5 Benefits of Snakehead Fish For MPASI

The best fish menu for complementary food with high albumin content is snakehead fish. Here is the proven health benefits of snakehead fish.  

It is no secret that fish is the best source of omega 3 fatty acids for the body and brain. Snakehead fish also contains fat, zinc, calcium and amino acids.

Amino acids are needed for babies to support optimal growth and development in the first thousand days of birth health as well as the immune system of the mother and her baby.

1.     Improves Brain Health

When the baby is under 1 year old. It is at this age that the baby’s brain develops rapidly. It is expected for the mother to always maintain the nutrients consumed to monitor the baby’s brain development.

Similar as an adult, they like to consume nuts and get the health benefits of beans and pulses for brain health. Important nutrients that are needed both to improve brain development are

  • Protein, helps direct nerve cells and place them in the brain. These nerves are useful in the ability to think and optimize the development of the five senses.
  • Omega 3, to get optimal brain development is needed omega 3 as an increase in psychomotor development as well as mental.
  • Folic acid, serves to maintain the risk of neural tube defects and brain tumors.
  • Choline, helps form the spine and brain cell development.
  • Iron, a mineral needed by babies to form hemoglobin.
  • Zinc, which produces white blood cells and ensures that cells are always developing and repairing damage.
  • Vitamin B12, used to form myelin in nerve tissue .
  • Vitamin B6, is very useful for increasing children’s adaptability.

All of these nutrients can be obtained from snakehead fish. This is why it is highly recommended for the mother to consume snakehead fish as a menu in improving the baby’s brain health at least once a week to improve the main network in the brain which has the role of regulating emotions as well as memory.

2.     Baby’s Cell and Muscle Building Process

Snakehead fish and peanut butter is well known for its high protein content. Only peanut butter can be consumed by an adult and then they will get the benefits of peanut butter for muscle building.

The benefits of protein are for muscle cell formation, energy for babies and also digesting while releasing acid into the blood which is neutralized by the body with calcium.

Muscle building is very important for babies for motor development. That’s why it is highly recommended for babies to consume snakehead fish in the process of cell and muscle formation.

In this formation stage, the mother needs to train the muscles of the baby.

  • Train the abdominal muscles, lure the baby with toys to move towards the left and right. This exercise can be done casually or even lying down with the baby.
  • Exercising the arm muscles, done in a sitting position and then slowly pulling the baby’s arms parallel to the top. This exercise can flex the abdominal and back muscles.
  • Exercising leg muscles, done in a lying position. Invite the baby to play and joke while swinging the legs. This exercise is good for increasing flexibility as well as range of motion in the leg, knee, abdominal and pelvic muscles.
  • Training the grip, lure the baby by grasping an object so that it can blend its grasping ability can improve the combination of eyes as well as hands and develop shoulder, hand and arm muscles.

3.     Improving the Immune System

Some adult people like to eat chinese food, they wanna to get the health benefits of chinese food for energy and immune system. The immune system is the system that protects the body from infections and foreign molecules.

The development of a good immune system must be carried out from the womb so that a good immune system is more perfect at birth. While in the mother’s womb, the child receives passive antibodies through the placenta.

Later this may be given to protect the baby’s body from various bacteria and viruses while in the womb. While in the womb, the baby’s immunity will always increase with the presence of antigens.

But when the baby is born, the environment will automatically move from sterile to non-sterile so that he is easily exposed to an environment full of bacteria.

Ways to maintain the baby’s immunity through :

  • Consuming breast milk because of its probiotic and protein content so as to form the immune system,
  • Vaccinations to protect the baby from diseases
  • especially the influenza vaccine
  • Routine exercise with simple movements that can be done by the baby to help stimulate movement
  • Adequate sleep to help the body fight sudden viruses and form the immune system in newborns
  • Avoid environments with cigarette smoke
  • Nutrition is well fulfilled
  • A healthy and clean environment and do not forget the most important addition is to consume snakehead fish because of the zinc content that can strengthen the immune system as well as mineral content that has benefits for DNA synthesis
  • Baby growth and development and cell growth.

4.     Bone and Tooth Growth

A baby’s growth begins early in the first year until puberty. If the baby does not get enough vitamins and minerals, it will interfere with bone growth. Calcium and vitamin D are essential from the time of conception for optimal bone growth as well as nutrients for the growth of the baby’s bones and teeth.

After birth the baby will get additional calcium from breast milk. Calcium must be accompanied by vitamin C and vitamin D from morning sunlight to help the absorption of calcium into the body. For baby teeth growth starts from the age of 4 weeks until birth.

Calcium is not only for bone and teeth buat also skin. There are many benefits of calcium for skin. There are two types of teeth, namely the first milk teeth that occur at the age of 6 to 8 months and then followed by upper central incisors, upper lateral incisors, lower lateral series, canines, first and second primary molars.

Adequate calcium intake is needed to get optimal tooth growth. Snakehead fish has calcium in a 100 gram serving of 60 mg and also phosphorus of 70 mg with the same portion.

Both of these contents are very important to have strong bones and teeth in their growth period. On this basis, babies are recommended to consume snakehead fish.

5.     Improve Malnutrition

It is no secret that the first 1000 days of a baby’s birth is the golden period. During this period, the growth of the baby’s body and brain is developing very rapidly.

It is expected that in this period, babies get a daily supply of nutrients that meet their needs. If the baby experiences a lack or excess of nutrients, it will result in malnutrition. Some types of nutritional problems that often occur in infants are,

  • Low birth weight, the normal weight of a baby is ideally in the range of 2.5kg to 3.5kg at 37 to 42 weeks of gestation. This condition must be overcome with special baby care, monitoring the temperature of the sleeping room and given special food.
  • Lack of nutritional intake, normally get adequate nutrition when the body weight is in the range of -2 to 2 standard deviations. If the weight range is below -2, it is certain that the baby is malnourished. The action that must be taken is to provide exclusive breastfeeding for 4 full months if the baby is under 4 months of age and complementary breastfeeding if the age is over 6 months.
  • Malnutrition, occurs when body weight based on height is far away which should be less than -3 standard deviations as well as lack of protein intake. The action to be taken is to provide adequate protein intake.
  • Overnutrition occurs when the baby’s weight-for-height is above the normal range of +3 standard deviations. Actions should be taken by regulating daily food and beverage intake.
  • Stunting, is a growth disorder in the baby’s body. Babies experience height below -2 standard deviations. Usually the factors that influence stunting are mother’s nutrition during pregnancy, socioeconomic conditions, nutritional intake to the baby’s medical condition, failed exclusive breastfeeding, short posture, teenage mother’s age to get pregnant, pregnancy distance that is too close. Actions that can be taken are parenting patterns that include early breastfeeding initiation as a newborn to exclusive breastfeeding until the baby is up to 6 months old and provide complementary food to breast milk until the age of 2 years.