Question
We have a 1.5-year-old baby at home who has recently lost their appetite. They can’t seem to eat anything, not even snacks, and it appears they don’t feel hungry. What should we do? Although the trace element test shows only a slight iron deficiency, the child’s stool is slightly loose after eating cold food. They haven’t received any related treatment before and hope to get some advice.
Answer
Iron deficiency may lead to a decrease in appetite. It is recommended not to give the baby cold food. Try making the meals more delicious to enhance the color, aroma, and taste of the food, which can stimulate the child’s appetite. Encourage the child to eat in various ways while supplementing iron. Consume iron-rich foods such as liver, kidneys, hearts, kelp, seaweed, soybeans, spinach, celery, rapeseed, tomatoes, apricots, jujubes, and oranges; these are all rich in iron. Folk remedies often use longan meat, jujube, and peanut inner skin as iron supplements.