If there is anything that our modern culture gets totally wrong, it’s how to feed babies and properly introduce solid foods. Pediatricians, dieticians, and other “experts” are quick to recommend that the perfect first food for babies at about the age of 4-6 months is rice cereal.
Not only is this advice completely misguided, it is also extremely harmful to the long term health of the child. Such advice contributes greatly to the epidemic of fat toddlers and the growing childhood obesity crisis.
Rice cereal is not a healthy first food for babies
Rice cereal is an extremely high glycemic food. This means that it spikes the blood sugar rapidly. It also contains ample amounts of double sugar (disaccharide) molecules, which are extremely hard for an immature digestive system to digest. The small intestine of a baby mostly produces only one carbohydrate enzyme, lactase, for digestion of the lactose in milk. It produces little to no amylase, the enzyme needed for grain digestion.
Interestingly, avoidance of allergies is one of the reasons cited by pediatricians for using rice cereal as the first food! While rice may be gluten free, it is by no means disaccharide free. Thus, it can contribute to the development of allergies and other autoimmune disorders just the same as a gluten containing cereal such as wheat or spelt. This is why going “gluten free” does not solve digestive ailments in the majority of children with autoimmune issues linked to grain allergies.
This approach may reduce symptoms somewhat, but it does not solve the problem entirely. The disaccharide molecule is still present in high amounts in gluten free grains. A similarly hard to digest starch molecule is present in grain substitutes such as potato flour, arrowroot, bean flours, etc.
Rice Cereal Now, Weight Issues Later?
Why then, is rice cereal so very popular as a first food to feed babies? One reason is that it is so readily accepted by the baby (who wouldn’t like a food that spikes the blood sugar? It is a bit of a “high” after all) and it fills them up like a lead brick leading to longer and more frequent periods of sleeping and more passive behavior in general. Be aware that there are still some misinformed doctors that advise mothers of babies that do not sleep well to introduce rice cereal as early as 3 months old – sometimes right into the baby bottle if the tongue thrust reflex hasn’t yet disappeared preventing the baby from taking food off a spoon! This is a recipe for childhood weight problems if I’ve ever heard one.
If your baby zonks out right after eating on a frequent basis, this is a major clue that what the child has just eaten was not easily digested (this goes for breastfeeding too .. a poor diet that is not digested well by the breastfeeding Mother will result in toxins in her breastmilk which will have an opiate like effect on the child).
Dr. McBride’s book mentioned above discusses this huge issue of toxins from undigested food and gut pathogens in the breastmilk as well. The same goes for adults, by the way. If you get sleepy after eating, it’s because what you just ate isn’t getting handled very well by your gut. The body is basically compensating for the brick in your stomach by putting you to sleep so that a sufficient amount of energy can be diverted to digestion.
Even Health Canada recognizes the dangers of cereal as a first food for babies and recommends against it.
So What is the Right First Food for Babies?
A baby’s digestive system is much better equipped to handle fats and proteins than carbohydrates. For this reason, a wonderful first food for babies is a soft boiled egg yolk from a pastured hen. Take care to only use the yolk and not the egg white which contains difficult to digest proteins. For my own children, I started giving a taste of a soft boiled egg yolk from my own plate starting at about 4-6 months old. Just a taste! If the child is completely uninterested, then try again in a week or two.
If the child likes the little taste that you put on her tongue or lip, then give her two tastes the next day and three tastes the next day, gradually building up to the entire egg yolk. Never force the child to eat. Remember that egg yolk is an extremely rich food and force feeding any rich food can cause the child to vomit.
Benefits of Egg Yolk for Babies
Egg yolk from pastured chickens contain ample amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and natural cholesterol which are critical to a child’s mental development and may be lacking in breastmilk depending on the quality of the mother’s diet. Children who receive sufficient omega 3 fats in their diet tend to speak clearly and understand verbal direction from the parents at a very early age.
I just went back and looked at my children’s baby books and all 3 of them (even the boys) spoke short sentences by 15-17 months of age. First words (Mama or Dada) occurred around 7 months. While these sentences were very simple (“Get that”, “Don’t want that”, “More of this”) I have no doubt that getting ample omega-3 fats from their diet played a big part in their ease of communicating at an early age. The pronunciation was clear enough to be understood even by those outside the family too.
At 6 Months of Age
At about 6 months of age, grate a bit of raw, grassfed beef or chicken liver into the warm egg yolk for baby to eat. This mimics the traditional practice of African mothers who would chew raw liver and then give small amounts to their babies as a first food.
Make sure that the raw liver is frozen for a minimum of 14 days as recommended by the USDA to eliminate any risk of parasites. Mashed banana is also a wonderful carbohydrate to add around this time. Banana digests very easily due to the copious amounts of amylase present. When the enzyme is present in the food, there is no need for baby’s small intestine to produce it herself.
If you can’t source quality raw liver in your area, desiccated liver powder can be used instead.
At Age 10 Months
At the age of 10 months or so, add pureed meats, fruits and vegetables. Introduce one at a time to reduce any chance of a reaction. Best also to avoid high starch veggies like potatoes and sweet potato. These veggies contain very complex starch molecules. They are much more difficult to digest for baby than non-starchy vegetables. Take the time to make your babyfood at home with organic ingredients, and mash the veggies withgrassfed butter.
It is worth the effort! Organic jarred baby food is not only overpriced. It is microwaved, watered down and contains no healthy fats to facilitate absorption.
Consumption of veggies with a bit of healthy fat like butter increases mineral absorption tremendously! You can freeze your homemade baby food in ice cube trays. A quick thaw in a small sauce pan (not the microwave!) makes for a fast and nutritious meal.
Soups made with homemade broth rank as one of the most nutritious foods for babies at this age. The gelatin in the homemade broth is protective against any intestinal bugs. It facilitates digestion too so that baby absorbs as many nutrients as possible.
When Should Grains be Introduced?
It’s a good idea to delay introduction of grain based foods and starchy vegetables for as long as possible. Grains are the hardest foods to digest of all.
Some experts advise that a child pass his/her second birthday before eating these foods. Whatever you decide, it is wise to forgo them until well after the first birthday. Even then, the grains should be properly prepared. This means they are either sprouted, sour leavened or soaked to ensure maximum digestibility. This careful preparation breaks down some of the hard to digest starches, gluten and anti-nutrients such as phytic acid.
It will take every ounce of your will power to keep the grain based foods out of your child’s mouth until well after her first birthday. In fact, the longer you can delay, the better. Teething biscuits, cheerios, crackers, and bread are all favorite foods for moms to feed as soon as the child can sit up in a high chair and grab from a plate. The first thing most parents give a baby at a restaurant is bread from the bread basket.
Babies may love it, but don’t do it!
Resist the temptation to use these foods as a pacifier. Commit to offering only truly nourishing fare at such a young age. The time will come soon enough when your child will have more control over his/her food choices. Wisely use this time of complete control to make sure every calorie baby eats is nutrient dense and easily digested!
Skip the Fruit Juice!
On a final note, whatever you do, skip the fruit juice! Fruit juice from the store, even if organic, is just sugar water. All the nutrition, enzymes and probiotics has been pasteurized away. It just spikes the blood sugar and increase the risk of obesity.
Juice also kills a child’s appetite for hours, even a day or two. Many a Mom has told me that when she took away the fruit juice, within a few days, a picky eater suddenly started eating!
The one exception would be freshly pressed juice diluted with some filtered water. Fresh fruit juice is full of enzymes and nutrition and would be an acceptable drink for baby on occasion. This is acceptable after age 10 months or so.
Still unsure where to start? This video on how to prepare the best first food for baby can help too!
Can you please cite your sources that state when infants start producing pancreatic amylase?
We are going to be starting our daughter on solids soon and are looking into starting her on proteins instead of grains. We would like to read more about this. You have cited Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD’s book Gut and Psychology Syndrome as a source for this article. Could you please share more sources for this idea? Thank you.
Thank you for you info, I will stop giving my child rice cereal at once. But when he is old enough to have solid foods what can I give him we are a Vegan Family.
How do you know that the undigested food in a baby’s gut rots? Doesn’t it simply get ushered through to the colon and eliminated?
And I thought that there was something in breast milk that makes babies sleepy – nucleotides or something?
Why do you recommend certain foods at certain ages? What’s the science behind that?
My mom fed myself and my two brothers rice cereal when we were very young (6 weeks I think), and none of us ever had a weight problem, have allergies, asthma, eczema, nor any autoimmune disorders. I don’t disagree that it might be POSSIBLE for rice cereals to cause these problems in SOME children. But I do disagree that feeding rice cereal dooms EVERY child to the health problems you mentioned.
I appreciate your article and the information presented. However, I wish it were presented in a more balanced way and that your information were better documented. As a new mom, I truly want to do the very best for my kid. But I’m completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of contradictory information and contradictory anecdotal evidence out there, and I don’t want to just blindly believe or disbelieve everything I read.
Hi Sarah,
Thank you so much for sharing this article, It’s really informative for my Sister. My sister was a first-time mother of a 5 month baby. So got more more idea.
Sarah question, it’s out of the article. But I want to know, If you have an idea about..
BTW you might know if there’s Dulcolax for children? Do you think, that can work?
Thanks a lot!
No! Babies should never be given a stimulant laxative! Try more breast milk at 5 months, and nothing else. If the baby is on formula and constipated, then they should talk to the pediatrician.
Thank you so much Jenn!
They’ve taken my niece to the pediatrician and they noticed that her intestines are blocked by something so she needs to undergo a surgery in her tummy.
It’s scary but the doctor said that she can make it easily.
Thanks a lot!
Kate
That would scare me, too! I hope she heals quickly! For toddler constipation (one they’re taking less breast milk or formula, my pediatrician recommended “fruit that starts with a p:” pears, plums, prunes, etc, and the whole fruit, not just the juice. But that’s info for later, when your niece is older.
I dunno if you have considered racial genetics. Kids in India are fed cow’s milk from birth and allergies are way less common there, On the other hand kids born in Indonesia are allergic to cow’s milk from birth. I am from India and I have never heard of any peanut allergies and gluten allergies till I came to USA and was really surprised to see so many kids have it.
So many kids are born in vegetarian families and are raised without any issues. I feel what works for one kid may not work for other. Each baby is different, try different kinds of food and do feed what seems right for your baby.
I do agree with you on delaying fruits and juice until other solids are established. Feeding babies rice as a first solid food is not a modern thing. it’s been happening for thousands of years, so your claim that today’s fat children is because of grain-heavy diets for infants isn’t entirely sound.
Hi there! Do you think it’s ok to give a breastfed 8 month old pastured butter? I let my son try it and he LOVES it. I haven’t been able to find much on the subject online so your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Love the heal thy mouth summit by the way! You had some really great advice tips for oral care. Thanks!
I like the idea of doing the egg yolk at 6 months for a babys first food. My question is how many times/day do you do this? I’m assuming just once. When do you start introducing a second meal & third meal? And what foods are you giving for these supplemental meals?
Thanks Jenn! Such helpful ideas, especially slow-braised meats for a few months down the road – a great way to get iron, and the meat would be tender, so safer! I’m continuing to nurse 5 times/day, which I’m still enjoying!, and yes!, have tried to reheat foods in cast-iron to get a little iron in them! Thank you for your help!! Blessings to you!
Anytime! 🙂