Diet complement is the introduction of foods other than breast milk or infant formula when energy and nutrient needs begin to exceed those met through breastfeeding alone. Ideally, complementary food should be introduced around 6 months when infants are both developmentally ready and frequently breastfed; an optimal diet complement includes feeding that is 1) timely; 2) adequate (e.g. providing sufficient energy to meet growth targets); (3) safe; and (4) responsive to child signals of hunger or satiety.
Timely
Once they reach 6 months, infants require additional energy and nutrients than breast milk can provide. At this point, complementary foods should be introduced; meaning your child begins eating solid, semisolid and liquid foods.
These foods should be nutritious and high energy density. Furthermore, they should be safe for children given their stage of development and environmental sanitation conditions; and easily fit into baby’s mouth to be chewed or swallowed.
Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that maternal occupation, radio availability, place of residence, ANC follow-up, and PNC follow-up were associated with timely initiation of complementary feeding. Although only a minority of mothers began feeding their infants at this time due to various cultural or socioeconomic disparities; it is essential to recognize these factors to increase timely initiation.
Adequate
At 6 months, an infant’s energy and nutrient needs begin to surpass those provided by breast milk alone, necessitating complementary foods (CFs). To ensure they provide more kilocalories per volume than breast milk alone and remain safe (containing animal-sourced ingredients as appropriate) it’s crucial that their consumption be in line with appetite signals, meal frequency, feeding duration and stage of development; to accomplish these goals effectively thicker more solid foods are introduced which increase energy density whilst being easier for young children to swallow or digest them.
Safe
By around six months, an infant’s energy and nutritional needs begin to surpass those met through breast milk alone, necessitating introduction of other foods – diet supplements are an ideal way to provide these extra calories and nutrients safely with strict regulations ensuring food safety.
Dietary supplements are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. You can access information regarding safe use and recall notices on their website. Furthermore, you can subscribe to notifications from them about recalls and safety alerts related to specific supplements as well as report adverse reactions directly.
Responsive
Though breast milk provides all of their energy needs until 6 months of age, infants become developmentally ready for other foods at that point. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce a wide variety of food at this stage to meet nutritional requirements – these foods should be introduced when energy and nutrient needs begin exceeding what breast milk can meet; adequately varied in terms of texture, frequency, consistency and ingredients; safe for storage without contamination issues; and responsively fed (5).
Unfortified homemade complementary foods derived primarily from plants such as cereal mixtures, starchy roots and tubers, rice or other plant sources often fail to meet micronutrient needs for iron, zinc and calcium. Furthermore, their high phytate content hinders bioavailability. If supplemented with animal products these meals could improve their adequacy but typically are unavailable due to price restrictions or food taboos in poor populations.
