Baby food
Important NOTE
Breastfeeding is the best and most natural diet for your baby. Please talk to your midwife or your pediatrician before using an infant formula.
Baby food or baby food is the generic term for all foods that are particularly suitable for feeding babies, the ingredients intended for this and the dishes prepared from them. The only natural starting formula is breast milk, which optimally meets the needs of the infant. The industrially produced baby food is divided into infant formula, follow-on food and complementary food. Complementary food usually consists of suitable fruit or vegetable porridge, sometimes also of pureed meat, and can be made by yourself. At around twelve months old, toddlers can gradually become accustomed to adult food.
introduction
Due to their growth, the daily energy requirement of infants is around 377 kJ (= 90 kcal) per kilogram of body weight, two to three times higher than that of adults. In order to meet this need, the fat content of the food has to be 35 to 50 percent, the carbohydrate content only about 45 percent. The protein requirement is also higher in percentage terms than in adults and is 2.0 to 2.7 grams per kilogram of body weight daily up to the age of two months, then 1.1 to 1.5 grams (adults: 0.8 g) . The need for fluid is also greater because the kidneys are not yet fully developed and more fluid is lost through breathing and skin.
In the first months of life, digestion functions only to a limited extent; Newborns do not yet have an intestinal flora and the intestinal mucosa is not yet mature. Some of the enzymes necessary for food processing are also only formed later by the body. For these reasons, babies should only be fed with breast milk or infant formula (infant formula) in the first phase of life. Follow-on formula (follow-on milk) and complementary foods should not be used in the first six months of life. If the infant is still partially breastfed and ready-to-use infant milk is fed, it is also referred to as dual milk feeding or scooping. From the fifth month at the earliest and from the seventh month at the latest, even breast milk alone no longer covers the infant's complete nutritional needs.
According to legal requirements, baby food may not contain bacteria or harmful substances. It is subject to the Diet Ordinance and must therefore contain defined maximum amounts of fat and carbohydrates and certain minimum amounts of minerals and vitamins. In order to meet the guidelines, many manufacturers must also add their products, e.g. B. enrich with thiamine (vitamin B1).
Industrially produced complementary foods are available in different compositions, for example as porridge or puree in jars, as a powder to mix with baby porridge or as frozen food. In principle, complementary foods can also be produced in-house, adapted to the needs and digestive system of the infant.
From the age of seven months and with the eruption of the teeth, the choice of food on offer is expanded, and foods with a solid consistency are added. From one year old, toddlers can gradually eat the same food as adults.
Infant formula
According to food law, all foods and products that are specifically intended for nutrition in the first six months of life and should contain all the nutrients that the infant needs are referred to as infant formula. The natural starting formula is breast milk. To prepare the finished products from powder, water is added. Industrially produced infant formula is suitable for feeding from birth and for the entire first year of life. In the case of finished products, a distinction is made in Germany between pre-food (previously adapted infant formula), which largely corresponds to the composition of breast milk and contains lactose as the only carbohydrate, and 1-food (previously partially adapted infant formula), which also contains other carbohydrates such as sucrose. For immature premature babies, there are special ready-made products with a higher carbohydrate content and less lactose. The energy content of such special foods is 80 kcal / dl (335 kJ / dl), 10–20 kcal / dl higher than that of normal infant formula.
Follow-on formula
Follow-on milk (2-food) can be fed to infants from the age of at least six months together with complementary food and, as a liquid part, can supplement the mixed diet. According to the recommendation of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, follow-on formula should be introduced at the earliest when complementary foods are started. Even after the introduction of complementary foods, infants should continue to be breastfed.
Special food
Children of allergy sufferers have an increased hereditary tendency towards allergies. Since the intestinal mucous membrane of babies is still permeable and foreign protein, for example from cow's milk, can trigger a food allergy, there is so-called hypoallergenic baby food, also called hydrolyzate formula or HA food, in which the protein contained is split or broken down by hydrolysis has been denatured. The HA foods are recommended for allergy prevention in allergy-prone infants. Australian researchers, however, question the benefits of HA baby formula. In a 2011 study of 620 infants with a high allergy risk, they compared the effect of baby food made from cow's milk and hypoallergenic food.
For the therapy of a detected protein allergy, on the other hand, special foods made from severely split hydrolyzate or from a mixture of amino acids are used. However, when the casein in cow's milk is broken down, bitter peptides are released, making these products taste bitter. Particularly strongly hydrolyzed formula products are also referred to as semi-elemental foods. In terms of food law, it is a "medicinal food" that is used therapeutically for diseases such as diarrhea and dyspepsia.
Since breastfed babies mainly contain bifidus bacteria in the intestinal flora, which ensure a pH value that inhibits the reproduction of putrefactive bacteria and significantly reduces the risk of intestinal infections and diarrhea, manufacturers of some finished products are now using so-called probiotics or prebiotics (special fiber) to, which should also lead to the formation of these bacteria in the intestine. The prevention of diarrhea, constipation and atopic eczema are stated as positive effects of this probiotic baby food. The desired change in the intestinal flora through probiotics has been proven in studies, the corresponding study results are still pending on the effect. Studies with certain prebiotics show both the development of a bifidus-dominant intestinal flora and a clear allergy-preventive effect. In addition, it has been shown in clinical studies that these prebiotics can make a significant contribution to reducing the risk of infection. A positive immunomodulatory effect seems to be given. A special diet is also necessary if the very rare maple syrup disease is diagnosed.
Complementary foods
In Germany, according to the regulation on dietetic foods, complementary foods are classified as "foods other than milk that meet the special nutritional requirements of healthy infants and young children and are intended for feeding infants during the weaning period and for feeding infants and young children during the gradual changeover to normal food." “(Federal Law Gazette I p. 1161). The regulation on dietetic foods refers to baby food as dietary food, even if it is intended for healthy infants or young children, as baby food is a special diet. Complementary foods may only be produced and sold commercially if their composition meets certain requirements and restrictions.
Pampersdiscout has various suitable brands of powdered infant milk in its range:
Hipp
Bebivita
Beba from Nestle
Milupa Aptamil
Humana
Baby love
Milasan
Holle bio
potter
Bambinchen
