Introducing solids is a very important step in your child's development and often parents will put a lot more thought into what they feed their babies than what they feed themselves. However I am constantly surprised at the amounts of processed foods, chemical additives, pesticides and processed carbohydrates that I constantly see babies being fed.
Even fruits and vegetables like apples, pears, celery and spinach can be surprisingly high in pesticides. Whilst these pesticides and sprays have been declared to be safe at lower levels in isolation, we really have no knowledge of the compounding effect of these small amounts in many different foods, particularly on a developing baby.
Many of the commercially available baby foods contain many other additives and chemicals including preservatives and flavourings that your baby simply doesn't need. They also contain ingredients that you probably wouldn't put into your baby's food if you were to make it yourself including sugars, salt and fat. Plus, they are often cooked at high temperatures in order to kill bacteria - unfortunately this heat treatment often destroys vital vitamins and minerals as well.
The other thing that troubles me in babies' food is the reliance on breads, grains and cereals, including the oft-loved baby rusks. It is tempting to feed your baby large quantities of these foods due to the fact they are easy to make, easy to transport and often easy to get the baby to eat. However the high sugar (carbohydrate) content of these foods and the pace at which these sugars are released into the bloodstream due to the highly processed nature is not ideal. Firstly, it means that your baby is not getting a sustained energy release. The quick release of these sugars tends to give your baby a quick release of energy followed by a crash later on (thus a tired, grumpy baby). Secondly, consuming this sugar intake as a baby can affect the ability to process sugars later on. As a result of this we are seeing increased cases of insulin resistance from a younger and younger age, leading to a greater chance of diabetes and other illnesses later on in life.
And don't forget to think about the containers you are putting your baby food into. Many of the plastic containers contain BPA, which has been shown to be harmful for your baby's health (see chapter 98).
So start making your own baby food from healthy meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts (assuming no allergy) and seeds, and you will find you not only have a healthier baby, but you will save money too.
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written by Karen Pendergrass, August 11, 2010
written by Luneta, September 03, 2010
