Dried fruits are safe for kids and can offer those tons of nutrients. You can give dried fruits by soaking them in milk or water but only when your baby have at least one year of age. You must not opt for dry fruits that are coated with sugar as they can give way to cavities and tooth decay.
Health benefits of dried fruits for kids
Dry fruits offer a host of benefits to babies that can help them grow and develop properly. Some benefits of dry fruits for a child are as follows:
Prevent Anemia
Dried fruits are a rich source of iron, hence which they promote hemoglobin levels in the blood and good hemoglobin levels prevents the risk of anemia in babies.
Provide Energy
Dry fruits, being a rich source of fiber, protein, zinc, iron, and other minerals, can provide your baby with energy.
Prevent Constipation
Dry fruits contain a good amount of fiber which will aid bowel movement in babies and help prevent constipation.
Promote Digestive Health
Dried fruits contain a lot of probiotics or good bacteria which can keep your baby’s digestive system healthy. A group of bacteria in the human gut are known as probiotic bacteria. In addition to aiding digestion, they produce complex molecules and compounds such as vitamins and various antibiotics that are beneficial to the body. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) define probiotics as:
“Probiotics are alive microorganisms that if consumed adequately, can cause health effects in the human body”
Accordingly, probiotic bacteria in food products must not only have functional and beneficial characteristics for human health, but also be able to survive in the gastrointestinal tract. Dried fruits contain good probiotics or bacteria that can keep your baby’s digestive system healthy. Probiotics help develop your baby’s digestive system as well as digestion.
Promote Bone and Eye Health
Dry fruits are rich in Vitamin A and calcium. Vitamin A can strengthen and help maintain a healthy vision in your baby and calcium can aid in the development and maintenance of his bones.