Starting Your Baby on Meat

Starting Your Baby on Meat

September 23rd, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Although most parents wait to introduce meat to baby, there is really no reason to put it off. Your baby can try pureed meat as one of his earliest baby foods if you like, as there is no scientific evidence to show that introducing foods in a certain order matters one way or the other.

Meat is a wonderful source of iron, a vital mineral to your baby’s growth and development. Many babies are at risk for anemia, a condition that develops due to a deficiency of iron, and adding meat to your baby’s diet can help to prevent this. Although your baby does get iron from breast milk or formula, the additional iron in meat can fill in the gaps, and provide iron in a much more absorbable form for the body that that found in formula.

Which Meat to Start With?

You can start baby on whichever meat you prefer, although many parents choose poultry such as chicken or turkey. Beef is an acceptable choice as well. Make sure the meat is cooked thoroughly and pureed as smoothly as possible. Making a meat puree at home that is smooth enough for a very young baby to handle can be a bit challenging, so you might want to start with pureed meat in jars. This commercial baby food has been processed with much more powerful machines than your home food processor and will be a lot smoother.

Getting Baby to Try Meat

Meat is not usually a taste that attracts babies at first, so try mixing it with a fruit or vegetable baby has already had. In fact, this is one of the reasons to wait a bit on meat, at least until your baby has safely managed a few fruits and vegetables you can use to make the taste of the meat a bit more appealing.

It isn’t unusual for babies to reject meat altogether. Don’t worry if your baby isn’t interested in trying it. Meat has a very different texture and taste from fruits and vegetables, even when they are mixed together. It might be a while before your baby really starts to warm up to meat. Don’t push it too hard. Your baby is getting all the required nutrition from breast milk or formula, so meat isn’t a must any time soon – or ever really. If your baby continues to dislike meat even long past the puree stage, there are plenty of other foods that provide the protein and iron usually added to the diet from meats.

Past Purees

When your baby is ready to chew food and eat things a little bit closer to table foods, you might find a renewed interest in meat. Pureed meat is not the most appetizing thing in the world, so when your baby is old enough to try small pieces that can be chewed you might see a different reaction.

Make sure to cut very small pieces of meat to avoid choking, and start with more tender meats that have been cooked well, such as dark meat chicken. A slow cooker is a great way to prepare juicy, tender meat for baby that will be easy to break down.

As your baby develops a more sophisticated palate, you can season the meat to make it taste much better and improve the chances your baby will be willing to give it more than a passing glance.

Help Your Baby Get More Iron

Help Your Baby Get More Iron

September 17th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Iron is one of the most important minerals for health, growth and development in babies and toddlers. In recent years the incidence of iron-deficiency anemia in babies has gone down due to iron-fortified infant formulas and supplementation, but the risk is still very real. Especially in the second year of life, after your baby has been weaned from the breast or from formula feedings, getting the right amount of iron is of vital importance.

Why Does Baby Need Iron?

Iron helps the body to create new red blood cells, which contain hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries oxygen throughout the body to keep organs and muscles growing and functioning. Without enough iron, your baby’s body can’t grow and develop normally. When iron stores are depleted, your baby isn’t getting enough oxygen in the bloodstream, which can result in fatigue, poor weight gain, poor appetite and changes in heart rate. There are long term effects as well to severe cases of anemia, which could even lead to hospitalization and blood transfusions.

What Baby Foods Provide Iron?

The best sources of iron in your baby’s diet are fortified infant cereals and meat. Continuing infant cereal into the second year of life can help to prevent iron deficiency anemia in your baby. Meat and poultry are also great sources of iron, but many babies and toddlers don’t eat much of these foods because they can be difficult to chew. You can mix meats with fruits or vegetables to make them more appealing, or try meat in a soup, where it has been cooked in broth and become very tender and easier to chew. If your baby isn’t interested in meat, try eggs, leafy green vegetables such as spinach, beans, peas, and whole grain bread. Choose fortified foods whenever you can to add extra iron.

One of the major causes of iron deficiency anemia in older babies is drinking too much milk. Make sure that your baby is not drinking more than 24 ounces of milk a day. Milk in large quantities can block the absorption of iron and also cause bleeding in the stomach lining, leading to iron loss. Milk is a healthy and important part of your older baby’s diet, but it is possible to drink too much and do damage to your baby’s body, so keep on eye on baby’s intake.

What About Iron Supplements?

Most multi-vitamins for children contain iron, but it is always a good idea to double check. The vitamin drops used for babies should clearly state on the label that they contain iron. Follow the manufacturer’s and your doctor’s instructions for dosage, and do not mix vitamin drops containing iron in with milk, as it blocks the absorption of iron. If you can’t get your baby to take it directly, which is not unusual as it has a strong smell and taste, mix it with a small amount of fruit juice, or add it to food. Just make sure when adding it to food that it is a portion you are certain your baby will finish eating, in order to get all of the supplements.

Children who have developed anemia may need a stronger iron supplement to recover the stores their bodies have lost. Your doctor will discuss this with you if it becomes necessary. Luckily, iron deficiency anemia is entirely avoidable in most cases, as long as you make sure to add extra iron to your baby’s diet early on.

Food Aversions in Pregnancy

Food Aversions in Pregnancy

July 30th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Many pregnant women will experience some sort of food aversion. Sometimes the aversion is so strong that the woman can not even stand the sight or smell of the food in question. Just like cravings, aversions generally occur in the first trimester, although the dislike of the food in question may continue well into the pregnancy, the response should become milder.

Aversions are normal, and generally can be blamed on the hormones that are running wild in a pregnant woman’s body, especially in that first trimester. While they are nothing to worry about, they do often cause pregnant women to miss out on foods that provide much-needed nutrition. If you are experiencing an aversion to a healthy food, or even an entire food group, you don’t have to choke it down. Just make sure you fill the nutritional gap in your diet with other healthy foods that supply the same nutrients.

Some of the most common food aversions are to foods like dairy, eggs, meat, and green vegetables. These are all important to a healthy and balanced pregnancy diet. Fortunately, with a little effort you can replace the nutrients found in these foods with other choices.

Skipping the Dairy Case

If it’s just milk you can’t stand, you have a number of other dairy choices to fill the void, such as cheese and yogurt. But if your aversion extends to all things made with milk, you will have to turn to some other foods to make up the difference. Hopefully you aren’t also turned off by leafy green vegetables such as spinach, as they are a great source of calcium. You can also choose calcium-fortified orange juice, and add a supplement just to be safe.

Temporarily Vegetarian

Meat is a very common culprit in food aversions, but it’s also an important source of protein and iron. If it’s just red meat, turn to poultry and fish. If you can’t bear those either, you can meet your needs by adding legumes, beans, and soy products to your diet. Again, an iron supplement might be a good idea, since it is such a vital nutrient during pregnancy. You might also find an aversion to eggs accompanies your dislike of meat, but if not, they are a great source of protein as well.

Turning Green

When those healthy green vegetables are the last thing you want to think about putting into your mouth, you are unfortunately missing out on a great source of nutrition. Make up for them by eating a wide variety of the fruits and veggies you can stomach. You can also try hiding the greens in other foods. Add finely chopped greens to pasta sauces or soups, and you probably won’t even realize they are there. If you can’t trick yourself, ask someone else to do it for you. If you don’t know where the offensive food is hidden, you might not be so bothered by it.

Food aversions can be annoying, especially when they involve foods you may have really enjoyed prior to your pregnancy. The good news is they will likely fade as the pregnancy progresses. As long as you make smart changes to your diet to replace the nutrients from the foods you can’t stand, your food aversions will remain just an annoyance and not a problem for your baby.

The Role of Protein

The Role of Protein

July 3rd, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The body needs many things to survive and to function at peak performance. One of the most important of these is protein. Protein is a macronutrient; this means that our bodies need quite a bit of it, as opposed to micronutrients like vitamins, which are not needed in large quantities.

Protein is a part of every cell in the body, and is used to perform many vital tasks, such as the creation of enzymes and hormones, and the building of tissue. Our bones, muscles, skin, and blood are all created using protein. Proteins are made up of amino acids, some of which our bodies are incapable of producing; we must provide these to our bodies through our diet. Unlike fat or carbohydrates, the body does not retain stores of protein, so we much continually replace it.

How Much Protein Do We Need?

The amount of protein recommended daily ranges from 10-35%, depending on age and gender. While high protein, low carbohydrate diets have been popular in recent years, the truth is that our bodies do not need to be overloaded with protein. A child between 1-3 years old requires on 13 grams of protein a day, while even an adult male needs only 56 grams. This isn’t really a lot, when you consider that one cup of milk contains 8 grams of protein. A child who has several glass of milk a day will easily meet and even exceed protein requirements.

What Foods Provide Protein?

The average person gets more than enough protein through their diet. Foods high in protein include eggs, meat, poultry and fish, dairy products, beans and nuts. As long as your diet contains some of these foods on a regular basis, you are likely getting enough protein.

A vegetarian or vegan diet can present some difficulties in getting enough protein, but it is certainly possible to do so. It simply requires a good understanding of nutrition and what non-animal sources of protein are available. In addition to the options above, tofu, some fruits and vegetables, and many grains contain protein as well.

Are All Proteins Equal?

There are two types of protein sources. They are incomplete, and complete proteins. A complete protein contains all of the amino acids our bodies require to survive. Complete protein sources are generally animal proteins such as meats, eggs, and dairy products.

It is possible to obtain all of the amino acids through a variety of other protein sources by mixing and matching these foods into your diet to ensure you are getting everything you need. Those who do not consume animal products will need to make sure various sources of proteins are incorporated into their diet to ensure the amino acids are all represented.

Some sources, while listed as complete proteins, may not be the best choice because they can be high in fat. A steak is a complete protein, but is also high in saturated fat. Dairy products too can be sources of excess fat. In moderation, these are excellent sources of protein and can be incorporated into a healthy diet. Leaner sources of protein, such as chicken, are a better choice for daily consumption, however.

Although the diet industry has pushed protein supplements in the form of bars and shakes for years, for most people the better choice is a healthy diet incorporating high quality, low fat protein sources. Synthetic sources may contain other ingredients that are neither necessary nor healthy.