Nutritional experts at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition
Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, answer
questions on vegetarian diets for children and what to feed a
five-month-old.
Q. My son says vegetarian diets are healthier. Is this true?
A. Not necessarily, said Debby Demory-Luce, a research dietitian
with the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor
College of Medicine.
A diet of french fries and bananas is vegetarian, but few people
would consider such a diet very healthy. On the other hand, a diet
that includes plenty of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and a good
source of calcium like low-fat dairy products is healthy whether it
features moderate portions of lean meat or legumes, seeds and
soy-based meat substitutes as the main protein source.
It is true that well-planned vegetarian diets tend to be higher
in fiber and in protective phytonutrients and lower in saturated
fat than foods that comprise the typical American diet. This
healthier diet helps explain why vegetarians are less likely to
have cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension or
weight problems compared to meat-eaters.
Although vegetarian diets can be very healthy, nutritional
awareness is important. Vegetarian teens, like their meat-eating
friends, often fall short on calcium, iron and zinc.
Also, those who eliminate all animal-based foods and dairy
products from their diets need to get a daily dose of vitamin B12.
Fortified ready-to-eat cereals or a diary multivitamin supplement
with B12 can help prevent pernicious anemia, a serious form of
anemia that can lead to permanent nerve damage.
Q: My five-month-old son keeps grabbing for solid foods, but my
sister insists that all he needs is breast milk. What should I do?
A: Follow your son's lead, says Judy Hopkinson, a lactation
specialist at Baylor College of Medicine. He's telling you he's
ready to expand his culinary horizons.
Although many experts say that only breast milk is needed for
the first six months of life, it's important to realize that this
is meant to be a general guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule. Some
babies might be ready for baby foods a month or so earlier, and
others a month or so later. The key is to know the signals babies
give that indicate the time is right.
Introducing solids when your infant is ready is an important
nutritional, as well as a social and developmental issue. Breastfed
babies whose ``readiness'' cues are ignored not only miss the
excitement of new tastes, but could run into nutritional shortfalls
that slow growth. This is because the mineral content of a mother's
milk gradually decreases over time. It's one of nature's miracles
that most breastfed infants begin to show readiness for solids just
when their bodies could benefit from additional sources of
nutrients.
Breastfed babies who are at least four months old are ready for
solids when they show an active interest in food and have lost the
``extrusion'' reflex, which causes their tongue to automatically
push food out of their mouths. They should also have good head
control and sit well when supported. Other cues include being able
to open the mouth for food, close the lips around a spoon, control
the position of food in the mouth and use the thumb and index
fingers as ``pinchers.''
Although solid foods will gradually become a significant source
of nutrients in your son's diet, it's also important that you keep
his nursing frequency high. Offer to nurse before offering solid
foods and continue to nurse him throughout his first year.
