Six tips for getting kids to eat fruit

Fruit is a healthy "golden food", but if it is not fed properly, it can also cause harm to the baby's body. Only by mastering the secrets of fruit feeding can you help your baby overcome the small trouble of anorexia in winter while ensuring both nutrition and health. What are the tips for feeding fruits to babies?

Secret 1: Guardian before meals, killer after meals.

Misconception: It doesn’t matter if the baby eats less, because there will always be fruit after the meal.

Correction: If you eat fruit immediately after a meal, the sugar and organic acid contained in it will react with the food ingredients, and the pectin will also increase the burden on the stomach by absorbing water and increasing the water content of the chyme in the stomach. This will not only affect the absorption of nutrients, but also cause fermentation, causing abdominal distension, hiccups, acid reflux, bad breath and other phenomena.

The correct time to eat fruit is 1-1.5 hours before a meal, or about 2 hours after a meal. This will allow you to properly replenish water and calorie consumption while shortening its residence time in the stomach and reducing adverse effects.

Tip 2: Dangerous fruits, be careful when eating on an empty stomach.

Myth: Fruit in the morning is gold.

Correction: When you are on an empty stomach, especially in the early morning, you must avoid eating tomatoes, oranges, pineapples, persimmons, black dates, bananas, lychees, hawthorns and other fruits. They can cause various health effects on your baby, including stomach pain, acid reflux, formation of gastric stones, irritation, damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa, nausea, vomiting, and inhibition of cardiovascular function.

Tip 3: Fruits and vegetables have different nutritional values

Misconception: It’s okay if your baby doesn’t like to eat vegetables, you can supplement it with fruits.

Correction: The types and quantities of vitamins and minerals contained in fruits are far fewer than those in vegetables. For example, the vitamin C content of common vegetables such as cabbage and radish is 6-10 times higher than that of apples and pears. Of course, fruit can increase calorie intake, promote appetite and help nutrient absorption due to its sugar, organic acid and aromatic substances. It also has certain advantages because it can be eaten directly without any nutritional loss.

Nevertheless, if consumed in large quantities or even as a substitute for vegetables, there will not be much benefit other than causing your baby to consume excess, unnecessary calories. In addition, consuming a large amount of high-sugar fruits such as grapes at one time can also cause hyperosmotic diarrhea, which is harmful to the baby's health.

Tip 4: Match correctly and distinguish between what is good and what is bad.

Misconception: The baby eats a lot of meat, eggs and milk, so eating some fruit can aid digestion.

Correction: In addition to the problems mentioned in Tip 1, the tannins or fruit acids and vitamin C contained in certain fruits such as persimmons, grapes, pomegranates, hawthorns, oranges, etc. will combine with calcium to form indigestible clots, causing gastrointestinal discomfort such as abdominal distension and abdominal pain. Therefore, it is especially important not to eat it with foods high in protein and calcium, such as fish, shrimp, crab and milk.

Tip 5: Eat safely and beware of hidden dangers

Misconception: The fruit peel contains high levels of pesticides, so you don’t have to worry about the problem of pesticides if you wash it, soak it more often, and peel it before eating.

Correction: Since some pesticides are applied at the roots of fruit trees, peeling the fruits does not fundamentally solve the pesticide problem. Moreover, the part of the fruit with the highest nutrient content and the best flavor is often near the skin, so as long as the fruit is thoroughly washed, it is most scientific to eat it with the skin.

Of course, for babies under 18 months old whose digestive system barrier function is not yet fully developed or who are prone to gastrointestinal infections, it is best to peel the skin before eating. In addition, do not remove the roots of fruits such as strawberries and grapes when washing, so as to prevent the water used to wash the fruits from entering through their "wounds" and endangering the health of the baby. Also, make sure to clean the fruit knife before using it!

Tip 6: Baby with allergies, be vigilant

Myth: Fruits will not cause allergies in babies.

Correction: Fruits can also cause allergies! Apricots, mangoes, bananas, cherries, kiwis, cantaloupes, peaches, plums, papayas, apples, etc. can also be "invisible bombs" for babies under 1 year old with sensitive constitutions. Therefore, you must be especially careful when adding it for the first time, and you should start with a small amount of peeled and steamed fruit puree.

A reminder: in order to prevent tooth decay, be sure to help your baby clean his mouth after eating fruit!