Top Nutrients for Babies
For babies and toddlers, the foods we give them are super important! Like I mentioned in this post the first 1,000 days of life are when taste and acceptance for new foods are formed. We want to focus on nutrient-dense foods to ensure our babies are getting a good variety of nutrition.
What Are Nutrient Dense Foods?
The term nutrient dense means a food contains a good variety of nutrients. For example, sardines are a nutrient dense food for babies. Sardines contain 22 grams of protein, 15% of your daily vitamin D needs, and 1700mg of omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines also contain iron, calcium, and potassium. There’s a lot of nutrition in a serving of sardines! Conversely, poor nutrient foods are those that do not contain any nutrients, and if they do, it is in minimal amounts. An example of a poor nutrient food is candy (sorry to burst anyone’s bubble).
Important Nutrients For Baby
Did you know there are around 40 different nutrients your little ones need to support their growth and development? That’s a lot! But if we focus on those nutrient dense foods, we don’t have to fear that our kiddies are not meeting their needs.
While all 40 nutrients are important, I am going to highlight 3 nutrients that are super important for babies and toddlers and explain why.
3 Top Nutrients For Babies And Toddlers
Iron
In very young children, iron is important for brain development and it helps the brain grow. There are 2 types of iron: heme and non-heme. Heme iron comes from animals sources, while non-heme iron comes from plant sources. While both heme and non-heme iron should be consumed, heme iron is the most bioavailable source meaning the body will absorb ~20-30% of this type of iron, whereas around 10% of non-heme iron gets absorbed. To maximize iron absorption, consume with foods high in Vitamin C. Calcium inhibits iron absorption and so consume high iron sources away from high calcium sources (wait about 1-2 hours between). Check out my iron loaded baby cereal recipe to ensure your little one meets their daily iron needs.
Zinc
Zinc also plays an important role in growth and development, and has many different functions throughout the body. Zinc is involved in protein creation, wound healing, helping the immune system function correctly, DNA processes, and even forming proper smell and taste. Great sources of zinc include meat, poultry, beans, nuts, crab and lobster meat, whole grains, and dairy. It should be easy to incorporate foods high in zinc into your babies diet and meet their daily needs. If you think your little one suffers from zinc deficiency, signs to watch out for include poor growth in height, loss of appetite, and impaired immune function.
Fat
Fat is involved in brain development which is super important during the first two years of life and a good reason why we should ensure babies get half their calories from fat. Fat also helps absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K and also helps not just babies, but kids feel satisfied and full. Fat provides essential fatty acids like linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid which the body cannot make itself. We must get these essential fatty acids from food. Not all fat is created equal, and you can check out this post to learn more about the different types of fat. Focus on healthy fats for a babies diet which can be found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, algae, nut butters, chia seeds and olive oil.
These eggs are the perfect source of iron, zinc, and fat for growing babies and toddlers!
