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Posted by: BABIES ĂśBER ALLES! on 2008-01-24, 12:20:30
A baby can eat meat as soon as a baby is ready for solids, around six months. "Yet experts say children over 6 months can handle most anything, with a few caveats: Be cautious if you have a family history of allergies; introduce one food at a time and watch for any problems; and make sure the food isn't a choking hazard. Parents elsewhere in the world certainly take a more freewheeling approach, often starting babies on heartier, more flavorful fare — from meats in African countries to fish and radishes in Japan and artichokes and tomatoes in France. ... In a review of the research, Nancy Butte, a pediatrics professor at Baylor College of Medicine, found that many strongly held assumptions — such as the need to offer foods in a particular order or to delay allergenic foods — have little scientific basis. Take rice cereal, for example. Under conventional American wisdom, it's the best first food. But Butte says iron-rich meat — often one of the last foods American parents introduce — would be a better choice. Dr. David Ludwig of Children's Hospital Boston, a specialist in pediatric nutrition, says some studies suggest rice and other highly processed grain cereals actually could be among the worst foods for infants. "These foods are in a certain sense no different from adding sugar to formula. They digest very rapidly in the body into sugar, raising blood sugar and insulin levels " and could contribute to later health problems, including obesity, he says. " msnbc.msn.com/ id/ 9646449 "Meat or pap? Meat as a first complementary food for breastfed infants Although meat is considered an excellent source of iron, it has not always been perceived as a suitable first complementary food. Our perception of first foods has been strongly influenced by the marketing of fortified cereal-based foods, even though the iron absorbed from these foods is extremely low. A recent study has confirmed that the consumption of highly refined and fortified cereal foods may not be the best way to maintain adequate iron status for infants. Researchers from the University of Colorado wanted to determine the nutritional efficacy and effect on infants of the consumption of either meat or iron-fortified infant cereal as their first complementary food. They randomized 84 exclusively breastfed infants at four months of age to receive either pureed beef or iron-fortified infant cereal as the first complementary food, starting after five months and continuing until seven months. In addition to anthropometrical and developmental data, the infants were monitored for zinc and iron status at nine months. What they found: 1. Zinc intakes were greater for the meat group. 2. Head circumference was larger for the meat group. 3. Tolerance and acceptance was similar for the two groups. 4. Biochemical indicators were similar for both groups. 5. Motor and mental measurements did not differ between the two groups, but the meat group had a higher behaviour index. The authors suggest that more research is needed to develop optimal complementary feeding guidelines and conclude that the introduction of meat as a first complementary food for exclusively breastfed infants is beneficial and associated with improved zinc intakes. " infactcanada.ca/ Winter_2006_Pg6_.htm |
