Ingredients of children's nutrition pack

There is no unified "universal formula" for macronutrients that provide basic energy, essential micronutrients that fill dietary gaps, and functional ingredients added as needed. Targeted adjustments will be made based on the age, regional dietary characteristics, and nutritional needs of the adapted population.

When I was working on a child nutrition intervention project in a county in Yunnan two years ago, I came across nutrition packages distributed for free by the state and Internet celebrity children’s nutrition packages on e-commerce platforms that cost hundreds of yuan a jar. When I compared the ingredient lists, I found that they were quite different. The base of the free version is basically full-fat milk powder with a small amount of maltodextrin, and almost no other extras. I have previously argued with friends in the nutrition field about the addition of maltodextrin: clinical nutrition teachers believe that maltodextrin raises blood sugar quickly, and eating too much can easily make children addicted to sweets and develop dental caries. Add as little as possible; but the public health doctor who visits the village every day does not think so. I agree with this statement - many children in mountainous areas only eat porridge twice a day, and nutrition packets are their only snack in the afternoon. Without these fast-absorbing carbohydrates, they will be hungry within an hour after eating, and those protein and trace elements will have no chance to be properly absorbed. In the end, there was no conclusion. The current national standard only limits the maximum amount of maltodextrin added. It does not ban it across the board, but leaves room for adjustment.

Compared with the carbon water addition that everyone is arguing about, the requirements for micronutrients are much clearer: calcium, iron, zinc, vitamins A, D, B1, B2, B12, and folic acid are all mandatory requirements of the national standard GB 22570, and the content also has clear minimum standards. What’s interesting is that the formulas in different regions will be quietly fine-tuned. For example, the nutritional package I got in Qinghai previously had a vitamin D content that was nearly twice as high as that in the mainland. The local public health people said that the winter there is cold, and adults and children are bundled up tightly and cannot get sunlight. The incidence of rickets in children is much higher than in the coastal areas, so they specially mentioned the ratio. There are also raw materials for iron supplements. Currently, two groups hold different opinions: one group believes that sodium iron EDTA is well absorbed and has little gastrointestinal irritation, making it suitable for children who are already iron deficient. The other group is worried that long-term intake of EDTA will affect the absorption of other minerals, and prefers ferrous fumarate. Now the national standards for both raw materials are allowed. When purchasing from various places, you can choose according to the situation of local children, which can be regarded as taking into account different academic viewpoints.

As for the functional ingredients that many businesses use as selling points, such as DHA, lutein, probiotics, lactoferrin, etc., they are actually "optional additions" in the national standard and are not necessities. Last week, a mother came to me with an imported nutritional package and asked me if it added more than a dozen active ingredients. Is it better than the free package in the community? I looked through the ingredient list and found that there were only 3 types of probiotics added, as well as blueberry powder and carrot powder. The price was more than ten times that of the free version. But if you calculate carefully, you will know that if a 6-month-old child eats a 12g bag of nutritional packets every day, the total amount of these additives is less than 1g. It does not have the effect of "brain replenishing" and "eyesight protection" promoted by the merchants, but instead increases the risk of allergy. To be honest, if your child usually has enough milk and eats a variety of complementary foods, there is no need to spend more money on these concepts.

When nutrition packs were distributed in the village before, people always asked whether the silica in the ingredient list was harmful, saying that they heard online that it was an "industrial additive." In fact, that amount is less than one-tenth of the national standard limit. It is just an anti-caking agent. If I go back to Nantian in March and April in the south, if I don’t add this, the nutrition package will become lumpy after half a month and cannot be broken away. You can’t let your children eat caked and spoiled powder just for the sake of the reputation of “no additives”, right?

In fact, when choosing a nutrition package, you don’t have to look at the ingredient list. First, check whether it has the national standard mark of GB 22570. As long as it meets this, the basic nutrition will be enough. If your child usually eats well, a normal supplement of the basic formula will be enough; if he has problems with picky eating or growth retardation, seek an evaluation from a pediatrician or nutritionist first, and then choose a targeted formula. It is much more reliable than buying a random product with a bunch of fancy ingredients.