As parents, surely you want to give all the best things for your babies including foods they should eat. However, sometime people are easily falling to the baby foods products that promise complete nutrients for their babies when the fact is homemade food made from fresh products always the best option such as fresh organic vegetables, healthy fish, delicious legumes, juicy fruits and so on. Among those super foods, the health benefits of fish for babies have essential role that all parents should know.
Well, not all fish are good for babies because some fish may be highly contaminated by mercury which could be really dangerous for the mental and brain development of babies. That is why parents should be really selective in choosing which fish are good for their babies. Moreover, some fish may have chewy texture that could be dangerous for babies who are still in learning process to eat, to be safe is better to feed your baby with fish fillet to make sure the bones won’t hurt them. The best fish recommended for babies are such as salmon, tuna, halibut and mackerel. When babies have reached 1 year old, you may introduce more seafood like shrimp and squid but since the texture really chewy that could choke the babies, you should know well how to serve them so your babies could eat them easily.
Health Benefits of Fish for Babies
It could be said that fish has important role for babies’ development because fish has all the omega 3 fatty acids health benefits. In other words, for optimal development of your babies, you cannot just depend on the health benefits of eating only fruits and vegetables. Parents should introduce foods in wide varieties so babies will get all the health benefits of foods they eat such as the health benefits of red meat, health benefits of egg and so on. Below are the health benefits of fish for babies parents should know.
It is a common knowledge that fish is excellent source of omega 3 fatty acid. Though right now there are a lot of choices of omega 3 supplement but getting it rightly from the source is highly recommended.
Just by eating fish regularly, babies will be able to fulfill the daily intake of certain vitamins, minerals, amino acids and omega 3 fatty acids. The benefits of fish oils found in fish is to promote healthy brain development so babies are likely to grow smarter with higher IQ.
Not only good for brain, another health benefits of omega 3 fish oil, protein, minerals and vitamin B complex found in fish are great in optimizing the development of nerve system as well.
Minerals like iron and potassium are excellent for babies. Iron will make sure the optimal production of red blood cells while potassium will assist in balancing the fluid in metabolism. During development stage, babies need more RBCs and since they are actively moving around, balancing the fluid in their body is also important.
During development, babies need everything including protein. One of the ways of serving fish is by grilling them and the main health benefits of grilled fish is keeping the protein content high and the health benefits of protein are to make sure optimal development of muscle. Furthermore, protein is not only maintaining the muscle but also keeping the strength of the muscles.
Parents love to brag about how soft their babies’ skins are when the fact is that soft skin is actually very sensitive. Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish will help maintaining and protecting skin from being oversensitive.
There are some babies who seem difficult in growing hair even when they have reached 2 years old. Giving the babies fish regularly may help promoting healthy hair growth because minerals found in fish are excellent solution to grow healthy hair.
Optimal cognitive development is essential for babies during their development stage. With optimal cognitive development babies could do the exploration freely without limit.
Most parents will be so proud when their babies are chubby and fat. The fact is not all fat babies are healthy because there is always a risk of obesity in fat babies. That is why regular monitoring is important to measure the weight whether it is normal for their ages or not. Feeding the babies with fish will help fulfilling all the nutrients required in their development and at the same time protecting them from obesity.
Making sure your babies have strong immunity system will reduce the worry of the parents. Fish is packed with some vitamins and minerals that are excellent immunity booster.
One of the reasons why babies are losing their appetite is parents are not creative enough to serve foods. There are a lot of types of fish and there are a lot of ways to cook fish, parents will never lose idea to feed their babies.
When talking about healthy foods, parents will easily jump to the health benefits of green fruits and vegetables which are not children’s favorite. Well, as mentioned above, fish is delicious food option and fish is also super healthy.
As mentioned above that not all fish are good for babies, some fish should be completely avoided to be consumed. The way fish is cooked and served also has essential role in making sure your kids are safe and could enjoy the tasty fish in their plate.
So, it is important for parents to introduce fish to their children as early as possible. Fish is not only tasty but also super healthy. Furthermore, you have to really careful in choosing the best fish for your children since some fish are highly contaminated with mercury while others have small bones that could be dangerous for babies when eaten. However, no matter what, fish is one of the important foods that your babies should eat regularly due to the omega 3 fatty acid content found in the fish.