Here - Health Promotion Agency
Here - Health Promotion Agency
Here - Health Promotion Agency
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Feeding the family<br />
68<br />
times. Vitamin C is found in<br />
unsweetened pure orange juice<br />
(diluted 1 part juice to 10 parts<br />
water), tomato and fresh fruit, e.g.<br />
kiwi, orange. This is particularly<br />
important if you are weaning your<br />
baby onto a vegetarian diet.<br />
More foods to try<br />
Add to the vegetable, fruit and cereal<br />
other foods such as:<br />
• Mashed meat and poultry;<br />
• Mashed hard boiled egg;<br />
•<br />
Mashed lentils (dhal) or split<br />
pulses, hummus;<br />
• Full-fat milk products (yoghurt,<br />
fromage frais, custard) unless<br />
advised otherwise by your health<br />
visitor;<br />
•<br />
Full-fat cow’s milk can also be used<br />
for cooking from six months, e.g.<br />
in custard or cheese sauce.<br />
• Make sure you offer a variety of<br />
foods as your baby needs to learn to<br />
like them all.<br />
Foods to avoid giving your baby<br />
•<br />
Salt. Do not add any salt to foods<br />
for young babies as their kidneys<br />
can’t cope with it. Baby foods are<br />
not allowed to contain salt, but<br />
such ingredients as bacon and<br />
cheese will contain some. It’s best<br />
not to encourage a liking for salt<br />
at any age. When you’re cooking<br />
for the family, leave out the salt so<br />
your baby can share the food. It’s<br />
healthier for you all without any<br />
salt anyway.<br />
• Sugar. Do not add sugar to the<br />
food or drinks you give your baby.<br />
Sugar could encourage a sweet<br />
tooth and lead to tooth decay<br />
when the first teeth start to come<br />
through.<br />
• Honey. This too is a sugar and<br />
can cause the same problems as<br />
sugar. Don’t give honey until your<br />
child is one year old, even for<br />
easing coughs. It can contain a<br />
type of bacteria which can<br />
produce toxins in the baby’s<br />
intestines and can cause a very<br />
serious illness (infant botulism).<br />
After the age of one, the baby’s<br />
intestine matures and the bacteria<br />
are not able to grow.<br />
•<br />
Nuts. Whole nuts should not be<br />
given to children under five years<br />
in case of choking. See also Nut<br />
allergies, page 69.<br />
WEANING BEFORE SIX MONTHS<br />
Weaning before six months is not<br />
recommended. However, if you<br />
choose to wean before six months the<br />
following foods should also be avoided:<br />
• Foods which contain gluten, e.g.<br />
wheat flour, bread, breakfast cereals,<br />
rusks, spaghetti or other pastas in<br />
tomato sauce, etc.<br />
•<br />
Nuts and seeds including ground<br />
nuts, peanut butter and other nut<br />
spreads.<br />
• Eggs.<br />
•<br />
•<br />
Fish and shellfish.<br />
Citrus fruits including citrus fruit<br />
juices.<br />
• Soft and unpasteurised cheeses.<br />
If you decide to wean your baby before<br />
six months, start with a teaspoonful of<br />
smooth vegetable or fruit puree (with<br />
no added salt or sugar) or cereal (not<br />
wheat-based), e.g. sago or baby rice,<br />
mixed to a thin consistency. Offer it to<br />
your baby before or after one of the<br />
milk feeds, or in the middle of the feed<br />
if that works better. If the food is hot,