There are many types of food that are unsuitable for babies and toddlers and we as carers and parents need to have extra care, for example: we should avoid cooking with salt because it is associated to hypertension and their kidneys have difficulty in eliminate the excess.
When cooking for babies and toddlers with salt we should be in attention the guideline salt intake, where babies from birth to age of 6months should be less than 1 g/d because breast milk or formula already has enough salt for their bodies. Babies from 7months to 1 year 1g/d; 1 to 3 years 2 g/d; 4 to 6 years3g/d (...)
Always have extra care when cooking with salt for babies or toddlers.
It is recommended that children up to 1 year do not consume honey; it can be contaminated with spores of Clostridium botulinum bacteria responsible for transmitting the intestinal botulism.
In the first year of life, the intestinal flora is still in development and cannot stop the action of these bacteria.
Sugar or refined sugar, are high calories foods, poor in nutrients and in overconsumption can cause a number of diseases.
Excessive sugars intake while increasing the concentration of insulin in the blood also increases the amount of adrenaline causing irritation, anxiety, arousal, and difficulty concentrating.
Sugar is not only present in sweets, but also in frizzy juices and some types of yogurts.
One well known disease of children and adults are tooth decay and gum inflation caused by habitual intake of sweets and frizzy juices.
Nuts are foods at higher risk of causing allergies and should be only introduced to children after age of 5.
The probability of a potentially allergic reaction increases with the presence of allergic parents and with early or late introduction of a new food.
It is also important, the amount and the frequency with which the food will be offered to children.
Eggs are also an allergenic food and it should be given only on babies by the age of 6 months and never before.
When cooking eggs, they must be firstly thoroughly washed and cooked well to reduce the risk of salmonella infection.
The symptoms of salmonella infection may vary of intensity but in general are strong diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, high fever.
The treatment is drink fluids to avoid dehydration and in sometimes antibiotic medicines.
It is not recommended introduce more than one new food at a time, because if an allergic reaction occurs the possible cause will be difficult to identify.
It should be introduced in small quantities and observe the following 48 hours if they have any allergic reaction.
Everybody knows that fish is very good for babies and adults because they have plenty of protein. But we need to have extra care when giving to babies swordfish, shark and marlin, because they contain high levels of mercury which can be prejudicial to the development of the baby nervous system.
Shellfish can trigger serious allergies and food poisoning, therefore should not be eaten by children until they are older.
