Babies don’t need many calories, but they do need lots of nutrients. Yet some foods commonly offered to babies are essentially junk food that is high in calories, sugar, salt, and low in nutrients. Because babies are so small, it’s easy for them to fill up quickly on the empty calories in junk food, leaving no room for nutrient-rich healthy foods. This nutritional deficit can hinder development, says doctor of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Christine Gerbstadt.
FRIES
Nowadays, french or any fried fries are among the top vegetables consumed by toddlers and this is marking the start of an unhealthy habit in them. It’s a good idea to minimize all fast food because it’s loaded with fat, sugar, salt, and calories but low in healthy nutrients. If you do need to grab a bite on the go, look for baby-friendly options. There are plenty of healthier choice like making own homemade mash potato with milk or even steamed sweet potato.
GELATIN
Most varieties are nearly all sugar, artificial colour and artificial flavour with a small amount of gelatin to make it wiggly. Homemade gelatin made with fruit juice and sugar eliminates the artificial additives, but it’s still essentially just fruit juice and sweetener. Yes, gelatin is easy to swallow, but for a healthy, there are few baby-friendly desserts like a baked apple with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Its naturally sweet and has good fiber, vitamins, and smooth texture. Let your babies get to use with fruits since small.
SODA OR GAS DRINKS
Whether regular or diet, soda and gas drinks provide absolutely no nutrients, and filling up on either type means babies eat and drink less of the nutritious food their bodies really need. It contains lots of sugar, which can cause tooth decay. It is also very acidic! Baby may also have diarrhoea. The digestive system may be affected by the large volume of fluid and the high intake of sugar. Soda or gas drinks will encourage a develop on sweet tooth and this could lead to poor eating habits as she grows. Give homemade fruit drinks instead!
PROCESSED FOODS
People define ‘processed’ in different ways but in general, the more the food is modified from what was originally caught, raised, or grown and the longer the list of ingredients the more processed it is! The more processed the food, the more nutritional value tends to go down, the more the sugar, salt and fat content goes up. The best prepared baby foods have only few ingredients and no added salt, sugar, or modified food starch. Ready-to-eat foods meant for older children and adults. Rather than canned pasta, try making own pasta from scratch with milk sauce maybe.
CHEESE
Cheese can form part of a healthy, balanced diet for babies by providing calcium and protein. Babies can eat pasteurised full-fat cheese from 6 months old. This includes hard cheeses, such as mild cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and cream cheese. Babies shouldn’t eat cheese like goats’ milk cheese and blue-veined cheese because it might carry a bacteria called listeria. Many cheeses are made from unpasteurised milk. Check labels on cheeses to make sure they’re made from pasteurised milk.
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