Food progression for babies

When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods | Nutrition

For more information about how to know if your baby is ready to starting eating foods, what first foods to offer, and what to expect, watch these videos from 1,000 Days.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different. How do you know if your child is ready for foods other than breast milk or infant formula? You can look for these signs that your child is developmentally ready.

Your child:

Sits up alone or with support.
Is able to control head and neck.
Opens the mouth when food is offered.
Swallows food rather than pushes it back out onto the chin.
Brings objects to the mouth.
Tries to grasp small objects, such as toys or food.
Transfers food from the front to the back of the tongue to swallow.

What Foods Should I Introduce to My Child First?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that for most children, you do not need to give foods in a certain order. Your child can begin eating solid foods at about 6 months old. By the time he or she is 7 or 8 months old, your child can eat a variety of foods from different food groups. These foods include infant cereals, meat or other proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, yogurts and cheeses, and more.

If your child is eating infant cereals, it is important to offer a variety of fortifiedalert icon infant cereals such as oat, barley, and multi-grain instead of only rice cereal. Only providing infant rice cereal is not recommended by the Food and Drug Administration because there is a risk for children to be exposed to arsenic. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Administrationexternal icon to learn more.

How Should I Introduce My Child to Foods?

Your child needs certain vitamins and minerals to grow healthy and strong.

Now that your child is starting to eat food, be sure to choose foods that give your child all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Click here to learn more about some of these vitamins & minerals.

Let your child try one single-ingredient food at a time at first. This helps you see if your child has any problems with that food, such as food allergies. Wait 3 to 5 days between each new food. Before you know it, your child will be on his or her way to eating and enjoying lots of new foods.

Introduce potentially allergenic foods when other foods are introduced.

Potentially allergenic foods include cow’s milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Drinking cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages is not recommended until your child is older than 12 months, but other cow’s milk products, such as yogurt, can be introduced before 12 months. If your child has severe eczema and/or egg allergy, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse about when and how to safely introduce foods with peanuts.

How Should I Prepare Food for My Child to Eat?

At first, it’s easier for your child to eat foods that are mashed, pureed, or strained and very smooth in texture. It can take time for your child to adjust to new food textures. Your child might cough, gag, or spit up. As your baby’s oral skills develop, thicker and lumpier foods can be introduced.

Some foods are potential choking hazards, so it is important to feed your child foods that are the right texture for his or her development. To help prevent choking, prepare foods that can be easily dissolved with saliva and do not require chewing. Feed small portions and encourage your baby to eat slowly. Always watch your child while he or she is eating.

Here are some tips for preparing foods:

Mix cereals and mashed cooked grains with breast milk, formula, or water to make it smooth and easy for your baby to swallow.
Mash or puree vegetables, fruits and other foods until they are smooth.
Hard fruits and vegetables, like apples and carrots, usually need to be cooked so they can be easily mashed or pureed.
Cook food until it is soft enough to easily mash with a fork.
Remove all fat, skin, and bones from poultry, meat, and fish, before cooking.
Remove seeds and hard pits from fruit, and then cut the fruit into small pieces.
Cut soft food into small pieces or thin slices.
Cut cylindrical foods like hot dogs, sausage and string cheese into short thin strips instead of round pieces that could get stuck in the airway.
Cut small spherical foods like grapes, cherries, berries and tomatoes into small pieces.
Cook and finely grind or mash whole-grain kernels of wheat, barley, rice, and other grains.

Learn more about potential choking hazards and how to prevent your child from choking.

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Baby's first foods: The 10 best foods for babies

These 10 first foods are ideal for your baby because they're full of essential nutrients, reasonably priced, easy to prepare, and delicious. Avocados contain healthy fats, while bananas are loaded with potassium. Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants, whereas broccoli offers fiber and folate. Both lentils and meat are packed with protein. Prunes can help with constipation, and yogurt helps form healthy bones and teeth. Sweet potatoes and winter squash are great sources of beta-carotene and vitamin C.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it's important to offer your baby a variety of healthy foods. There are lots of healthy, baby-friendly foods out there, but these 10 recommended by doctors and dietitians alike stand out from the pack. From vitamin-rich fruits and veggies to meats and beans loaded with protein, these superfoods are full of essential nutrients, reasonably priced, easy to prepare, and delicious.

Many are also favorite first foods. Before introducing solids, talk to the doctor about your baby's readiness for solids, and which foods to introduce and when. Then introduce foods one at a time, waiting at least three days after each new food to watch for any allergic reaction.

Avocados

BabyCenter parents are all about avocado as a first food. This buttery fruit-vegetable is rich in healthy unsaturated fats that help boost brain development. In fact, the fat composition of avocados is somewhat similar to that of breast milk.

Serving ideas: Mash avocado with a fork, or make baby guacamole.

Bananas

Known as a good source of potassium, this grab-and-go fruit also contains vitamins B6 and C, fiber, and magnesium.

Serving ideas: Make banana and mango puree. Or, for your little one's first smoothie, puree banana and peach chunks with whole-milk yogurt.

Blueberries

Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants. The deep, brilliant blue of these berries comes from flavonoids that benefit your baby's eyes, brain, and even urinary tract.

Serving ideas: Blend or mash blueberries well and swirl a spoonful of the juicy purple puree into yogurt, or top silky coconut milk rice pudding with blueberry compote.

Broccoli

This cruciferous vegetable is a rich source of essential nutrients, including fiber, folate, and calcium. Introduce your baby to broccoli's bold flavor early, and you'll be expanding their tastes and encouraging a lifelong love of green vegetables.

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Serving idea: Steam until soft, cut into pieces small enough for your child to eat safely, and then chill. Steaming takes the bite out of broccoli, and some babies prefer the texture and taste when it's cold.

Lentils

Beans and other legumes pack lots of lean protein and fiber. But unlike larger beans, little lentils simmer into a pleasing mush just right for baby bites. They're also one of the cheapest healthy foods you can buy.

Serving ideas: Cook finely diced carrots along with the lentils. As your baby gets older, double up on nutrient-rich foods by making lentil and spinach stew.

Meat

Lack of iron can cause anemia. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends meat as a first food because it's such a great source of protein, zinc, and iron, especially red meat and dark poultry meat. Plus, babies absorb iron more easily from meat than from iron-fortified cereals, another common first food.

Serving ideas: If your baby is new to solids, try our easy turkey or chicken puree recipe. As they get older, introduce new flavors with chicken curry with green beans and zucchini or shepherd's pie.

Prunes

Whether you call them "prunes" or "dried plums," these humble fruits don't sound glamorous – but they're soft, sweet, and full of fiber. Your baby may suffer from constipation when switching to solids, as it's a big change for their system. Add pureed prunes to your baby's diet to aid digestion and keep things moving.

Serving ideas: Serve pureed prunes alone or mixed with other foods, such as oatmeal, cereal, or applesauce, for a naturally sweet treat.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of the more popular first foods for babies, who tend to like both their sweetness and texture. These colorful root vegetables are packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, and minerals, including iron and copper.

Serving ideas: Serve sweet potato puree alone or swirled into pureed chicken or turkey.

Winter squash

Orange- or yellow-fleshed hard winter squashes such as butternut, acorn, and pumpkin boast many benefits, one of which is they're exceptionally rich in beta-carotene, recognized for being great for eyes. Squash is also an excellent source of vitamin C. Natural sweetness and a creamy texture add to the appeal of winter varieties.

Serving ideas: Roast a winter squash like butternut, scoop out the flesh, and puree it for an easy first food. As your baby gets older, introduce new flavors and textures with dishes like smashed chickpea and butternut chili.

Yogurt

Creamy yogurt is rich in calcium and vitamin D, necessary for healthy bones and teeth. Your baby can have it at 4 to 6 months, long before they'll be ready for cow's milk.

Opt for plain yogurt with no added sugar. Also look for a brand with the most live cultures, which help regulate the good bacteria in your baby's digestive tract. Make sure you pick up whole-milk yogurt – babies need the calories from fat.

Serving ideas: Yogurt is fine on its own, or swirl in pureed berries or other fresh fruit, applesauce, or mashed avocado.

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Named the main ways to prevent allergies in children

05/31/2018 at 17:39 Society 6613

"Drink, children, milk - you will be healthy!" The words of this children's song-game in Soviet times served, in fact, as a guide to action. But today, no competent immunologist will give such advice. According to recent studies, drinking whole milk is generally dangerous for children under one year old - you can get an allergy. And first-years should not eat nuts, fish, roast in the sun. This and many other things were told by the manager who came to MK. Department of Allergology of the Clinic of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology", Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Vera REVYAKINA, answering questions from the editors and our readers.

But today, the risk factors for the development of "classic" allergies can be not only heredity and products containing allergens, but also household chemicals, car exhaust, not to mention the pollen of flowering trees and grasses, pet hair, insect bites... Where to look for salvation?

The most insidious cat allergen

— Vera Afanasievna, not so long ago, immunologists recognized only genetically inherited allergies. Now they are already talking about the fact that it can be purchased, “earned”. What does it mean?

- Allergy is like a chameleon, it changes all the time. According to recent research, it is constantly transforming. In a small child, for example, at first there is a food allergy to some product (fruit, vegetable). Then its boundaries expand: an allergy to house dust, to the pollen of flowering trees, grasses is superimposed on the food allergen. If earlier we, immunologists, believed that food allergies occur only in young children and up to a certain age, today it occurs even in older students. And then, alas, it will not be possible to recover from it. A person will have to live with this all his life.

But before the disease, a lot depends on the people themselves: their lifestyle, nutrition, habitat... For example, the environment changes, and the impact of allergens on people, unfortunately, will also change.

Photo: Natalia Muschinkina

— Now almost every city apartment has a cat or a dog. “For as long as I can remember, we have always had cats in our house,” a MK reader wrote. — Now I'm already an adult, my cat is three years old. When he was small, my body did not react in any way to his hair, and in general I never had an allergy. But now, if I stroke him, my fingers swell and begin to itch a lot. And if his saliva gets on my hands, an allergy begins.” Why did it happen? And what to do?

- Exposure to the cat allergen has rebuilt her immune system. There was a natural hyposensitization - the formation of tolerance to one type of allergen and an increased reaction to another. It often happens like this: a person reacted to one type of allergen, and the cat allergen interrupted him. He turned out to be stronger and survived. In this case, it is better to remove cats from the house. And this must be done without fail, especially if the family has a small child. Cat allergen is one of the strongest.

But what I noticed is that many pet owners love their pets even more than their children. This is problem. Parents often come to us, complaining that after the appearance of an animal in the house (cat, dog, hamster or bird), their children began to experience coughing fits, runny nose, watery eyes. These are clear signs of an allergy. You tell your parents: the cat (dog) needs to be removed from the child. And they categorically answer: “No, no, we lived with them for 5, 10, 12 years, and parting is simply unrealistic.” But as soon as mom or dad themselves suffocate from allergies, they will suddenly find where to attach their animals - they will give them to friends and acquaintances.

— But this is pure selfishness!

— Of course. It’s even useless to tell such parents that they should limit contact with pets: they stopped having mercy on them - they didn’t hug, kiss, squeeze in their hands ... By the way, cats are more allergenic than cats. But neutered cats are less allergenic. And bald cats are allergenic, just like everyone else. I hope that soon there will be a treatment with a cat allergen: like with like. What is its essence? A cat allergen is introduced into the human body (in the nose, in the mouth in the form of drops or tablets) in minimal amounts, and tolerance to it is formed. But, unfortunately, such allergens exist only abroad, in Russia they are not yet available. True, ardent cat lovers manage to order them abroad, bring them to us, and we introduce these allergens to patients.

There is no other way to get rid of cat allergies yet. And if the family does not get rid of the cat, the child develops allergic rhinitis, which then turns into bronchial asthma. Upper respiratory symptoms will progress to lower respiratory symptoms. And asthma, this is the most serious disease, such a child will have forever. She will need to be controlled for the rest of her life.

“If the summer is dry and hot, allergy sufferers will not do well”

— Vera Afanasyevna, I heard that pollen from flowering weeds is the most aggressive in late May — June. Is it so? And what are these plants? Poplar fluff has already flown. Is it true that residents of megacities are most prone to allergies?

- There are several nuances here. Urban pollen is indeed much more aggressive than agricultural pollen. It absorbs in itself all those particles that are produced, including by road transport. There are a lot of cars in our city, and when the weather is hot, emissions are deposited on the pollen of plants. And urban weeds at this time of the year are much more aggressive than field and country ones. The pollen of cultivated plants and the plants themselves (vegetables, fruits, berries) are also allergenic, since many different chemical agents are used for their processing, cultivation, and weed control.

A lot will also depend on the weather. If in June it will be hot and dry, there will be no rain, allergy sufferers will not be in trouble. Including from weeds. As you know, the trees bloom for a short time, and they have almost faded. But weed meadow and cereal grasses (wormwood, quinoa, ragweed, bluegrass, fescue and many others) will "nightmare" people almost all summer. Therefore, in summer, weeds should be most of all afraid.

- It is believed that today even the sun's rays are allergenic. After walking on the street, someone has red spots and blisters on their hands, like burns. How to deal with it?

— Before going out, put on a long-sleeved shirt, a hat with a brim, and gloves. Lubricate the exposed parts of the body with a cream with a high degree of protection. You need to buy them in a pharmacy, and not in perfume shops. And on sunny days, go outside only before 11 and after 16 hours. This is the simplest but most effective.

— What should children be afraid of? Many of our readers ask about this.

- Keep them out of the sun. Do not take small children to hot countries. In nutrition, especially for a child under 12 months, as I said, exclude whole milk, fish, seafood and products containing nuts, especially peanuts. Even if a child is not allergic genetically, he has a 10% chance of having an allergy. If the baby is fed foods that have high allergic properties, he may experience allergic reactions. And if he has had intestinal or rotavirus infections, this is also a factor in the occurrence of allergies in the future.

And if your child is in a high-risk group, you need to pay special attention to him from birth. If the mother is breastfeeding him, she should also follow a hypoallergenic diet and breastfeed him as long as possible. And if she does not breastfeed, and the child is a potential allergic person, give him prophylactic mixtures. A lot of them. There are good Russian ones.

“Among meat products, chicken contains the strongest allergens”

— Vera Afanasievna, you are an allergist with 35 years of experience. Can we say that science has stepped forward over the years when it comes to the prevention and treatment of allergies? And what did she "reach for"? After all, the incidence of allergies in Russia is growing exponentially.

— Today, there are a lot of drugs for the treatment of allergies that allow both to control the course of the disease and achieve long-term remission. Many new developments, treatments, approaches to the treatment of allergies. But the number one problem facing the world community is the prevention of this disease. It is necessary to stop the growth of allergic diseases, including in Russia.

INFORMATION "MK"

Every fourth inhabitant of the planet suffers from allergies today, and in 20–30 years every second will suffer. That is, along with progress, the incidence of allergies will also grow. Like a snowball. If we now conduct a study, for example, in Moscow, many more allergy sufferers will be revealed than has already been recorded.

— Alas, after the 1990s, large-scale epidemiological studies of allergies in Russia ceased. In those years, a target program was specially developed according to international standards. It made it possible to obtain true results of the incidence of allergies. Now we are also given official statistics, but they do not correspond to reality. If today we conduct large-scale studies in all regions of the country, we will get much larger numbers.

- But a targeted program of this kind will require large budget investments ...

- Absolutely. But this must be done, because each region must know which allergens to pay attention to. As a result, this will help to avoid severe pathologies, such as asthma. And in the future it will reduce the growth of disability due to severe bronchial asthma. By the way, the World Health Organization has already taken care of how to rebuild the allergy prevention strategy in a new way. But this will take years. And people should live and suffer less from allergies today.

— And what, in your opinion, should be included in such a strategy in Russia so that people suffer less from allergies?

- First of all, you need to change your diet, taking into account the allergenicity of many products. Secondly, to revive health centers, which should be engaged in prevention - including allergies. After all, allergies literally affect everything in the human body: skin, eyes, upper respiratory and lower respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract ... There is not a single system in the body that is not affected by allergies. Therefore, we call on the leaders of the state to take care of this problem.

And all doctors should know at least the basics about this disease. Especially when prescribing drugs to patients. Know that some drugs can even lead to death. This must be taken into account when performing any operation: be sure to ask patients what they are allergic to. For example, novocaine in an allergic person can stop the heart. And with anesthesia during dental treatment, the patient may experience anaphylactic shock. Saving a person can be difficult and even impossible.

But the first place, in my opinion, today is still food for allergy sufferers.

— How can a person navigate the sea of products offered in trade?

- You need to know that all semi-finished products contain a lot of harmful substances (dyes, flavor enhancers, flavors, preservatives, etc. ), which aggravate allergies. And the products themselves can provoke it. Everyone knows, for example, that chicken meat, especially broiler meat, is stuffed with antibiotics and growth accelerators. Yes, even bread today is made from grain that is grown on land that is well fertilized, treated with chemicals from weeds, rodents, etc. It is no coincidence that whole cow's milk is so allergenic (animals now also graze on chemically treated fields).

Today, even with beef, one must be extremely careful: it has also begun to cause allergies. Previously, such cases were extremely rare, but today, according to our observations, beef has also become allergenic. Perhaps something is added when raising livestock and selling meat. So if we talk about products, there are no guarantees of their safety for allergy sufferers.

The only thing that helps reduce food allergenicity is good heat treatment. If the meat is cooked for a long time, and whole milk is boiled well, then their allergenicity will decrease slightly. And if you make cottage cheese or yogurt from whole unboiled milk, then the allergenicity will also decrease (the protein has fewer allergenic properties). But with fish, this "trick" will not work. No matter how much you cook it, or fry it, or steam it, its allergenicity will not decrease. Even her pairs during preparation are very allergenic. Yes, and just contact with raw fish can cause an allergic reaction.

Of the meat products, the strongest allergens initially contain chicken. This is explained not only by their harmful diet, antibiotics. This is the structure of chicken meat itself: it predisposes to an allergic reaction. An allergy is caused by the food protein contained in meat, and it has a certain molecular weight. Chicken in this sense in the first place. We do not even recommend chicken meat for allergy sufferers. We recommend only turkey and guinea fowl meat - it gives the least allergic reaction.

“Vaccination against allergies is not recommended for babies”

— Vera Afanasievna, today vaccinations save people from many diseases. Is Allergy Immunization Possible?

— There are no vaccinations against allergies yet. The only thing that can be done is to carry out allergen-specific therapy (it is called allergic vaccination). When an allergen is detected in a person, doctors can artificially introduce this allergen into the body in order to develop tolerance (tolerance) to it. But such a procedure can be carried out only from a certain age, not earlier than 5 years. And before the age of 5, this cannot be done at all. Previously, they tried to form food tolerance, and in different ways, but nothing worked. And now it doesn't work. There is practically no such thing anywhere.

True, in America some results of tolerance to nuts have been obtained. And now, nut allergens are used for specific treatment of allergy-dependent people. And in Russia, they found out that with age, the allergenic reaction to cow's milk decreases. And now it is possible to conduct allergen-specific immunotherapy for those who are allergic to whole cow's milk. Only in this case, the body will produce certain antibodies to milk allergy. But in large quantities such procedures, which is understandable, cannot be carried out.

Prevention of allergies on a mass scale, for example at school, can only be carried out through the formation of intestinal microflora. This is also one of the modern directions - when children are given probiotics, which rebuild the immune system in the body, and allergies decrease. There are already several gradations of such drugs. They are sold in pharmacies and only by prescription. It is dangerous to use them yourself, especially repeatedly and without the supervision of a doctor - the drugs themselves turn into allergens. Everything is very individual.

Authors:

Alexandra Zinoviev

Russia Moscow Children Weather Medications Biotechnology Clinics healthcare Science

Published in the newspaper "Moskovsky Komsomolets" No. 27695 dated June 1, 2018

Newspaper headline: Allergy sufferers can be saved by immunotherapy. But not all

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Pediatrician named unexpected causes of food allergies in children

Pediatrician called unexpected causes of food allergies in children

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Society
Health

7 0 11792

January 31, 2022 13:08
Valentina Rodionova, journalist of "Reedus"

The number of children with food allergies is growing exponentially. Over the past ten years, their number has tripled in the United States, and doubled in Asian countries. In Russia, every fourth or fifth child suffers from allergies. Pediatrician Vera Revyakina, Doctor of Medical Sciences, told Reedus about this.

Researchers have recently discovered two new factors that contribute to the development of allergies in children, she says. This is smoking and severe stress.

“Smoking. And not only active, but also passive if one of the parents smokes in front of the child. Passive smoking is considered as one of the powerful factors stimulating the development of allergies," , Professor Vera Revyakina told Reedus.

In addition, even breastfed babies can develop food allergies if the mother is under severe stress. Frequent quarrels between parents in front of a child also provoke the disease.

“Stress, especially traumatic situations in the family. This is a very powerful factor. Because even if the mother is breastfeeding the baby, and this is the ideal type of feeding, the baby may experience allergic reactions. This happens if the mother is in a stressful state, ”, the expert noted.

Although the main factors in the development of allergies are still hereditary predisposition and poor ecology.