by Anne Eglash MD, IBCLC, FABM
Do you wonder what to advise parents regarding their young child’s nutrition, once they start solid food? I assume you know that breastfeeding all by itself is optimal nutrition until 6 months, at which time solid foods should be added to the infant’s diet, as the infant continues to breastfeed until at least 1-2 years of age. At 6 months, infants are ready for added iron and zinc, along with other nutrients. I see lots of veggie/fruit pouches and containers of puffs being pulled out of diaper bags these days. How do we determine what is nutritious, and what is baby junk food?
The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut published a recent document entitled Baby Food Facts.
Complementary foods offered at 6 months for breastfeeding infants need to be rich in iron. Meat, legumes, stewed dried fruits, tofu, and iron fortified cereals are among some of the more common high-iron solids. Infants need to be offered a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. In order to reduce the risk of obesity, solids that are high in sugar, saturated fat, and sodium should be avoided.
The Rudd Center evaluated the nutritional value of a great deal of baby and toddler foods on the market using the NPI scoring system based in the UK. A score of 64 or greater identifies a nutritious food.
Which commercial products below do you think are nutritious, based on an NPI score of 64 or greater? (choose more than 1 answer)
- Nearly all single pureed fruit or vegetable baby food
- Gerber Graduates Organic Puffs
- Annie’s Classic macaroni and cheese
- Plum Organics Mighty Sticks apple carrot
- Kashi Cereal Bar ripe strawberry
- Happy Tot Fiber and Protein Bars
- Gerber Pasta Pick-Ups chicken & parmesan cheese ravioli
See the Answer
Baby Food Facts Report – http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/babyfoodFACTS
Milk Mob Comments
By Anne Eglash MD, IBCLC, FABM
According to the Rudd Center’s Baby Food Facts report, the commercial infant and toddler nutrition industry is fraught with extensive advertising that can be confusing for the average family consumers. As a general rule, pureed fruits and vegetables for babies tend to highly nutritious with little/no sugar, fats and sodium. Toddler food products and snacks are often not highly nutritious, especially grain-based and fruit-based snacks. The fruit-based yogurt snacks scored the lowest in overall nutrition. Cheerios have a higher nutrition score than any finger food marketed for infants or toddlers.
This report also reviewed toddler formulas. They found that the nutritional content of toddler formulas was not superior to whole cows’ milk, with some having an unacceptable amount of calories and sugar. The American Academy of Pediatrics specifically recommends against toddler formulas for children 1-2 years of age.
Finally, the Baby Food Facts report has fascinating details regarding the advertising behavior of the formula companies. Infant formulas are very similar nutritionally because their ingredients are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Despite the lack of unique qualities, many formulas print special child development messages on their labels, with themes such as ‘we are closer to breastmilk than any other formula’, ‘for fussiness and gas due to lactose sensitivity’, and ‘brain-nourishing nutrients’. The report suggests that the Food and Drug Administration take an active role in regulating these health marketing claims. Until then, you can reassure families that infant formula never was and never will be remotely similar to mother’s own milk.