Cooking Fresh Food for Your Baby

Guidelines

Salt
The amount of salt given to infants in their food should be restricted because babies are not as good as adults at processing excess sodium (contained in salt). Never add salt to a babies meal and don't give processed foods containing added salt e.g. Gravy granules or corn beef to babies before they are 9 months old. There is some evidence that high blood pressure in adulthood can track from the age of 2!!  Parents can help their child have better health by reducing salt intake.

Sugar
Sugars provide energy and are found naturally in many foods but they make no other contribution to the nutritional needs of an infant.  It is important that babies do not come to expect that their food will be sweet or sweetened as they require a variety of tastes and textures during weaning, this encourages greater acceptance of different types of foods.  Parents can help their child have better health and eating habits by reducing sugar intake.

Food Allergies
Infants can develop an allergy to many different types of food, the most common are:
Cows milk & milk products; Eggs; Nuts & nut products; Cereals – wheat, barley, rye, oats; Shellfish & fish; Citrus fruits; Berry fruits; Soya products

A food allergy can cause or increase a variety of complaints and there can be a family history which increases the risk of the child developing an allergy to a particular food.  Common complaints include eczema, asthma, and diarrhoea but in some rare instances a child can have a severe and instant reaction known as anaphylaxis.  Allergenic foods should not be included in the diet until 6 months of age and whole cows milk not until 1 year although it can be used in cooking after 6 months.

Oily Fish
The Food Standards Agency recommends that oily fish such as tuna or mackerel should not be given to small children more than once or twice a week.  These fish eat other fish as part of their own diet and there can be a build up of chemicals which may be harmful in the long term.  However oily fish is still recommended as an excellent source of a variety of nutrients.

When Should Weaning Begin?
The World Health Organisation recommends that babies should be breast fed for the first six months and that weaning should start no earlier than 26 weeks.
In the UK, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) agreed with this advice but also said that there should be some flexibility in the advice given to parents as babies in the UK are often weaned earlier than 26 weeks for many different reasons.  Many babies in the UK are bottle fed on formula milk and most are fed solid food between 4 and 6 months of age.  Babies should certainly not be fed solid food before 17 weeks of age.

Whatever age your baby is when you choose to start weaning – solid food should only be introduced when your baby’s internal organs and muscles are mature enough to cope with the process of digesting solid food.  The age at which this occurs can vary and it is important to treat each baby as an individual.  If you are unsure as to when your baby is developed enough to start taking solid food then you should speak to your Health Visitor who can advise on your own baby’s individual development.

Solid foods should not be crumbled into drinks or given in bottles as this is known to delay learning how to handle food which is necessary if your baby is to move on to a more varied diet and finger food.

Texture
The texture of first taste foods should be a smooth purée given on a spoon as the aim is to encourage your baby to make the switch from breast or bottle to spoon feeding.  Depending on how well your baby adapts to being spoon fed the duration of the initial stage of weaning may vary from other children.  Learning to accept increasingly lumpier solid food is a gradual process and children progress at their own pace.  When your baby accepts a variety of foods from a spoon 2 to 3 times a day then the baby is ready for the next stage of weaning where lumpier textures and stronger tastes can be introduced.  The consistency of this food should contain some soft lumps and not be completely puréed  Some soft finger foods can also be introduced, e.g. banana.  Salt and sugar should still be restricted.

Honey
The Food Standards Agency recommends that honey should not be given to infants under 1 year because it may contain a bacteria harmful to very young babies.  It can be introduced after one year but treated just like sugar.

References:
Department of Health “Report of the Working Group on the Weaning Diet of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy” Published by HMSO 1994
World Health Organisation “Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding” Published by WHO 2003
Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition Annual Report 2001,
Food Standards Agency 2004,
Health Scotland 2005