Breast milk is the best supplement for babies, but sometimes mothers may not have enough breast milk and need to add formula milk to their babies. Formula milk strives to be closest to breast milk, making it easy for infants to digest. So how should formula milk powder be prepared? What are the precautions?
1. The water must be completely boiled, do not use an electric hot water bottle as it has not reached the boiling point or the boiling time is not sufficient.
2. Brewing hot water must be adjusted to the appropriate temperature and dripped onto the inside of the wrist, feeling similar to body temperature. Because the water temperature is too high, it can cause whey protein in the milk powder to clot, affecting digestion and absorption. On the other hand, certain vitamins that are unstable to heat will be destroyed, especially the immune active substances added to some milk powder will be completely destroyed.
3. Prepared milk powder should not be stored at room temperature for more than 2 hours without being consumed. Do not use a breast warmer. If the temperature inside the warmer is higher than room temperature, it should not be stored in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. If there is leftover food after eating, it should be discarded and cannot be eaten again.
4. The amount of milk powder and water used for mixing must be brewed according to the instructions on the can. Excessive or insufficient concentration of milk can affect the health of the baby. The concentration cannot be too high. Milk powder contains sodium ions and needs to be diluted with sufficient boiling water. If the concentration of milk powder is too high, it will increase the pressure on the blood vessel wall for young children after drinking, making it difficult for the gastrointestinal digestion capacity to bear, and the excretion capacity of the kidneys to bear, even leading to renal failure. If the milk powder is diluted too much, it will lead to insufficient protein content and also cause malnutrition.
5. Do not use purified water or mineral water to mix milk powder. Purified water loses the mineral elements of ordinary tap water, while mineral water has a relatively high mineral content and is complex. At present, household tap water has undergone scientific treatment and meets quality standards. After boiling the tap water, it is cooled to around 40 ℃ before being used to prepare milk powder.
6. Prepared milk powder should not be boiled again, as it can cause changes in the structure of nutrients such as protein and vitamins, resulting in the loss of its original nutritional value. If a baby drinks such milk again, the additional nutrients they receive will also be greatly reduced.
7. Consume together with other complementary foods. This not only enriches the dietary taste of infants and young children, but also absorbs the nutrients from other types of food.
