Nov 22nd Nutrition Nutrition 5 Things to Know About Selenium. Nutrients can be overwhelming. Which nutrients are the most important? Which nutrients should my baby be getting every day? We created Cerebelly to make all that easier, and ensure your little one gets the nutrients their developing brain needs. One of those critical nutrients is Selenium, and here are a few of the (many!) reasons we include it in all our pouches: 1. Your baby’s brain needs it!Selenium plays an important role in the development of the brain as well as the growth of the whole body. It’s especially important to get enough selenium during those first few months after your little one starts solids. So what role does Selenium play? It supports the development of the brain’s temporal lobe, which is responsible for your baby’s hearing, speech, language and memory! 2. Flu season beware!Selenium helps the body fight infections. It acts as an antioxidant to protect the cells in our body from damage. While no ‘one’ nutrient (or food for that matter) can prevent our kiddos from the sniffles, it’s good to know that we can help support their budding immune system with good nutrition. 3. Teamwork!Selenium is a good nutrient “partner”. Certain nutrients actually work together in order to function at their very best. Selenium works with zinc, iron, copper and iodine to support growth and thyroid function. This is one reason it’s important to get a good variety of nutrient dense whole foods. We know this can be overwhelming and doesn’t always happen in real life. Cerebelly here for the rescue, so you don’t have to stress about making sure all these guys are on board working together to give your little one the very best. 4. Hello Sunshine!Did you know sunflower seeds are rich in selenium? Fun fact: sunflowers turn to face the sunshine — a good reminder for all of us! Selenium is an essential nutrient, which means the body can’t make it, so we need to make sure our kiddos get enough from their food (along with breastmilk and/or formula). Other healthy foods that have lots of selenium are chia seeds, barley, meat and egg yolk. 5. It’s hard to find in foods!Many infants aren’t getting enough selenium in their diet. Studies show that approximately 30% of infants age 6-11mos are not meeting their requirements. (1) That’s why we make sure each pouch of Cerebelly has a meaningful amount of selenium. Now that’s parental peace of mind!It’s important to always know what’s in your baby food – so make sure you #flipyourfood and read your ingredients + nutrients all the time! References1 Ahluwalia N. Usual nutrient intakes of US infants and toddlers generally meet or exceed Dietary Reference Intakes: findings from NHANES 2009–20121.