Feeding Your Baby Whole Foods

Americans fork over $1.25 billion every year buying commercially prepared baby food. Manufacturers of baby food encourage parents to think that their products have special properties that make them appropriate for infants. Millions of advertising dollars are spent perpetuating this myth. It is simply not true.

Parents take their cues about when to start their babies on solid foods from baby food manufacturers. If the cereal box says it's safe for 4 month old babies, parents assume this to be true. Gerber even prints a 1-800# on it's box promising to answer parents' questions about caring for and feeding their baby day or night. Of course it behooves the baby food companies to have parents start solids as early as possible. But does the baby benefit? Studies show that the early introduction of solids may be linked with an increase in childhood inhalant and food allergies. (1,3) There are obvious physical signs of a baby's readiness for solid foods. These usually don't occur before 6 months of age and include the ability to sit up unattended and grabbing or reaching for food. Some cultures use the appearance of teeth as a sign for readiness. Many parents aren't aware that during a baby's first year, they get all the nutrition they need from breastmilk or formula. The first few months of eating solids are simply to accustom baby to new tastes and textures.

Have you checked out the taste, texture, look, and smell of commercial baby cereal? Pour some commercial rice cereal in a bowl. What does it look like? It has no smell. The taste is the definitive of bland. The cereal is made from refined rice that has been processed and pre-cooked. Refined grains have nothing to offer but carbohydrates. Whole grains, on the other hand, contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals and LIFE. The germ is still intact. If you put a whole grain in water, it sprouts! If you put commercial baby cereal in water, it makes paste. Nutritionally-inferior, refined foods contribute to many of today's health problems, including obesity. Why train your baby to want it? By pre-toasting organic whole grains, grinding them in a small electric grinder, and cooking the grains with water, you can create a fresh, delicious, nutrient-dense cereal with taste, texture, and aroma that everyone in the family can grow on.

Does your baby deserve organic food? What may be tolerated by a mature adult may prove harsh to the immature system of an infant. In the 1988, "Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children," a published report by the National Research Council, concern was raised about the protection of our infants and children. Current regulatory practices used to control pesticides in foods are based on studies of pesticide exposure to the general population, without regard to the special needs of infants. Yet, only one company produces organic baby food, Earth's Best, which was recently bought out by Gerber.

It is true that commercial baby food is convenient, but the price tag for convenience is costly. Besides paying companies to blenderize food and put it in jars, you also pay them to dilute the food with water and add starchy fillers such as tapioca, rice flour and modified corn starch. Some manufacturers add sugar, salt, and corn syrup to the food. Additives not only help with production costs but helps mask off-flavors and give taste to otherwise bland, lifeless food. A jar of banana baby food may contain as little as 30% fruit by weight. Compared to a fresh, ripe, organic banana that's been mashed with a fork, the commercial food is nutritionally inferior and more expensive.

And what about freshness? Doesn't your baby deserve fresh food? Fresh food has the maximum in vitamins , minerals and enzymes. These add to our vitality to our lives. A little jar of processed army-green peas with a 2-year shelf life does not compare to the smell, taste, color, and nutritional value of fresh peas from the garden that have been steamed and mashed.

Iron is a common concern. It is true that baby food manufacturers add iron to their cereal. They need to. When you strip a grain of most of it's nutrients, you produce a cereal that is deficient in minerals, including iron. Whole grains, especially the more nutrient-dense grains like quinoa and millet, have naturally-occurring iron. The less-absorbable, artificial electrolytic iron doesn't need to be added back in.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest did an evaluation of commercial baby food in 1995. Their published findings recommended the following: "To give your baby the most nutritious and economical food, prepare your own baby food whenever possible. Using a blender or food processor, it is easy to puree most foods." To keep feeding baby from being an extra cooking chore, why not do what our foremothers and their foremothers did. Just take part of the fresh, homemade, organic food you are eating and puree some for baby. This way baby gets used to eating the foods the rest of the family eats. Your baby is part of a shared common meal. Marooning babies in a high chair with a separate meal from a jar paves the way for the 2-year-old "picky eater."

We have moved so far away from simple common sense when it comes to raising children. Our natural inclinations have been replaced with a dependence on "experts in the field" who often have commercial interests in their advice. Trust simple whole foods that were grown in the ground not pabulum produced in a factory. Set the standard for healthy eating in your home by serving your baby fresh, whole food.

Resources:
 

1. Businco L, Bruno G, Giampietro PG, Ferrara M. Is Prevention of food allergy worthwhile? J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 1993 3(5):231-236.
2. Stallone, Daryl D., Ph.D., M.P.H. and Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D. "Cheating Babies: Nutritional Quality and Cost of Commercial Baby Food." Center for Science in the Public Interest, April 1995.
3. Wolfe SP. "Prevention Programs" -- a dietetic minefield. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1995 Sept 49 Suppl 1:S92-99.

Originally published by Well Being Journal, May/June 1998, P.O. Box 1542, North Bend, WA 98045-1542, 1-425-888-9393

Cynthia Lair has been part of the nutrition faculty at Bastyr University since 1994. She is the author of Feeding the Whole Family: Whole Foods Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents (Moon Smile Press, 1998). Visit the web site at www.feedingfamily.com.