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Baby yogurt can be a great addition to your little one’s diet when you introduce them to solid foods at six months. Yogurt’s excellent nutritional profile includes essential nutrients for babies, including calcium, phosphorus, protein, and fat. Many baby yogurts are fortified with vitamin D, which is critical for bone health and development. Not to mention, it’s a great source of probiotics! As pointed out, the best time to introduce yogurt and other complimentary foods is once your baby reaches six months. Many yogurts are available on the market, so it is important to know what to look for when shopping for the best one for your baby.
What to Look for When Shopping for Baby Yogurt
Nutrients like vitamin D aid in the body’s absorption of calcium and phosphorus. This is especially important for little ones who rapidly grow and develop bones. Calcium is vital as well because it builds and maintains bone density. Phosphorus plays a role in bone and teeth formation. These nutrients support adequate bone mineralization and growing kiddos when consumed together and regularly.
Pay Attention to the Ingredients
When shopping for baby yogurt, look over that ingredient list. Find a baby yogurt with full-fat organic whole cow’s milk, organic ingredients like fruit puree, omega-3 fatty acids (like DHA) for brain health, and vitamin D fortification. Generally, you’ll want unsweetened or unflavored yogurt. However, if your little one doesn’t respond well to that flavor profile, consider opting for yogurt with real fruit puree.
Why is Organic Important?
Organic farmers do not use persistent toxic pesticides or artificial hormones; the cows are pasture-raised. Organically grown products avoid contamination of soils, rivers, and drinking water and are generally better for the environment. When shopping for food for your baby, think of the ingredients you would use yourself.
Prebiotics and Probiotics
When shopping for baby yogurt, it’s also essential to look for a product that includes prebiotics and probiotics. Stonyfield is an excellent organic brand that makes yogurt specifically for babies with prebiotics and probiotics. It makes its yogurt with whole milk, makes it gluten-free, and fortifies it with vitamin D and omega-3 DHA. Stonyfield’s YoBaby Yogurt contains the probiotic BB-12®, which has been shown to have digestive health benefits when consumed regularly, and whole fruit purees like banana for prebiotic fiber. Besides being organic, all Stonyfield YoBaby pouches or baby yogurts are non-GMO, without artificial hormones and persistent toxic pesticides. They’re also made with whole ingredients like fruit puree.
So, what is the hype about when it comes to prebiotics and probiotics? Probiotics are the live microorganisms known as the “good bacteria” that live in your gut, and prebiotics are the fibrous foods found in the human diet that feed those “good bacteria.” Some examples of prebiotic foods include bananas, apples, oats, onions, garlic, and other foods with fiber. On the other hand, probiotic foods are foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, and more. Yogurt is one of the best sources of probiotics for your little one because it is the most palatable for those tiny taste buds, as other fermented foods are strong in odor and taste.
Selecting a Baby Yogurt for Your Family
Various baby yogurts are on the market, and it can be hard to decipher which best suits your little one. So why not start with the ingredient label? It is important to remember the nutritional content and factors like fortification, natural fruit as flavorings, probiotic and prebiotic quality, organic, gluten-free, and non-GMO. Next, try a few flavors your baby might like, and don’t be afraid to introduce them again if they don’t like it the first time — taste buds do change!
Stonyfield YoBaby Yogurt checks all the boxes. It is an excellent option if you’re looking for a family-friendly yogurt that genuinely pays attention to the nutritional needs of babies and toddlers by fortifying its products with the highest quality whole ingredients. There are also flavors for all taste buds. Not to mention their commitment to organic products and avoidance of GMOs and growth hormones. Their mission stems from a small nonprofit organic farming school that eventually expanded to provide high-quality dairy products to serve healthy people and contribute to a healthy planet.
Overall, baby yogurt is a great addition to your little one’s diet when they’re developmentally ready at six months. But the type of yogurt matters, and it’s essential to look for yogurt like Stonyfield’s baby yogurt, with both prebiotics and probiotics, vitamin D, omega-3 DHA, and organic full-fat whole cow’s milk. Try a plain or fruit-flavored variety to see what your little one likes best!
