We always wanted to introduce foods that we like to our baby. As exciting as it is, a few things should not be fed to infants although they do not seem dangerous.
While some of these have been covered in our article on choking hazards, there are other foods such as honey that need to be avoided for a different reason.
Let’s take a look at the popular foods that infants should avoid during their first year.
Honey
Honey may contain the spores of Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that can secrete toxins leading to muscle weakness, paralysis, a weak cry and poor sucking. An infant’s digestive system is not strong enough to fight of the scores and their toxins. While harmless to adults, these can cause infant botulism in babies under 1. Older babies can start having them at small doses at first.
Salt
Salt isn’t it good for the delicate kidneys of babies. Adding salt to their food is an obvious no-no, but so is using stock cubes, gravy or tastemakers since they are often high in salt.
Other foods high in salt are:
- bacon
- sausages
- chips with added salt
- crackers
- crisps
- ready meals
- Takeaways
Cow’s mlk
While this is a bit controversial, parents of babies under the age of one or advised do not give their children cows milk since it can be hard for infants to digest. Breast milk is definitely the best source. Formula and diluted cows milk can be used if absolutely needed. Keep a lookout for milk intolerance as well.
Fruit juice or Tea & Coffee
Fruit juice is closer to sugar water than it is to fruit. We recommend feeding your child pureed fruit instead of fruit juice. Fruit juices are known to drown appetites for breast milk or formula, cost tooth decay, and other tummy troubles due to their sweetness.
While it’s easy to feel like giving a taste of tea tea and coffee to your baby, they can cause irritation in the tummy or the tannin present in tea prevents the baby’s body from absorbing iron.
Unpasteurized foods
These foods were already off the menu when the mother was expecting, you shouldn’t serve unpasteurized (raw) dairy products, juice or cider to your baby. They often can contain microbes and bacteria that are dangerous enough to cause life-threatening illnesses in infants.
Smoked and cured meats
Most smoked or cured meats (like sausage, hot dogs and salami) have high amounts of nitrates and sodium. They should not be served to babies. Nitrates have the potential to react with other compounds to form carcinogens.
High-mercury fish
Research shows that consumption of fish in a diet may boost IQ. However, you need to avoid those with high levels of mercury (swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish and fresh tuna, among others). And ensure to steer clear of fish from contaminated waters if you are sourcing from local fish farms.
Safe fish include wild salmon, tilapia, flounder, trout, sole, shrimp and scallops. Canned tuna also gets the thumbs up; opt for canned chunk light tuna, which contains less mercury than albacore tuna.
Refined grains
Not all carbs are created equal, nutritionally speaking. Complex carbs provide naturally-occurring nutrients that are stripped during the refining process (which turns whole grains white). Whole grains are also rich in fibre, which helps keep blood sugar steady. So keep refined grains like white bread off the menu and opt for 100 per cent whole-grain pasta, bread, cereal, rice and crackers at the supermarket.
Sugary Sweets & Seep-fried snacks and fast food a.k.a junk food
While this can be a cultural strike from a cultural perspective, Indian cultures have a huge focus on sweets. Unfortunately most sweets are loaded with empty calories, or deep fried.
The same goes for fast-food with their deep-fried, salted and sweetened combinations that can put your baby’s nutritional intake severely off-course.
While such foods are alright in moderation for an adult, an infant has very little space in their tummy for nutritional food and these sweets can upset their nutritional intake badly. It also sets a bad taste for heavily sugared foods that might prevent your infant from happily gorging on breast milk and other healthy foods as they grow up.
Remember…
If you have doubts regarding the foods mentioned above, you should consult a paediatrician who may help you choose the right foods and also recommend more foods you need to avoid for your baby and her specific situation.
Check out our article on Top choking for Babies and Toddlers.
https://childgood.in/top-choking-hazards-for-babies-and-toddlers/
