Infants and young children grow taller quickly by grasping the two golden periods! Nutritionist: Pay attention to the big difference between drinking milk and diet

A tall building starts from the ground. If you want your child to be taller than others, you must lay a good nutritional foundation from an early age. At different stages of growth, you can flexibly adjust the proportion of nutrients to allow continuous and stable growth in height, and avoid precocious puberty which will end bone growth early. Nutritionists remind us that the infant period of 0-12 months and the toddler period of 3-4 years are the golden periods of fastest growth and the diet needs special adjustments.

0-12 months infant period: Breast milk is the most valuable nutritionally complete

Hong Ruopu, a nutritionist at the Zhongxiao branch of Taipei Municipal United Hospital, said that for babies aged 0-12 months, the best source of nutrition is breast milk, which contains a variety of precious and rich nutrients such as immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, and immune substances that cannot be replaced by other foods. It can promote bone development, intellectual development, and regulate immunity.

In addition, the baby's gastrointestinal tract is immature, making it difficult for them to digest and absorb protein, and they are prone to allergic reactions. However, breast milk only contains 40% casein, so there will not be excessive protein or allergic problems. It is simply a precious ingredient specially prepared by God for babies.

However, as the baby grows, the nutritional content of breast milk will change and gradually fail to meet the child's growth needs. It is recommended that parents slowly switch to formula milk; supplement iron when the child is 6 months old; start feeding complementary foods at 8 months old, starting with rice and wheat flour, and then slowly adding protein foods such as egg whites and egg yolks. At this time, the symptoms of protein allergy will gradually disappear; after 12 months old, an adult diet can be adopted, with a balanced and diverse intake of the six major types of nutrients, but the texture and size of the food ingredients need to be changed according to the baby's palatability.

For babies aged 0-12 months, the best source of nutrition is breast milk, which cannot be replaced by other foods.

3-4 years old: 2 cups of milk a day to supplement protein

When a child grows to 3 to 4 years old, his gastrointestinal development is almost the same as that of an adult, and his nutritional needs are the same as those of an adult. Nutritionist Hong Ruopu said that if children want to grow taller quickly at this stage, they should pay special attention to adequate protein intake while having a balanced diet. Drinking 2 to 3 cups of 240c.c. milk every day, plus 1 tael of eggs, meat and beans (to be evenly distributed among three meals), can meet the recommended daily protein intake.

According to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for Chinese people published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the recommended protein intake for children aged 3 to 4 is 20 to 30 grams. Two cups of milk contain 16 grams of protein, which has a very high nutritional density.

In addition to protein, the nutritional needs of young children in this period are more diverse than those of infants. They need trace elements such as vitamins and minerals, as well as nutrients such as carbohydrates to avoid improper consumption of protein, promote normal development and growth of the body, and be superior to others.

It is also important to note that although calcium does not have a direct effect on height like protein, it also has the function of assisting height growth. It can enhance bone density, promote healthy bone development and increase height. Therefore, when eating, don’t forget to moderately supplement high-calcium foods, such as dairy products, bean products, dried fish, clams, dried shrimp, seaweed, sesame, seaweed, basil and other natural ingredients.

When children grow to 3 to 4 years old, they should pay special attention to adequate protein intake while eating a balanced diet.

【Health Tips】:

If you dream of being superior to others, it is important to eat the right food, but you must also be careful to stay away from landmine foods! Nutritionist Hong Ruopu reminds that carbonated drinks, fructose-containing drinks or cakes, fried foods, pickled or canned products have low nutritional content and high calories. Long-term intake can easily lead to nutritional imbalance or even malnutrition, which may affect development, so they should be reduced.