Between 6 and 12 months, complementary feeding is already started, which is not why any food should be introduced, much less in any state of cooking and in any quantity. A series of important factors must be taken into account so that there are no health problems such as gastrointestinal problems or adverse reactions. This is why we are going to indicate which foods are prohibited for children under 1 year of age.
Children can eat anything, it is true, as long as certain quantities, doses and other factors are respected. For example, they can eat eggs, but we cannot give them a whole egg at first, but we must give them 25% of an egg for several days and go up by 25% until we give them a whole egg and see that there are no reactions in your body. The same with fish, chard, legumes, fruits, nuts, etc.
How should your diet be?
A 6-month-old baby should only eat breast milk or formula milk, and from then on he should start with solids , as long as the pediatrician gives his approval. It may be the case that our baby has a slower development and is not yet ready to receive solids, which will lead to frustration, a feeling of hunger and the risk of choking due to not chewing well or not dosing the quantities well.
A child between 6 and 12 months of age can eat eggs, oily fish, beef and pork loin, even ham, they can also eat some raw vegetables such as tomato, carrot, avocado, sauces such as bechamel, croquettes, mashed potatoes , rice, tortilla, yogurt , cheese, bread, soup with noodles or peas , etc.
It will be the pediatrician who gives us the order of which foods are yes and which are not. It is advisable to consult a dietitian specialized in infant nutrition, to ensure that our child eats well, in a varied and balanced way and will not have nutritional deficiencies or go hungry.
Forbidden food
Throughout the text we will see what foods we cannot give our children under 1 year of age and we will understand why they are so negative for them. As we say, a child under 1 year old can eat anything, yes, but taking into account certain things that seem logical, but sometimes we make that mistake.
Salt
The kidneys of children under 1 year of age are still developing and maturing, so this food is prohibited in their diet. In addition, children do not need spices in their food to find the flavors, since their palates and tastes are being formed. Pickled or canned foods in vinegars, oils, preserves, bouillon tablets , powdered soups, etc. are also not good.
Let us bear in mind that for a child under 12 months everything is new, that is, the taste of boiled potatoes, grated carrots or boiled eggs, everything is new to them and their flavors are basic and they like them. In addition, this will help them naturally identify flavors and create their own flavor preferences.
If instead of offering a complementary diet with solids we offer jars, we have to make sure that they do not contain salt in their composition. If it is older than one year, if we can introduce salt sporadically and in very small quantities and that it be iodized salt.
Honey
The consumption of honey in children under 3 years of age can cause botulism , a rare disease, but new cases are registered every year, exceeding one hundred in some years. Botulism is a disease that causes muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, sucking problems, drooping eyelids, among other symptoms.
Even under 3 years of age, honey of any kind cannot be offered, neither as a home remedy against cough, nor to improve fruit or yogurt recipes with cereals, or anything. It is a food very high in sugars, and, in addition, your intestines are not prepared to deal with the bacteria, which triggers the disease. Those over 3 years of age and adults can because they already have bacteria in the intestines capable of dealing with the problem.
There are special cereals on the market that contain honey. Based on the fact that its honey content is negligible, that honey has been treated at high temperatures to kill bacteria that cause disease, making it safe food. Even so, it is better not to offer honey until 3 years old, or the later the better. In any case, honey is not an essential food in the diet, and it is very rich in sugars.
Large fish and game meat
Game meat is also strictly prohibited for children under 12 months of age due to its high lead content , so it is better to offer meat from the butcher shop, such as chicken, turkey, rabbit, beef and pork, always with lean cuts, grilled, without spices and in very small pieces. Game meat up to 7 years old should not be offered, as it can cause neuronal damage.
Large fish can contain a lot of mercury and should be avoided in children under 3 or 4 years of age. Some fish to avoid are swordfish, shark, dogfish, tuna, blue shark, and pike. In addition, it is also necessary to avoid the consumption of raw or cooked shellfish before the age of 4 due to its presence in cadmium, such as prawns, king prawns, Norway lobsters, crabs, etc.
spinach and Swiss chard
Before turning one year old, babies should not consume spinach or chard, according to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety due to the high content of nitrates . In addition, once the 12 months have passed, they should not take more than one serving of these vegetables per day and that the quantity does not exceed 20% of the total plate.
The same goes for algae and beets. The algae is due to excess iodine and that can cause serious health problems in our children, despite the fact that they are foods rich in calcium and iron. In fact, experts do not recommend this food until they are over 5 or 6 years old.
Something similar happens with beets and it is a vegetable that is very rich in nitrates, as was the case with spinach and Swiss chard, and it is better not to offer them until they are 2 years old.
whole nuts
Nuts are healthy, nobody denies it, but they are small and hard foods that do not melt in the mouth, so it is better not to offer them to children under 1 year of age. In addition, experts recommend that you have to wait up to 3 or 5 years to offer this type of food and always with the utmost caution . In case of children under 1 year old, we can offer the ground nuts, for example, a little powder mixed with yogurt.
Something similar happens with grapes or sausages, it is better not to offer them in their natural state until they are 2 or 3 years old and always taking extreme precautions and cutting them in half twice so that they do not occupy their esophagus in case they swallow it whole.
whole cow’s milk
Breast milk has about 1 gram of protein per 100 ml of product, and that is more than enough for a child, so breast feeding is still recommended for complementary feeding. Formula milks usually have a little more protein, perhaps about 2 grams, but cow’s milk exceeds 3 grams and that means an excess of protein for babies under 1 year of age.
Let’s say that children can digest cow’s milk, but their kidneys cannot filter that excess nutrient , hence medical complications can arise, so it is best to avoid cow’s milk and some derivatives until the pediatrician of the child. approval.
vegetable drinks
Vegetable drinks are the order of the day and are excellent sources of minerals and vitamins for adults, whether they follow a vegan or vegetarian diet or not, but in the case of children under 12 months, it is better that we do not try to give them these vegetable drinks.
Vegetable drinks are made of rice, soy, oats, quinoa, hazelnuts, walnuts, coconut, almonds, etc. and should not be included in the diet of such a young child, except for milk formulas that are already adapted for infants. From 12 months onwards, experts advise offering plant -based milk sporadically without replacing other foods with better nutritional values.
undercooked food
Raw milk, undercooked eggs, raw fish and meat, etc. These are foods that must be avoided in the diet of a child under 12 months. With regard to dairy, meat, fish and eggs, everything must be cooked at a minimum of 70 degrees to destroy pathogens that cause diseases such as salmonellosis.
It is better to introduce undercooked foods from the age of 5, and as long as they are reliable foods that we know are free of risks such as salmonella , campylobacter, listeria or Escherichia coli.
So be very careful with soft-boiled eggs, undercooked French omelettes, fried eggs with runny yolk, homemade mayonnaise, scrambled eggs, undercooked cheeses or those made with raw milk, etc.
Spicy
Of course, spicy foods are completely prohibited in the diet of children under 1 years of age. If at home there is a tradition of eating very spicy and hot dishes, we can offer them from one year of age, but in a very controlled way and in very small quantities.
Experts recommend avoiding these practices until the child’s digestive system is fully developed and strengthened, as it could create serious long-term health problems. It is best to ask an expert who knows our child’s medical history and who can advise us.
sugars
All types of sugars are prohibited in diets for children under 12 months, and should even be prohibited for those under 18 years of age, thus avoiding health problems such as childhood diabetes and obesity in children under 16 years of age. But leaving this debate aside, we return to the healthy diet of children under 12 months, and that is that everything that is sweets, soft drinks, energy drinks, white sugar with strawberries, etc. is prohibited.
Sugar is a totally unnecessary food in the diet of children and adults, so as long as we avoid it we will be gaining health and keeping diseases such as cancer away from us.
