Ever wondered why children at times have a stunting growth pattern? Have you ever came across the word malnutrition ever before? Are you concerned about the health and growth of your children? Then this article is absolutely for you.. Here are the best 30 High Fiber Foods for Babies and Toddlers.
Appropriate quantity and quality of nutrition is necessary during infant phase and the initial term of childhood for appropriate health and growth of kids. This supply of nutrition is to be ensured in the whole journey till they reach a level so as to attain their potentiality. It would take a minimum of two years for the tots to reach this level, it is the phase that helps to maintain the growth of each child in the right track. Optimal feeding is required at this stage of life, which almost all parents aren’t aware of.
The deficiency in nutrients at the early stage of life especially during the infant stage can lead to long-span deterioration in the rate of growth and thus in the individuals health. Depriving essential nutrients to the kids can lead to situations such as stunting and thus in the adult of such an individual he/she may seem to end up being too shorter than what his actual potentiality of height is. The mental health of an adult is also linked in several ways to the nutritional treatment they have been given in the childhood. Even the intellectual performance of such undernourished individuals may get questioned in their adulthood. The capability of a person to do work is framed out at his/her early stages of life itself. A person raised under a surrounding which offered him better nutrient-rich appetite would obviously turn out to be one having high ability to do physical work, while the malnutrition one may have reduced capacity to do the same work. Studies have reported that the reproductive capacity of women who have been undernourished during their childhood may get affected to a greater extend, they may face difficulties during the gestation period or may even end up in a complicated delivery. The research on the same has also extended the facts like, when such women are to give birth, even the baby, may show signs of underdevelopment such as low weightage at the time of birth,
From all these facts anyone reading this article irrespective of gender and age can infer the necessity of feeding infants with proper nutrition-rich food in their early childhood. Fiber-rich foods are the best that support the natural growth and helps in the stage wise development of a child. Now on that context what is fibre or fibre rich food?
Fiber
Fiber is something that can be acquired only from plants and plant-based food products. No animal product, not even the milk that we give our children in the early stages of growth do contain the essence of fiber. Like the Carbohydrates in food, fiber is also a type of sugar. Inside the body through metabolic processes these fibers are converted to glucose, which provides energy to the entire human system. Unlike other carbohydrate products, fiber do not lead to weight gain or are we going to get any nutrients from consuming it. But the energy produced by the consumption of a small portion of high-fiber food is very intense.
Types of fibers: There are mainly two types of fibers concerned with our diet. They are soluble and insoluble fibers.
Soluble fibers function as if like a sponge in our diet and soaks up the water and helps our bowel in creating the solid waste. The rate of digestion is decelerated with the help of such fibers. They also are important to lower the bad cholesterol levels in pour body and maintain a healthy body. This characters of the soluble fibers, which are mainly sourced to fruits and vegetables, legumes, oats, soy products, helps in reducing the risk of constipation.
The insoluble fibers accelerates the process of passage of food through the digestive tract. They are combinations of cellulose, hemicellulose etc. which built up the cell walls within the plant systems. Insoluble fibers from nuts, seeds, whole grain foods and so on helps in preventing hemorrhoid and associated symptoms by adding bulk to the solid waste produced within the human body.
Why fibre-rich food for babies?
Parents often tend to make their children overeat rather than meeting their nutritional requirements. They often confuse filling the tummy with well-nourished diet. This is where the fibre-rich food for babies plays a key role. Many studies have been conducted to analyse and conclude to the best dietary plan for babies, so as to reduce the malnutrition problem that has become a menace in the present scenario. These studies have all pointed towards a fibre-rich food for the babies, in which they would consume only less fat and sugar. The kids are to be provided with approximately 3 grams of fibre-rich baby food per serving of food, which evolves to be a diet which will be less in terms of calories and the time the gut would take to digest eh food completely would be higher. In such a context, the children would not end up in an overeating situation as their tummies would get filled up faster and it would stay full for a longer period. Moreover in a balanced diet it is necessary to have a certain amount of high- fibre content food for the babies so as to maintain a stable blood sugar level and to keep a control over the cholesterol level in babies.
Now the question may be whether the babies can eat the same amount of fibre as an adult can
The answer to this question had been was a mystery until a researcher came up with a convincing method to find the amount of high fibre food for babies and toddlers. It accounts to be lijke, the amount of fibre in a diet for the toddlers would be the toddlers age added with five in grams.
That is, the amount of fibre to be consumed by a child per day = his/her age + 5 (gms)
So if the baby is 4 years old, he would mandatorily need a minimum of 9 grams of fibre in his daily food.
Now known the intake amount of fibre for each age group, which are the top high fibre foods for babies?
Apples
An apple a day keeps the doctor away- something that has been by hearted from time immemorial. But it do keep the doctor away by carrying a high amount of fibre. An average sized apple may contain up to 4.4 grams of fibre content as per medical research.
Bananas
Banana is one of the fruits having very high content of fibre. The US department of agriculture after a series of studies have concluded that 100g of banana has almost 2.6g of edible fibre
Avocado
A scrumptious fruit having an array of health benefits, being used as an ingredient in many world famous recipes, is also a hub of dietary fibers. It is estimated that half a cup avocado contains 5 grams fibre
Mango
The king of fruits is not only a delicious appetite but also is a granary of fibres. It is inferred that 3/4th a cup of mango contains almost 2grams of fibre
Pineapple
Ever wondered about whether there would be any ill effects for pineapple on your child due to its spooky nature? Then you have done something wrong. You have judged a book by its cover. A cup of pineapple is studied to have almost 2.3 grams of fibre.
Raisins
Generation to generation people have been using raisins as a home treatment and even other digestive infections. Studies says that an estimated 3 grams of fibre rests in each bowl of raisins
Almonds
Parents have been giving their children almonds for the sake of a well-known fact that it is good for brain activity. Then here is anew fact, almonds are also good for the gut activity. A serving of almond may contain 3 or more grams of fibre, which when had can help to clear not only your mind but also your gut.
Peanut
As if all nuts peanut is also a good source for fibre. A small portion of peanut snack contains up to 2 grams of dietary fibre.
Pomegranate
These little ruby stones are well known for their benefits on skin nourishing. These are even better for the process of digestion since a cup of the same contains almost 6 grams of fibre in it.
Whole grain cereal
Busy in the morning to have a balanced breakfast? Then our hand reaches out to the bowl of cereals in the kitchen. Even these super-fast and scrumptious dish contains a whole lot of fibre, accounting to almost 18 grams of fibre content.
Corn
Corn soup is a nostalgic recipe for many, since corn is one of the first food that man has started eating after starting the practise of agriculture. Corn after cooking may contain almost 1.8 grams of fibre per cup.
Rice
The old people were well aware of the fact that the husk of the rice was the healthiest part of the rice. And that’s the reason why they used it as such without trashing away the husk. Brown rice is a highly fibre rich food that loses its richness when the outer covering is removed.
Carrot
The first vegetable that comes to mind in almost everyones mind when thinking of eating raw would be apple. It is very rich in vitamin A and C content thus being a good source for health of the eyes and skin. Apart from all this carrot has a rich content of fibre making it a better option to be added in any balanced diets and raw salads.
Peas
A great source of protein, green peas which is used as an ingredient of soups and stews, is also rich in fibre content.
Beetroot
The attractive colour of the beetroot is the evidence of it being rich in iron and potassium. Apart from these fibre is an added advantage that one can expect from the consumption of this red veggie.
Leafy vegetables
Leafy vegetables such as spinach are famous for its richness in iron and calcium. While the benefits of such greens from the fibre contents present in it is a lesser known healthy truth.
Curd
Apart from being rich in calcium content curd, rich in fibre is good for digestion.
Millet
A very less quantity of about 100 gram of millet can contain up to 9 grams of dietary fibre.
Wholegrain Pasta & Wholegrain Bread
recipes which includes the contents of the bran which is in most cases removed. This bran content is a high fibre source.
Barley
Like rice and wheat barley is a part of staple diet in some parts of the world. This is the natural source that contains maximum edible fibre content.
Being unaware of something is not a mistake. But being aware and not complying by the truth is an issue. This article has emphasised on the benefits and, many truths that are at the back of the curtains about the dietary fibres. Applying this knowledge in the growth phase of your child and advising other parents using this piece of information about the benefits of high fibre content food for babies can help prevent the stunting of at least one child and can help eradicate the menace of undernourishment among the tiny little tots who are even unaware of what enters their guts.
Priyagana Gogoi
A young BF tech student and soon-to-be NIFT alumnus who has a strong enthusiasm for writing, creativity, and the arts. Working to combine my artistic and literary talents to provide engrossing and meaningful experiences. Having an eye for aesthetics and a passion for narrative, hoping to provide a literary experience.
