Tag: diet
Introducing Your Baby to Dairy
Nutritionally, babies need breastmilk or infant formula until they are one year old. From the age of six months full-fat cow’s milk can be used in cooking and with baby’s breakfast cereals and cow’s milk can be introduced as a main drink from the age of 12 months.
Dairy is an important part of your child’s diet providing essential nutrients such as calcium. When you start weaning your baby at around six months of age you can begin to slowly introduce a variety of foods.
Dairy can be given to baby from the age of six months in the form of cheese but avoid giving blue cheese or soft unpasteurised cheese, such as Camembert and Brie, until your baby is at least one year old. Blue cheese and unpasteurised cheese contain live bacteria which carries the risk of food poisoning.
Yoghurt is a good source of dairy for baby and can be given from the age of six months.
Allergies to Cow’s Milk
Some babies are allergic to cow’s milk so it is important when weaning your baby to introduce foods one at a time over a few days to check for any allergic reactions. You should seek urgent medical help if you think your baby is having an allergic reaction.
A food allergy is when the immune system reacts to a certain food protein resulting in a physical reaction which can occur immediately or within three days.
If your child has cow’s milk allergy the symptoms will start when cow’s milk is introduced into their diet. Symptoms of cow’s milk allergy could result in diarrhoea, vomiting, skin rashes, stomach cramps and difficulty breathing. In rare cases cow’s milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis.
Cow’s milk allergy is a common food allergy in children and most children who have this allergy grow out of it by the age of three, although it is estimated that 20 per cent of adults will continue to have cow’s milk allergy.
Alternatives
Aside from cow’s milk products there are many food sources that contain high levels of calcium. So if your child does have an allergy to dairy products you can still make sure your child’s diet is rich in calcium. Some good sources of calcium rich foods include sesame seeds, sardines canned in oil, spring greens, tofu, watercress and kale.
Lydia Oliver – Nutritional Advisor Only Best For Baby
This article was published in the September 2013 edition of Mummy and Me Magazine.
I offer one to one nutrition programmes for breastfeeding, post pregnancy weight loss, weaning, weight management and health. Contact me.
Molly
When my sister and I were growing up our pets were from the RSPCA, animal rescue centres or we found them abandoned and needing a home. I’m so thankful our parents helped to teach us how to love and respect all living creatures. This is something hubby and I wish to pass on to Imogen who has grown up with Louis and Mia. It’s so wonderful to see she has already developed a love of animals and knowledge of how to care for them.
Molly is a short haired tortoiseshell moggy who became my very own first beloved rescue cat in 1996. She shared such a precious time with me when I was at University, sitting for hours on end whilst I read books and wrote essays. She then lovingly became part of my parent’s life when I moved from New Zealand to London in 2003.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Molly again and spend time with her during this holiday in New Zealand. I’m thrilled she and Imogen have become friends. Imogen absolutely adores Molly. Molly is now 17 years old which is a ripe old age, even for a cat.
Six weeks ago we knew something wasn’t quite right with Molly. She was drinking and urinating excessively. Given that the summer here has been nothing but hot we didn’t think anything of it until she started to slow down. We took her to the vet and after some tests she was diagnosed with diabetes. That’s the last thing we had considered. I knew little about diabetes in cats and have since discovered the symptoms are similar to humans who suffer from diabetes.
Molly now needs a high protein low carbohydrate diet to help her lose a small amount of weight and two injections of insulin each day to help regulate her blood glucose levels. After making some changes to her diet and giving the insulin twice daily she has perked up and is back to her very bonny self. She is a star.
It’s going to be so difficult to say goodbye to Molly next week, knowing her health and her age. I love her so much. She was there with me throughout my student years, she watched me grow up and she saw me take a leap of faith when I flew the nest and ventured to London. Molly, you will be forever in my heart.
Pregnancy Diet
As a mum-to-be you’ll probably have many questions about your pregnancy diet.
- What do I eat during pregnancy?
- What shouldn’t I eat during pregnancy?
- How many extra calories do I need when I’m pregnant?
Pregnancy affects every woman differently.
I had bad morning sickness for the first 16 weeks of my pregnancy and then miraculously it disappeared, only to come back during the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy.
It’s important to eat foods that will give you and your baby as many nutrients as possible when you’re pregnant, and always remember your baby eats what you eat.
As a Nutritional Advisor and Mum I always make the following recommendations for pregnant women.
Waitrose Organic Apples
What to Eat During Pregnancy
- Eat a variety of wholefoods everyday – choose from wholegrain rice, quinoa, wholemeal pasta, pulses, rye and wholemeal breads.
- Eat five plus servings of fruit and vegetables everyday, if fresh wash them well – go for brightly coloured fruits and vegetables as these contain more nutrients and antioxidants. Go organic if you can here’s why.
- Eat two portions of fish a week, one being oily fish such as mackerel or sardines.
- Eat cooked rather than raw shellfish.
- Eat organic produce as often as you can – you’ll be avoiding the pesticides that are sprayed on fruit and veg, and the antibiotics and hormones that are given to animals.
- Make sure any egg, cheese, milk, yoghurt and fruit juice products you eat are pasteurised.
- Make sure all meat and poultry is cooked thoroughly.
What Not to Eat During Pregnancy
- Cut down your intake of caffeine with no more than two cups of coffee per day.
- Avoid eating Shark, Marlin, King Mackerel, Tilefish and Swordfish. Limit Tuna Steaks to one a week (about 140g cooked or 170g raw each) and limit canned Tuna to no more than four portions of medium-sized cans (140g drained weight) per week. This is due to the higher than average levels of mercury found in these fish which can damage a baby’s developing nervous system.
- Make sure all eggs are thoroughly cooked until the whites and yolks are solid – to prevent the risk of food poisoning by salmonella bacteria.
- Avoid eating any type of pate, including vegetable pate, as these can contain listeria.
- Avoid eating liver or liver products as these contain high levels of Vitamin A which could harm your baby.
- Avoid eating mould ripened soft cheese, such as brie and Camembert as well as blue-veined varieties, such as Stilton and Danish Blue – this is due to the risk of listeria infection.
- Try to avoid junk food, it provides you and your baby with no nutrients and is likely to add to your pregnancy weight gain.
How many extra calories do I need to eat when pregnant?
It’s probably not until the last 3 months of pregnancy that you’ll need to up your intake of calories.
During months 6 to 9 of pregnancy your baby will be getting larger and growing faster as they put on layers of fat in preparation for their arrival. At this time you’ll probably need to increase your calorie intake per day by up to 200 calories, which is roughly equivalent to two slices of wholemeal toast with butter.
That said, I know when I was pregnant that two extra slices of toast and butter a day were not enough to ward off those hunger pangs in the final months of pregnancy.
Listen to your body and be sensible. Eat healthy snacks if you’re hungry between meals and if you suffer from morning sickness it may help to eat several small meals throughout the day rather than three larger meals.
You can find out more about a healthy Pregnancy Diet with NHS Pregnancy and Baby.
