Banana, who doesn’t know this yellow and sweet fruit? Almost everyone loves banana, including babies. Bananas are not only delicious, but they are also full of health benefits, both for adults and babies.
So, if you are confused about what fruits you want to feed your babies, banana can be one of the best options. Also read the other 11 Best Banana Cue Benefits for Health Which Not Everyone Knows.
For some parents, it might be a bit confusing to choose the fruits for their babies. However, banana will answer all your confusion. Bananas are full of health benefits, making it become one of the best fruits for babies. Let’s see the 7 proven benefits of bananas for babies.
- Providing Instant Energy
Banana sometimes is considered as a sports food. It contains high carbohydrate that is able to provide instant energy. Babies are mostly active from the day to the night and they need lots of energy.
So, that’s why banana can be one of the fruit that becomes source of energy for your babies. Banana is very good for maintaining your baby’s energy during the day. Some pediatricians recommend bananas to be included in babies’ diet, too.
- High in Fiber
Banana is high in fiber and easy to digest. It will be perfect for babies’ first food. It is easy to be digested and the high fiber amount helps the digestive system too.
Regular intake of bananas will benefit the bowel movement of the babies, so it may prevent the possibility of getting gastrointestinal problems. Hence, constipation can also be prevented by eating bananas. Besides, banana will also keep your babies feel full for a longer time.
- Strengthen the Bones and Improve Eyesight
Bananas are rich in potassium. This potassium is in charge in neutralizing the sodium that might present in your child’s diet. Potassium is also able to strengthen your babies’ bones.
Potassium is a great nutrient for health as explained in 11 Incredible Benefits of Potassium For Health ( No.4 Super Powerful). During urination, some amount of calcium might be lost and it can be supplemented by a banana.
Moreover, babies who regularly eat bananas will also have better eyesight. Bananas can also improve your babies’ vision. Vitamin A in bananas are good for eyesight. It is also able to protect the retina from any kind of diseases.
Besides banana, carrots are also good for eyesight, even since the mother is pregnant. Look at the 11 Health Benefits of Carrot Juice for Pregnant Women. It will be beneficial for both mommies and babies.
- Preventing Anemia
A banana is rich with all the nutrients, such as iron, folic acid, vitamin B12 and copper, which are all in charge for producing hemoglobin. By maintaining the production of hemoglobin, it will be possible for a baby to have iron deficiency that leads to anemia. Iron is very good for your babies as it prevents your babies to get anemia in a very young age.
Anemia should not be underestimated, then you need to learn these 20 Symptoms of Anemia (No. 3,4 & 5 Unexpected).
- Boosting Brain Power
Potassium in banana is good for boosting your baby’s brain power. It is a good fuel for your baby’s brain too. It improves the blood circulation in the brain and boosting the power of the brain.
Bananas can also increase the power of concentration. Adding bananas to your baby’s diet will make his or her brain function well and you will be able to have a sharper and brighter child!
- Loads of Nutrients
Bananas are rich in a lot of nutrients! They are a great source of calcium, iron, folate, manganese, potassium and some other nutrients. These nutrients are really essential for the growth of your babies. Your babies will surely get the nutrients easily just by eating bananas regularly.
- Avoid Urinary Tract Infections
Vitamin B6 in bananas is really helpful to boost the immune system and avoid urinary tract infections. Babies who wear nappies are prone to get urinary infections, so by eating bananas, the risk of getting the infections can be minimized or even eliminated.
After knowing the benefits of bananas for babies, you might start thinking to feed yours lots of bananas. However, there are some suggestions of the time for feeding bananas for your babies.
You can start introducing bananas from a very early stage, like after 6 months onward. You can start by mashing the bananas with milk in a small quantity. Then, you can increase the amount of it gradually. After 5 years onward, you can give 4 to 5 ripe bananas in a day.
You can give them along with the meal. Bananas are the healthiest fruits, so nothing to be worried. The high level of antioxidants in bananas can protect your baby from any chronic diseases.
If you are looking for other beneficial food for babies, you can consider these 5 Delightful Health Benefits of Oats for Babies and 6 Great Health Benefits of Soy Milk for Babies. They are great and healthy!