The human body requires proteins to efficiently conduct enzyme and hormonal functions. Insulin, for example, is a protein hormone that regulates blood sugar levels and enhances fatty acids absorption into your baby’s system; fatty acids are vital for the nervous development of your baby. High protein intake, on the other hand, may lead to low fiber intake and cause digestive problems. Knowing what protein does for your baby can help you balance his diet properly.
Brain Development
Including sufficient proteins in your baby’s diet boosts his level of intelligence. According to Dr. Elizabeth Isaacs, a researcher at the UCL Institute of Child Health, protein increases the size of your child’s caudate nucleus, which is the part of the brain that influences the level of intelligence. Proteins also enhance the production of hormones known as growth factors proteins. Growth factors help induce long-term memory and enhance the central nervous system development.
Milk Allergies
Milk allergies occur when infants’ immune system mistakes the protein in cow, goat or sheep milk for disease-causing pathogens. These allergies can make babies restless as a result of stomach upsets. Children typically outgrow milk allergies by the age 5. Some confuse the condition for lactose intolerance, which is the inability to digest simple sugars such as lactose. You can help your child reduce the chances of developing milk allergies by breast-feeding.
Body Message Coordination
Messenger proteins are types of hormones that facilitate the transmission of messages between your baby’s organs and cells. This allows biological processes such as metabolism to take place and improve your child’s cellular structure and functionalities. The biological messages can trigger communication between tissues and the brain to enable movement and reaction to harm such as hot bath water.
Protection Against Diseases
Protein-calorie malnutrition, or PEM, is a condition that affects children with poor dietary intake of foods rich in proteins and energy. Wet protein-energy deficiency, also known as kwashiorkor, is a disease that can appear at the age of 12 months in children lacking sufficient breast milk. Symptoms associated with the protein deficiency disease include retention of fluids known as edema and dry skin that peels. Marasmus is another form of PEM disease that develops in children aged between 6 to12 months owing to lack of breast milk or chronic diarrhea. Providing your child with foods rich in protein, especially breast milk, is essential in protecting him from PEM-related conditions (See Resources 2).
References
- Hormone Research in Pediatrics; Glucose Regulation in Preterm Newborn Infants; Delphine Mitanchez; 2007
- Science Daily; Proteins Necessary for Brain Development Found to be Critical for Long-Term Memory; September 2006
- Kids Health; All About Milk Allergy; 2011
- "Daily Mail"; Rich Protein Baby Diet Boosts IQ Levels Later in Life; February 2008
