcium, zinc and iron will compete for carrier proteins, but the number of carrier proteins is fixed, so it is bound to cause calcium, zinc, iron and other divalent elements to interfere with each other's absorption. Therefore, "calcium and zinc supplementation" is just people's good wishes. It is really too much for the advertisement to mislead us parents in this way.

5. Take supplements for psychological comfort

Many people think that now that conditions are good, they can just eat and have fun even if they don’t lack anything. There is no harm anyway. In fact, excessive tonic is not only ineffective, but also harmful to health. Excessive calcium intake may lead to high blood calcium, kidney damage, kidney stone formation, soft tissue calcification, and affect the absorption of other minerals. Excessive iron and zinc can also cause poisoning, which can cause nausea and vomiting in mild cases and damage to organs in severe cases. Ignorant love equals harm.

As the saying goes, food supplements are worse than medicine supplements, and this also applies to babies. For babies under six months old, if they are breastfed, they can start supplementing with cod liver oil or vitamin D two weeks after birth. If you drink formula milk, you don't even need to supplement vitamin D because formula milk has already been fortified with vitamin D. For babies over six months old, you can gradually increase the amount and types of complementary foods to supplement various nutrients from the food. This can not only cultivate children's eating habits without being picky or partial, but also eliminate the worry of oversupplementation.