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Babies are beautiful set of people, and because they are just starting out their lives, caution has to be taken with everything that is given to them. And food is an important part of those things.
These days, it seems parents always have a question to ask about what to give their babies, and this is really important, because not only will it help these little ones grow healthily, it will also save parents the stress.
To the business! Salted or unsalted butter for babies: which is the best? If that’s your question today, then this content will make your day.
Let’s begin with the terms. Salted butter is simply a butter that comes with an added salt. Beside the fact that the salt gives the butter a saltier taste, the salt also functions as a preservative and extends the shelf life of the butter.
Unsalted butter, on the other hand, is butter with no added salt. If you want a relatable analogy, consider unsalted butter the purest form of butter. It is quite healthier to use than the salted version. The only downside to it is that, unlike salted butter, unsalted butter has a relatively short shelf life.
Benefits Of Butter For Babies
Either salted or unsalted butter for babies is what you’ll choose, you need to know the benefits that butter brings for your baby. Let’s go!
1. Rich In Nutrients
Know an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins? It is butter! Butter is rich in vitamin A, D, E, and K.
Vitamin A functions in enhancing good vision, the immune system, and future reproductive health. It also helps the kidneys, lungs, heart and other organs function properly.
Vitamin D works alongside calcium to give your baby the best bones, teeth, and muscles he/she can get. Vitamin E helps in maintaining a healthy immune system, while vitamin K helps in blood clotting and having healthy bones.
- Source Of Vital Minerals:
Butter has traces of vital minerals such as manganese, zinc copper, selenium, lauric acid, and chromium. These minerals are effective antioxidants, which safeguards your baby from lethal infections. Lauric acid, as a mineral, helps to arm your baby against fungal infections and candida.
- Enhances Digestion:
Glycosphingolipids are present in butter, and happen to be substances that prevent your baby from gut infections, thereby promotion digestive health.
- Source Of Healthy Cholesterol:
Butter is an amazing source of healthy cholesterol, which is essential for the healthy growth and development of children. Cholesterol helps in the synthesis of steroids that occur naturally in the body, and prevents conditions like heart diseases, mental illness, and even cancer from your baby’s system.
- Discourages Calcification Of Calcium:
Anti-stifness nutrients are present in raw butter, and they prevent calcification, thereby ensuring that the body utilizes calcium effectively- an important factor for developing children.
- Aids Brain Development:
Butter has Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, replicas of fish fats. Omega-3 aids healthy brain development. As your baby develops, his/her requirement for supply of these fatty acids will become regular. Hence, giving butter a shot in your baby’s diet is a sensible idea, especially if he/she doesn’t have a thing for fish.
- Ideal For Physical Development:
Because butter is rich in protein, an indispensable nutrient for a growing baby, it fortifies both the body and brain muscles.
Salted Or Unsalted Butter For Babies?
Best Butter Brands For Babies
There are tons of butter brands around. As far as butter brands are concerned, their list is inexhaustible. But the best is what you should look out for, and below are two of the best butter brands for babies.
- Amul Butter
A product of India, amul is a great butter for babies. It doesn’t give you any stress, as you either make it at home or pick up a jar. There’s a removal of the solids from the butter. That way, bad cholesterol is gotten rid of. It is a clarified butter, and works better for cooking at higher temperature. A select set of people do believe it has healing powers.
Amul butter doesn’t even need to be refrigerated after it has been opened. It contains a reasonable level of carbohydrates, so your baby leaves it every morning with great energy.
- Lurpak Butter
Lurpak unsalted butter is made solely from fresh cream! It is the purest form of lurpak you can find, and is simply unsalted. Lurpak butter gives you a great, pure buttery taste, and is good for cooking and baking. Why? It allows you singlehandedly determine the level of salt in your food, and gives pie doughs and crispier cookies than salted butter.
It contains proteins in moderate levels, and for your baby, that means great cells and healthy physical structure. You don’t want to sleep on lurpak!
Butter Or Margarine For Babies?
Butter or margarine for babies is a question that looks like salt or unsalted butter for babies.
Butter and margarine are different in one or two ways. Margarine is a highly processed food, whereas butter is more natural. See it this way, for butter, you take milk from a cow, skim off the milk, and shake. While for margarine, everything derives from the factory.
Of course, ideally, whole foods that are organic as butter should be prioritized, as it helps your baby grow healthily and fine. Hence, we recommend butter- especially the unsalted type!
Conclusion
Your choice of salted or unsalted butter will ultimately depend on you as a parent. But the truth is, aside the fact that it has a diminished shelf life, unsalted butter is the most ideal butter for babies, when it comes down to health.
Note that the recommendation of your paediatrician matters a great deal, too! So ask him or her to know what works best for your baby at what time.
Here in this content, we have hopefully provided answers to some of the questions parents have about salted or unsalted butter for babies, the benefits of butter for babies, and the two top brands of baby butter.
