Babie’s First Foods

It can be an exciting, scary and overwhelming time when your baby reaches that 6 month mark and is ready to eat real food!

There is a lot of confusion around what is best for baby at this time, which can lead to false information such as “food before one is just for fun” or, the most common, start with fortified rice cereals.

Before 6 months a baby’s digestive system is not properly developed. It does not have proper enzymes (provided by the pancreas) to digest and break down foods. Foods require enzymes to breakdown to their simplest forms, protein = amino acids, fat = fatty acids, carbohydrates = glucose. When these foods are not broken down completely it can lead to health issues such as allergies and inflammation. Babies are also still building up a healthy gut flora to line the intestinal wall in the gut. This is crucial for their immune system and digestion.

Babies receive everything they need from their mother’s (predigested) milk, including iron and zinc. However, around 6 months of age, the iron and zinc stores baby built up while in utero start to diminish. This is why foods need to be introduced at 6 months. Iron is important for babies neurological development (brain) and zinc is essential for their immune system,intestinal mucosal lining, skin health, cognitive development, growth, physical activity and learning.
Note: studies have found that damage to brain can occur before low iron shows up on lab tests.

Baby’s first foods should contain protein, fat (saturated), cholesterol, and absorbable iron and zinc - similar to mom’s milk. Mom’s milk is made up of 50-60% fat, half of which is saturated fat and also includes a high amount of cholesterol. One of the first enzymes baby produces is lipase which helps to absorb fat.

It’s interesting that these are the nutrients that babies require, yet fortified cereals are still suggested as babies first foods. Babies do not start making amylase (the enzyme needed to breakdown carbohydrates) until closer to 1 year of age. Fortified cereals are also highly processed and void of nutrients. The synthetic vitamins that have been added back into the cereal are not easily absorbed or used by the body. Additionally, cereals, grains and legumes contain a layer of phytic acid that make it very hard to digest, especially if not prepared properly (ie. soaking and sprouting).

So what is an ideal first food? LIVER and other organ meats, but ONLY from grass-fed, grass FINISHED, pasture-raised, organic animals. The animal needs to be free of hormones, antibiotics, gmo foods, grains, pesticides, etc. A healthy liver provides a high source of iron, zinc, choline, antioxidants, omega-3s, copper and vitamin A. Due to the absorbability of Vitamin A, your baby only needs ½- 1 tsp liver.

Other foods include soft boiled egg yolk, bone broths, lamb, bananas, avocados, and yellow and orange vegetables. Bone Broth, ghee, coconut oil and marrow are all additives along with breastmilk.

It’s important to minimize the toxic load on your little one as much as possible, so try to buy organic as much as possible, local when available, and avoid processed and refined foods. Creating a healthy foundation is essential to Nourishing their Beginnings as they continue to grow and develop into thriving, happy, healthy little people.

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