It can be difficult to get a toddler to eat because of all of the developmental things happening during this time.
But, it’s during this time more so than ever that feeding your baby nutritional food is important. Stunted growth, poor brain development, bone issues, and malnourishment are all possible outcomes of your baby not getting the things they need from food.
Do you have a baby or toddler? Do you want an easy way to help them get the vitamins and nutrients that they need?
Introducing peanut butter into their diet might be your answer! There are many peanut butter benefits for your child. Read on to learn 10 reasons to introduce peanut butter today to help your child live a healthy and happy life.
Benefit 1: Assist with Brain Development
One of the best peanut butter health benefits is its ability to potentially help your child’s brain develop.
It contains B vitamins, choline, and copper. All three of these components assist the brain in different ways.
B vitamins can help with overall brain development. Choline helps assist with concentration by supporting the neurotransmitters in the brain. Copper helps produce more neurons. All three of these things are essential to good brain function.
Benefit 2: Helps Form Healthy Bones
Peanut butter is also rich in copper. Copper is a mineral that has a positive impact on our bone health.
In addition to copper, it’s also full of protein which helps bones as well. These two things together will help their bones form, providing your child with strong bones that they can use to run and play.
Benefit 3: Promotes Muscle Growth
Protein also promotes muscle growth. When adults want to increase their muscle mass, protein is usually the first thing they reach for because it’s so effective in this area.
Like adults, children benefit from protein, but rather than simply helping them build more muscles, it helps their muscles grow healthily in the first place.
Strong muscles are important for everything from writing to riding a bike, so doing anything that you can to aid in muscle growth is great.
Benefit 4: Helps Immune System Develop
Peanut butter has high levels of zinc, which can help support the body’s immune system!
Getting sick is never fun, and when it’s your child, it’s even more distressing. Feeding them peanut butter can help reduce the risk of them getting sick with small things like colds.
This is a great thing for you and your baby both.
Benefit 5: Higher Energy Levels
Peanuts contain protein and are a carbohydrate, so they’re doubly great for providing children with energy.
Just a small amount can help give them a boost of energy when needed.
This means more learning, playing, and exploring for your baby.
Benefit 6: Healthy Heart
One of the best peanut benefits to keep in mind is that they are a good source of monosaturated fats. This type of fat is good for the heart and can actually reduce the risk of heart disease.
Your heart is one of the most vital organs in your body, so having a way to help your child to have a healthy heart is wonderful!
Benefit 7: Satisfies Picky Eaters
Peanut butter is almost universally loved among all children. It’s easy to incorporate into their diet! Try:
- Mixing it in a smoothie
- Using it as a dip
- Making a sandwich
- Using it in a sauce
- Making it into a healthy dessert
- Serving it by the spoonful
No matter how you choose to give your child peanut butter, the most important thing is to research peanut butter for babies and the best time to start giving it to them in a safe way.
Benefit 8: Healthy Weight Gain
Peanut butter is relatively high in calories for a small amount. Because of this, it’s a great way to help your baby pack on the pounds if they’re underweight or their growth is stunted.
It’s inexpensive to do so and is often a much tastier alternative to other foods that are good for inducing weight gain.
Benefit 9: Reduces Peanut Allergies
Pediatricians and allergists have now agreed that introducing peanuts to a baby around 4-6 months of age can reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy and help prevent it.
Dealing with a peanut allergy is a frustrating and, at times, scary thing. However, having the ability to avoid the anxiety associated with that medical issue is priceless.
Benefit 10: Stays Beneficial throughout Their Life
The peanut health benefits don’t end when your kids grow up. Getting them used to peanut butter at an early age will help them view it as a natural and enjoyable part of their diet.
Later in life, nutrients found in peanut butter like p-coumaric acid, manganese, niacin, biotin, and resveratrol can help in many ways like:
- May protect against cancer
- Reduce the rate of cognitive decline
- Control blood sugar
- Fight anxiety and depression
- Help hair, skin, and nails
Peanut butter helps kids of all ages.
Plentiful Peanut Butter Benefits
Peanut butter is clearly a good food to incorporate into your baby’s life, from how inexpensive it is to the countless health benefits that it provides.
From infancy to adulthood, peanut butter will help their bodies to develop, function properly, and potentially reduce their risk of certain diseases.
Once you know that it’s safe to introduce, try giving your baby peanut butter as soon as possible to begin reaping the 10 benefits brought out in this article.
Did you find this article helpful? Do you want more valuable information to help you navigate parenthood successfully? Then, please take a look at the rest of the site to find other great tips and tricks for all aspects of motherhood.
