WHY CEREAL MAY BE HARMFUL TO BABIES
It may sound weird to us that some cereals are not good for babies but there are different types of cereals: cereals meant for babies, and cereals meant for older children and adults.
|WHAT IS INFANT CEREAL?
Infant cereal is usually a formula made from grains and other supplements processed for infant consumption. Infant formula or "follow up formula" is also a type of cereal—usually a breast-milk substitute—specially manufactured to meet the nutritional requirements of infants before the introduction of appropriate feeding or before they begin to eat adult food.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFANT CEREAL AND ADULT CEREAL?
In Nestlé foods, an international food manufacturing company, cereals produced are divided into two types: INFANT CEREALS and ALL FAMILY CEREALS. All family cereals are cereals produced for older children and adults, or "adult cereals" whereas infant cereals are specifically produced for babies between the ages of 0–3yrs.
Most individuals make the mistake of believing that cereal is cereal, no difference, hence they feed their babies any type of cereal. I will go a bit scientific in explaining the difference between both types of cereals.
One of the major differences between these cereals is the process of Hydrolysis. Infant cereals undergo hydrolysis while All family cereals need not undergo hydrolysis.
WHAT IS HYDROLYSIS?
Hydrolysis is the degradation of a substance. It is the splitting of chemical bonds by the addition of water. The word itself is formed from the Greek words "hydro" and "lysis" which means water and separation. Hydrolysis is usually a step in the processing of baby foods due to the internal organs of babies not being strong enough to digest some food substances. Starch molecules break down by reacting with water molecules, and if any molecules react with water molecules to break apart, then this is called a hydrolysis reaction. Hydrolysis can be partial or complete.
TYPES OF HYDROLYSIS
The major types of hydrolysis are enzyme-induced and acid-induced hydrolysis. Starch can be hydrolyzed into simpler carbohydrates by acids or enzymes. Enzymes that breakdown or hydrolyze starch into sugars are known as amylases. Breaking down starch by heating with an edible acid is called acid hydrolysis.
Some indigenous people make grains easier for babies to digest by soaking the grains for 24 hours or more and mildly fermenting them before processing them into food for babies.
WHY IS BABY FOOD HYDROLYSED?
Babies produce a small amount of salivary amylase—an enzyme that helps digest grains—because of their under-developed organs and they produce almost no pancreatic amylase until after their molars are developed. The digestive systems of most babies is not strong enough to handle grains, cereal, or wheat until they are older.
EFFECTS OF UNHYDROLYSED CEREALS ON BABIES
Babies cannot digest grain unless they produce digestive enzyme amylase. Undigested grains or cereals can destroy a baby's intestinal lining.
Food allergies, loss of weight, vomiting, and irritation can occur in babies as well.
HOW CAN YOU RECOGNIZE IF A CEREAL HAS BEEN HYDROLYSED?
Infant cereal is usually described by manufacturers as easy to digest on their packs. They are specially designed to be suitable for babies when breast milk alone can no longer meet their nutritional demands.
Also, food manufacturers now indicate on each pack whether the cereal is for infants or older children. For example, COMPLAN, a milk manufacturer in Nigeria, indicate on their product that it is not to be fed to children below 3 years of age.
Nestlé, another food manufacturing company, indicate on their pack that the popular "Golden Morn" cereal is an all family cereal meant for older children and adults, not children below the age of 3. A lot of mothers, however, do not adhere strictly to this. Most babies have been lucky to go unhurt consuming substances too advanced for their internal organs, while some of their counterparts have not been so lucky.
Finally, we have to become more observant when it comes to feeding our children. We must be more label aware and we must always ascertain that a packaged cereal or formula is suitable for infants before feeding it to them. Some individuals go the extra mile to prepare their own formulas for their babies using natural nutritive products and if this cannot be done, be label aware.
References
Authored by @ponmile
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This is very educative, most parents ain't aware of this, some infant who react to the feed try to communicate with their parents by crying but parents are ignorant, they don't even understand their kids sign Language. Brest milk is the best for infant if you can't breastfeed, give them pure water, water is life.
Thanks for this article, ô happy I came across it
Resteemed!
Breastfeeding is actually the best.. Thanks for your addition
breast milk is still best for babies. its a fact of the bible support by science and bible written thousdand of years ago before science even exist. great post
Absolutely agree with this article. Best things to feed to babies after 6 months are: mashed banana, mashed avocado, applesauce, bone broth and pureed meat. Thanks for sharing.
realy helpful post.thanks @adsactly
I believe it's ignorance or the lack of proper education of the caregivers that is to blame for the injuries babies suffer from intake of cereals clearly not meant for them.
Nice
what about cerelac ?? my favor one childhood tasty yummy 😍😍
Cerelac is okay for babies...It is broken down and processed for easy digestion for babies
Hola hermano @adsactly, buena explicación sobre los tipos de cereales, la verdad no tenía conocimiento de que había diferencia entre cereales, ni lo de la hidrólisis en los cereales para bebes. Gracias por la información.
Wow! Happy to come across this
I remember feeding one of my niece with golden morn when she was about 2 years old because she loved it, never knew there was specifications on it
This is very informative, thanks
o my GOD.i have a baby.and i give him .thank you for your post.
very informative
all baby should feed exclusive breast feeding upto 6 month,
& then wining starts after 6 montha for their proportionate growth & development..
wining also reduce the chance of milk injury..
so all people of the world should concern about their food and food havit..
thanks for sharing your valuable post..
I like it..
@upvote & @resteem has done..
Most cereals are unhealthy due to tons and tons of added sugar and are highly processed.
The label shows that one serving before milk is added contains 27 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, and 2 grams of protein. With the addition of half a cup of milk another 6 grams of sugars are added, to put 33 grams of carbohydrates into the meal, with still only one single gram of fiber.
Fruits and vegetables are loaded with fiber, as well as many important phytonutrients that are needed to maintain good health.
Fiber helps to maintain healthy levels of gut flora, which in turn extract more vitamins and other nutrients from the fiber and make those available to the body.
Very importantly, fiber prevents the carbohydrates within a meal from being absorbed too quickly, causing spikes in blood glucose levels. For that reason the sugars and starches contained in fruits and vegetables do not cause health problems.
Having a habit of eating low fiber, high carbohydrate meals will causes too much insulin release too often, resulting in fat being stored instead of being burned, leading to obesity, while the constant releases of insulin into the body to deal with the glucose spikes will lead to insulin resistence, and then on to diabetes.
Low fiber, high carbohydrate processed food cannot be a safe substitute for fruits and vegetables.
Cereal itself is a manufactured substitute for whole cereal grains, a convenience food from the early 20th century whose only advantage for consumers over traditional breakfasts with fruits, whole grains, eggs and meats was the speed of preparation.
Eating healthier high fiber whole foods will also prolong satiety, preventing sensations of hunger intruding too soon. If you eat the high carbohydrate, low fiber stuff, you will feel hungry quite often, and overeat, which is yet another factor involved with unwanted weight gain.
Cereal can be eaten, but it’s not really food.
Thanks for your addition
Steemit is full of education,you learn at least a lesson from a good post
You post is really helpful. I just buy cereals. Dont know its differ
Yes..there are cereals meant for babies and the ones meant for adults..Make sure you are sure when buying
buen consejo
The best way I ever heard it stated was, "there is a reason it's called formula". As consumers, we have always been experimented on.
That is very informative. Some do it out of ignorance and many people who do that are unlettered and those who are pay little or no importance to the power of knowledge and information.
Although there is always an exception but the recomendation of 2 years breast feeding is the best option
Very nice health
I like it this food, thanks for sharing this post. I appreciate your valuable Post..........
I like your post, thanks for the information on the post,
Just don't buy nestle it poison!!!
Also it is very important to consider that most grains these days have at one point been saturated with Roundup and the active ingredient is Glyphosate. Monsanto is in court right now defending themselves against claims that Glyphosate is linked to cancer.
I was following it for a bit and it appeared at the time that Monsato was losing favor with the judge. I personally believe what Stephanie Seneff has to say on the subject. If you can stay as far away from Roundup as you can. Please look into the subject and make your own decision.
Interesting. I will be more careful now buying the baby food
Thanks for sharing the data in your post. The story about amylaze is new to me.
However, I have learned from other sources that although the baby pancreas begins producing enzymes that break down starch to glucose (amylase) only around the age of six months, yet studies show that babies digest starch without problem.
why?
There are a number of reasons for this, especially since babies produce much more saliva containing amylase, and in breast milk there are some enzymes that the baby receives in the first months of life, even if he does not develop them himself.
The bottom line is that it is not recommended to prevent natural starchy food from babies, especially because of the need to display a wide variety of baby food and starch foods (potatoes, corn, beans, wheat, etc.) and cereal are not natural at all !
Good addition
Thanks!
In that case we will have to your advice.
thanks for the advice. I don't have children, but it helps if I ever do, or if I end up caring for a child somehow. Education is good. I've been trying my hardest to get away from the processed crap, not only if it bad for you, but it's awful in terms of taste anyway.
Well..it is good to eat less processed foods...
It's hard not to, though, at least in this day and age.
You have done a great work by enlightening us about the differences between these types of cereal' it will go a long way in helping to safeguard the health of these little stars of the future.
Kudos to te author @ponmile and @adsactly who promoted it to us. You are both wonderful.
Thank you
Seriously I have not heard of this before.
Great article. Thank you :)
Lovely weekend :) Upvote 100%
this post is really really informative and based on a sensitive issue.We should choose foods for babies very carefully.
Yes..exactly
thanks for the very informative post @adsactly.
Babies can't really eat adult foods. In our household we can't let our babies eat rice unless they can chew it already.
The best food for babies 100% healthy, natural, free of chemicals is breast milk. But if you want to add porridge or cereals, it is best to seek recommendations from the pediatrician and choose a chord according to the baby's age. Excellent post.
I would love to have your support ... thank you.
Nice and helpful posts for the readers. Breastfeeding is the best if possible. I suffered a lot by giving cereal to my child as my wife was a service holder.
Just like with grown ups, processed foods in generally aren't good for us. This is especially true for infants. There's no need to burden their developing bodies and brains with refined sugars, processed starches or anything synthetic. Over time we build up tolerance to junk food by slowly incorporating more of it from a young age through adolescence and onward through adult life. Instead of cultivating this ability to handle foods not meant for the human body, why not keep it simple and live off what nature provides?
Thanks for your addition
Gracias @adsactly por la informacion, hay que tener un especial cuidado con la alimentacion de los bebes, los pediatras recomiendan amamantar a los niños minimo 6 meses ya que la leche materna es el mejor nutriente para los bebes.
I agree! Lets just be careful of what we feed to our children specially the babies 😊
I agree breast milk is best for babies.
But i don't give cereals to mine.
He's 21 months old and i breast-feed him. Otherwise he eats the same food as us.
Good.. As long as the food is soft enough for him to digest
Great write up. This is quite educative. I did not know of this myself and i bet there are many out there too who don't. This is good