Day 106- Feeding your baby

I came across a GREAT article on Mercola's website that I would like to share and expand upon. Although I am not a mother myself (unless my dog counts as a child) and haven't had to worry about what to feed a growing baby or toddler, I can appreciate the difficultly in choosing "what's right" to feed them. We all know that the #1 choice for babies is breast milk. Breast milk provides the perfect combination of proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. It also provides the baby with antibodies, living cells, enzymes, and hormones that they can't get from any other source. But what happens after breast feeding? What foods should you start feeding them?

Weston Price suggests that the first food to introduce to a baby should be organic, free-range egg yolk. This can be done as young as 4 months when the child is still breast feeding. Egg yolks contain special long-chain fatty acids, which are critical for the optimal development of a child's brain and nervous system. Avoid the egg whites for the first year, since that part of the egg can cause allergic reactions.

Here is a recipe from Weston Price:

• 1 organic egg from a pasture-fed (free-range) chicken
• Pinch of natural unprocessed salt

Boil the egg for 3 1/2 minutes. Place in a bowl and peel off the shell. Remove the egg white and discard. The yolk should be soft and warm, not hot, with its enzyme content intact. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt.

Think that it's odd that the first food is not rice cereal? Here is what Dr. Mercola's website has to say about rice cereal:

"Almost every childcare book offers the same advice about a baby's first solid meal- start them first on rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. This has been the standard line for 60 years now.

But there is no scientific basis for the recommendation - none at all.

According to Stanford University pediatrician Alan Greene, other than breast milk or formula, rice is the number one source of calories for infants in their first year of life - and this is a nutritional disaster. The notion originated in the 1950s when baby food companies launched an advertising blitz trumpeting the benefits of white rice cereal.

White rice is a refined carbohydrate, one of the highly processed, nutritionally devoid foods that have been linked to increased rates of heart disease, insulin resistance, eye damage and cancer in adults, and are nutritionally worthless for infants as well. Feeding infants cereal has been associated with a increased risk of type 1 diabetes and may prime your baby for a lifetime of carb cravings for white bread, cookies, and cakes.

According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates lead to excessive insulin release, which in turn leads to falling blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia cause the brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk.

This glutamate is identical to the flavor-enhancing MSG and its chemical cousins, found in literally thousands of food products, which further inflame the problem.

In addition to taking a physical toll on your child's health, food dyes, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and other chemical additives cause a multitude of behavioral and mood disturbances. This is just one more reason to avoid feeding your toddler pre-packaged and highly processed "convenience foods" - including the new microwaveable ones."

What are some better alternatives to rice cereals and processed foods that you can feed your child when they began to eat food? Fresh, pureed, organic vegetables are a wonderful choice. Mercola suggests the following, but these are just suggestions, they are plenty of healthy options:

• Mashed avocado
• Sweet potato
• cooked peas or carrots

Making your own food at home ensures that you know exactly what you are feeding your baby. Granted it takes more preparation and time, but the benefits are well worth it. Research conducted on baby food found that one brand of biscuits contained 29% sugar, and that several other brands contained trans fats, and excessive amounts of salt! For recipes on homemade formula, click here.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP