More and more studies have found several foods marketed to kids that are loaded with fat, salt, and sugar. It was assumed that baby and toddler foods were immune to the over-processing of many adult oriented foods but alas this is not the case. If you have recently started your baby on solids, you probably have also embarked on more food label reading. This leaves many mums wondering: how can we choose healthy baby and toddler foods?
Sugar
Regulations for “healthy″ baby food are almost non-existent as calorie restriction is not appropriate for babies and toddlers because they are rapidly growing and developing. With regard to sugar, it is not a nutrient so again, label requirements are loose. Bear in mind that the more sugar you give your baby in the first year of life may set the “sweetness″ threshold too high running the risk of baby refusing foods that are not as sweet like vegetables and cereals.
The caution with sugar is to be on the lookout for added sugars in the ingredients like corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, or other sweeteners. Also, if sugar is the first ingredient listed that means it is the predominant ingredient (highest volume) in that food so it is probably not a good choice. However, fruit pureed in a jar of baby food can have a high sugar content but fruits contain natural sugars along with a great deal of vitamins as long as the fruit is the only ingredient listed.
Fat
Babies need fat, especially during the first two years of life, for healthy brain development but not all fats are created equally. In fact, breast milk contains about 50% fat yet most women in America do not breastfeed for an entire year. Absolutely no trans fats should be given to babies, toddlers, or children (or adults for that matter!) It is currently a labeling law that foods must print that the food contains trans fats but some companies do not. If one of the ingredients is “hydrogenated″ or “partially hydrogenated oil″ you know for sure that food contains trans fats even the label doesn’t say so. Fat should be good from sources like avocadoes, breast milk, whole milk dairy like yogurt or cheese, or infant formula.
Other Additives
As a general rule for buying healthy baby and toddler foods: less is more. Seek out the purest foods that you can reasonably afford. Introducing solids to your baby is a fun, wonderful experience and also sets the tone for their developing taste buds. The more natural food you give your baby, the more their palette will appreciate and learn to love fresh, healthy, foods. Added salt is unnecessary for infants and is often added to canned, jarred, or processed foods to increase shelf stability. Watch out for other ingredients your baby doesn’t need like food colorings, additives, preservatives or other ingredients you don’t recognize. If you can’t pronounce a food ingredient on a label- don’t give it your baby!
Tags: healthy baby food, healthy toddler snacks, introducing solids
