Infants and young children grow vigorously and need a large amount of iron, 30% of which must be provided by diet. Because the iron content of dairy products is very low, if supplementary food is not added in time or added improperly, it is easy to cause iron deficiency.
Insufficient iron supply and low utilization rate are the main causes of iron deficiency in infants and young children. Infants are in the peak period of growth and development, so it is more important to ensure the iron supply in this period. The prevention of iron deficiency includes the following aspects:
① The iron content in breast milk is close to that of milk, but its utilization rate is several times higher than that of milk.
② Whether breast-feeding or artificial feeding, full-term infants should start to supplement iron at about 4 months, preterm infants or twins should start to supplement iron from about 2 months; iron rich foods (such as egg yolk, fish, liver, etc.) or iron fortified foods should be used to supplement iron. The total intake of iron should be 1mg / kg per day, and attention should be paid to reasonable food collocation to facilitate iron absorption. The maximum daily dose should be within 15mg to avoid iron poisoning.
③ Supplement vitamin C rich diet (fresh fruit juice, vegetable puree, etc.) or vitamin C tablets to promote iron absorption.
④ The mother should pay attention to the supply of iron during the whole gestation period. The diet containing or taking 40-60mg elemental iron per day can have good preventive effect.