Understanding More About Two Important Nutrients for the Little One

Maintaining the health of the Little One as well as optimizing their growth and development process are the hopes of all parents. This is certainly related to the provision of correct nutrition to ensure that the requirements of the Little One are met and their immune system is well formed.

In the first two years of life of the Little One, their immune system is rapidly developing. To support the health of the Little One during their growth and development period, parents should know what is required by the Little One to improve their defense system.

The growth and development process of the Little One is affected by two key factors, which are nutrition and stimulation. This time, we will discuss about nutrition. For newborns, the best food that can be provided is certainly breast milk. Breast milk contains plenty of important nutrients, among which are nucleotides and lactoferrin. These two components play an important role in improving the defense of the Little One from germs and other sources of diseases.

Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin is a protein found in large amounts in breast milk and cow’s milk. In breast milk, the highest lactoferrin content can be found in colostrum. Colostrum is breast milk produced by the mammary glands towards the end of pregnancy and a few days after the birth of the Little One. Colostrum is important as it contains plenty of nutrients and immune substances. The lactoferrin content in colostrum is seven times as many compared to that in the breast milk produced in the following days.

What are the benefits of lactoferrin? The lactoferrin content in the nutritional intake of the Little One is important as lactoferrin has many functions, including:

• Lactoferrin helps the absorption of iron, which helps to prevent anemia
• Lactoferrin helps to prevent bacterial infection by destroying the bacteria and maintaining important nutrients in the body and preventing it from being used by the bacteria to multiply.
• In addition, lactoferrin also plays a role in preventing infections caused by harmful viruses and fungi.
• Lactoferrin supports the production of blood cells in the bone marrow.
• Lactoferrin can increase the defense system of the body in general.

Nucleotides

Nucleotides are the core structures in the nuclei of cells, containing DNA and RNA, which are important for cell development, body functions, and replacement of damaged tissues.

In breast milk, nucleotides play a role in stimulating the immunity of the Little One as well as regulating the cellular metabolism in the body. In the intestines, nucleotides are required to form new cells when old cells are damaged, so that the Little One remains protected from germs and bacteria entering the digestive tract. Protecting the intestines from bacteria and germs reduces the risk of diarrhea in the Little One.

Nucleotides are naturally formed in the body. Nucleotides are particularly found in body tissues that are rapidly changing, such as skin tissues, red and white blood cells, as well as cells in the immune system. Nevertheless, in certain conditions, for instance during illness or critical periods of development, nucleotide requirements can increase, causing the need to increase its intake, whether from food or other supplementations.

The daily nucleotide requirements can be fulfilled by serving the Little One with a menu consisting of cereals, red meat, nuts, fish, fruits, vegetables, as well as milk that has been fortified with nucleotides.

Hopefully, this increases the knowledge of parents about the nutrients that should be consumed by the Little One. Ensure that the menu of the Little One contains all the nutrients they require for an optimal growth and development process.