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!
What is wrong with beans that are soaked, etc for babies? Same issue as grains, an enzyme lacking still? Would beans be ok at a year then also?
I used to grind up beans with the grains and soak them b4 cooking around 9 mos old with my last 2 babies. One was not BF after awhile (I normally BF 2 yrs) and we could not afford to buy the milk and the stuff to make it healthy for human babies, we had to use the WIC formula. So I freaked out about her nutrition being dead milk, can you get any deader than POWDER? I fed her all I could. Thankfully I had been able to BF till 8mos. The other baby, I had poor supply again by 5 mos but I was able to keep up a little, so I kept her on it (she refused a bottle too, no matter what) and again obsessed about her solids. I have PCOS, which is a hormonal disorder; it messed up the hormones controlling milk production too, once the pregnancy stuff wore off. (I always have enough milk for triplets, with these last 2 it just quit tho and I even started my period at like 3 mos old–thats WITH night nursing in bed with me! unbelievable)
All this to say, they seem fine still and no obesity either. My older babies I just didn’t really feed solids to till around a year, maybe 9 mos tops. But one (21 yrs old) always had a wgt problem of sorts, esp as she got to be an older teen. Interesting.
I may have another baby and probably will have major, major no-milk/little milk by 6mos again due to my PCOS. So I’m interested in the “early”solids debate still. (to me, early is ANYthing b4 9 mos as I really think breastmilk is proved to be complete till that age, maybe till a yr…and the mom can eat better to cover the bases, such as vit D supplements herself, etc)
Thanx for the great site!
Hi Helene, beans are very starchy and hard to digest like grains even when soaked and cooked so best to wait on those until a year at least.
Thank you Sarah! I did not know that and I will check out the eggs at our local dairy and find out if they are pastured or free range.
Blessings
Would it still be ok to let me 6 mo old try egg yolk from a free range hen?
Yes, quite a significant difference. Free range hens may or may not be pastured. Pastured hens are hens that have access to pasture where there is lots of dung from grassfed animals – cows, sheep, horses, goats = this dung attracts tons of bugs which the chickens use as their primary source of food. This is a natural as bugs are the REAL food for chickens, not chicken feed. Hens that have access to lots of bugs via unsprayed pasture where grassfed animals are grazing is the best possible scenario for hens and it is where you will get the healthiest, most nutrient dense eggs.
Question – is there a difference between pastured hens and free-range hens?
Not to be gross, but for me the surefire test to whether my son is digesting anything is what comes out in the diaper. A baby fed grains ends up with grains in his diaper. My little brothers would have whole pieces of corn in there! Clearly it wasn’t getting broken down. When I see pieces of a food in the diaper, I stop giving that food for awhile. From what other moms have said, I hear grains start to be digested well between 18 months and 2 years (based on diaper evidence).
We are doing baby-led weaning, and I truly believe it’s much better this way — trusting a baby’s instincts as to when he’s ready to reach for food, letting him practice chewing before he swallows anything, and not giving him any food he can’t put in his mouth himself. My son ended up having a lot of food sensitivities, even from my milk, so I’m glad we waited till six months. Eggs are on the list of things that gave him problems (even though he is unvaccinated), so we started with other foods. Ground beef is his top favorite now at eight months old, but he also enjoys shredded turkey, avocado, sweet potato, and pumpkin.
I definitely second those who have said mother’s milk is all a baby needs till six months. The iron stores he is born with don’t run out till then or later, and the gut is also much more permeable at that age. I think it’s much better to play it safe and wait till six months or a little later, rather than risk food leaking through that permeable gut and causing allergies and other problems.
i just have to sace i sooo appreciate this post and everyone’s comments (as well as the entire healthy home enonomist blog!!) As I type this (one handed) I sm breastfeeding our 3 month old son. Already I have family asking when I’m going to start cereal in his bottle because it will help him sleep,ugh!!!!! I will be tryimg the soft boiled egg yolk when the time is right. This gives me a little more confidence to resist the rice!!
My diet, nor my husbands are where they should be but we are working toward it and i want to start our son off better than we did.
Hi Melissa, considering that babies barely chew at all prior to getting teeth (my children didn't chew much until well after a year old, salivary amylase would be of no help until chewing occurs. Regarding pancreatic amylase, I would suspect that the 8 months mark that you are pointing to would be for the average baby. Unless you plan to have your child's production of pancreatic amylase tested at 8 months old to see if it is sufficient to digest carbs, then I would recommend taking the conservative approach and waiting until after a year old.
Thanks, Sarah. I hope I'm not coming off as being argumentative. I truly appreciate your knowledge on this subject and it has been a great starting point for my own research. The point that salivary amylase will not digest grains is only partially true, since digestion does of course begin in the mouth, where food mixes with saliva and salivary amylase breaks starches down to maltose and dextrose. Of course pancreatic amylase does play an important role, too. I finally found a source that discusses its presence in infants, though it was measured in urine and therefore may not give the whole picture. It's here if you're interested: http://www.springerlink.com/content/q013732151177737/ They found that pancreatic amylase appeared to reach levels comparable to those found in adults at about 8 months of age. Thanks again for your information!
I realise I’m a bit late here, but for the benefit of others reading I’ll suggest Nina Planck and particularly her book “Real food for mother and baby” as an appropriate resource. She specifically discusses timing of first foods and why grains need to wait, and (to me at least) does it in a non-preachy way.
this article is from 1977…. Do you have any sources that are more current?
I really appreciate the comments in this section. I too am looking for scientific studies to bring to my pediatrician. My intuition says that grains/high carbohydrate foods are a poor choice for a baby, especially from a blood sugar standpoint, but that doesn’t mean anything to the doctor. I have read multiple blogs that mention the lack of amylase in babies. Most of them either point to the nourishing traditions chapter which does not offer a footnote to support that claim, or they just state it as fact without any source at all. That information must have come from somewhere; I doubt Sally Fallon made it up. 🙂
The links above are a helpful start. If anyone has run across additional information, I’d love to see it posted here!
Hi Melissa, production of salivary amylase is not going to digest carbs for your child. The amylase production we're talking about here is in the GUT, not the mouth. The absolute best books I've ever seen on how to feed babies are Nourishing Traditions Cookbook (this an entire chapter on this) and Nutrition and Physical Degeneration which outlines how the children of healthy, traditional cultures ate. First foods were ALWAYS animals foods (liver, meat, eggs etc), then fruits/veggies. Grains were always LAST if ever. Grains and starches are the most difficult foods to digest. Children who eat them too early even if high quality are prone to allergies and obesity later on. The obesity sometimes doesn't set in until age 9 or 10 so the detrimental effects don't show up until years later in some cases, although fat toddlers is becoming quite common these days due to the high grain diet that babies are weaned on.
Hi Sarah, thanks for your reply. I'm still looking for sources that support this information, however, and would be very interested to read any you may point me to. Of course the avoidance of such refined starches as those you mention is important, but everything I am finding on infant amylase production suggests that by 6 months or so, infant levels of salivary amylase are comparable to those of adults (see this study, for example: http://www.ajcn.org/content/39/4/584.full.pdf)and therefore that there is no contraindication for the avoidance of carefully prepared, high quality grains in the healthy infant of six months or older. I definitely want to consider all of the facts in making decisions regarding my infant's diet, so any other resources you can recommend are much appreciated!