An approximate of 125,000 children under the age of five fall ill and die due to food poisoning every year. This means, out of the entire global population of people afflicted with food poisoning, 40% are babies.
Giving the right nutrition to your child during the early years of their development is extremely important for their health, safety, and wellbeing. Although socio-economic factors affect nutrition in certain parts of the world, developed countries see parents overindulging their babies with foods that are not meant for them.
Here is a list of the top 5 foods that you should absolutely avoid giving your baby:
Packaged fruit juices and soda
Although fruit juices seem harmless and beneficial even, they will only do harm to your baby. The artificial sugar and sweeteners in the packaged fruit juices contain sugars which will rot your baby’s teeth. Sodas too have the same effect.
Excessive sugar in a young child will ruin the metabolism of the baby and lead to the development of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
You should also avoid feeding your baby coffee, tea, and honey. Only breastmilk, formula, and water are safe.
Processed food and cereals
Chips, crisps, packaged meat, flavored cereals, and packaged nuts all contain preservatives like oil, sugar, salt, saturated fat and other chemicals that are extremely harmful to your young one. Avoid including these in your baby’s diet as they can give rise to a host of illnesses.
If you do wish to serve meat or pasta, always make them fresh at home and use very little seasoning.
Cheese
The Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria found in certain types of cheese and they result in infections amongst pregnant women and babies. In pregnant women, these bacteria can lead to miscarriage and premature delivery. Additionally, they can be fatal to young babies. It’s best to skip the cheese till your tiny tot is much older.
Cakes and ice creams
Reserve the sweets for special occasions. The sugars in chocolates, toffies, cakes, and doughnuts can attack the enamel and rot your baby’s teeth. Additionally, babies’ bodies aren’t designed to digest gelatin in ice creams and pudding.
Babies that eat too much sugar tend to put on weight, which makes them more susceptible to illnesses.
Seafood
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish are great for your baby. But this is true only if you give your baby salmon and sardine. Fish like marlin, swordfish, and shark have very high mercury content in them, making them highly dangerous for babies.
Even when feeding your little one fish, keep the bite sizes tiny and make this a monthly affair.
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