The infant feeding It is one of the issues that most concerns the medical community. The high levels of obesity that present the little ones at present, make evident the need to instill good eating habits from childhood.
Vegetables are one of the first foods, apart from breast milk or formula, that are beginning to be introduced into the diet of babies.
But can children under 3 years of age eat all kinds of vegetables?
Well the answer is no.
The specialists in pediatrics and in food safety indicate that vegetables so common in our country such as spinach, chard or borage should not be consumed by children under 3 years of age.
The reason for this recommendation is that they are vegetables rich in nitrates.
Nitrates and blue baby syndrome
Nitrates are natural compounds that plants accumulate in their green parts. And some vegetables like spinach or chard are rich in this compound.
As explained by the (AESAN), these compounds in themselves are relatively non-toxic. But they have the problem that when they are consumed by people, they turn into nitrites.
And these nitrites, in high concentrations, can cause a blood disorder called methemoglobinemiaor what is the same, they reduce the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues.
In other words, they can cause the child’s body to not receive enough oxygen.
And when this happens, the baby’s skin takes on a bluish hue, a characteristic sign of cyanosis, often called ‘blue baby syndrome’.
Recommendations for consumption of vegetables rich in nitrates
As they explain from the AESAN, “this disease especially affects those babies and young children who are exposed to high concentrations of nitrates through the diet.”
To avoid this, they make a series of recommendations to fathers and mothers in order to minimize the effects of nitrates, without giving up those that these vegetables can contribute to the child’s body.
As for spinach and chard, AESAN experts recommend:
- Do not give them to the child during the first year of lifeand opt for other vegetables.
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In case of including them before the year, the content of spinach and/or chard should not be more than 25 grams/day in children between 4 and 6 months.
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In children from 6 to 12 months the content of these vegetables should not exceed 35 grams per day.
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For children between 1 and 3 years old, AESAN recommends “do not give more than half a serving of chard or spinach (45 grams/day, quantity as a garnish)”.
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In the event that the child suffers from bacterial gastrointestinal infections, they should not eat chard or spinach.
As for borage, AESAN is forceful. Children under 3 years of age should not eat it.
Some more considerations
Since nitrates are a natural compound in plants, chardthe spinach and the borage they are not the only vegetables that contain them.
Therefore, when it comes to reducing the presence of nitrates in the diet of children, there are other considerations that can also be taken into account. For example, how light affects the levels of this compound.
As explained by AESAN, the more light these vegetables receive, the lower the concentration of nitrates.
Thus, opting for vegetables grown outdoors and not in a greenhouse will limit the content of this compound.
Also when cooking the vegetables, the best thing to do is afterwards discard the water in which we have made themthus we reduce the nitrate content
Finally, we must not forget either that, although nitrates are commonly used as food additives in food preparation, they are completely prohibited in baby food.