Foods Which Babies & Young Children Should Not Eat

 Parents and caregivers should be wary of the kinds of foods they give to their babies and young children. It is not all foods that are suitable for children's development and nourishment. The World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission, and United States' Food & Drug Agency (FDA) has respectively warned parents and nursing mothers across the world not to feed their babies and young children with the underlisted kinds of foods: 

1. Foods with choking hazards: 

Nuts should not be given to babies and young children under 4 years of age because nuts cause choking hazards. Besides, any seed similar to nuts should not be given to babies and young children. Food like popcorn should not given to babies and young children because it constitutes choking hazards. 

2. High-risk foods for allergies and intolerance: 

Peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish can cause severe allergic reactions to children under 3 years of age. Milk and dairy products can cause lactose intolerance or dairy allergies in some young children. Wheat and gluten should not be given to babies under 3 years of age because they cause gluten intolerance to children. Eggs also can cause allergic reactions in children under 3 years old. 

3. Foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat:

Children should totally avoid sugary drinks or limit their intake. Some examples are sodas, sports drinks, and sweat tea. They should use less than 5 grams of salt, which is equivalent to one teaspoonful of iodized salt, daily. Processed snacks such as chips, crackers, and cookies should be totally avoided or limited in children's nutrition. Fried foods such as French fries, fried chicken, and doughnuts should not be given to babies and young children. High sodium-containing foods such as processed meat and canned soups should not be given to babies and young children. 

4. There are other foods found unsuitable for babies consumption. Find some of them below:

Raw or under-cooked eggs are not good for babies and young children's consumption. It should be avoided because it has every likelihood of containing Salmonella bacteria. Raw or under-cooked meat, poultry, and seafood can as well contain bacteria such as Salmonella, E.coli, and Listeria. Unpasteurized dairy products and fruit juices can possibly contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli. High-mercury- containing fish such as shark, swordfish, and king mackerel can contain high levels of mercury. It should be remembered that atmospheric mercury constitutes a high-risk potential issues to human health. The chemistry of the action is that, when rain is falling, it brings down atmospheric mercury into oceans, seas, rivers, streams, streamlets, brooks, and other smaller bodies of water under the coverage of the rainfall. 

All these bodies of water are natural habitats for fish and all biota living in the bodies of water. Once mercury is introduced into the atmosphere through anthropogenic activities such as mining of in-ground resources and fossil fuels burning, it travels to many places quickly because all atmospheric gases possess high transboundary movement potential. So, it settles everywhere. Once the mercury in the atmosphere enters into any water, a reaction takes place whereby it is converted into methyl mercury (Ch3Hg), a highly toxic gas through a process called bioaccumulation, and accumulates in fish and biota. Therefore, all living things in the water contain methyl mercury. Fish, prawns, crabs, oysters, sharks etc contain methyl mercury! Human beings eat so many creatures from water, thereby indirectly assimilating methyl mercury. So, the eating of fish and other water-based creatures causes great health hazards to man by exposing him to methyl mercury. What is methyl mercury? Methyl mercury is a toxic element found in water and in the Earth's crust (anything in the form of liquid that enters water will surely enter into the ground). Methyl mercury compounds once formed can hardly be demethylated! It is the simplest organic mercury compound and the most toxic of mercury. It is a bioaccumulative environmental toxicant that can build up in the environment, especially in aquatic systems. Methyl mercury is dangerous to human health. It affects pregnant women, fetuses in the womb, and young children. Exposure to mercury causes learning disabilities, neurological damages, and birth defects. The only attested means of minimizing mercury emissions is by controlling fossil fuels burning and in-ground resources mining operations.

The European Commission's Guideline titled, "Food For Infants And Young Children", intends to "ensure appropriate nutritional composition and safety of foods specifically manufactured for infants and young children, as well as appropriate consumer information." The European Commission has defined specific rules for such foodstuffs. The rules concern infants and follow-on formulae, processed cereal-based foods and baby foods. These products are specifically covered by the Commission's Directive 2006/ 141/ EC, adopted under the old legislative framework of Directive 2009/ 39/ EC and subsequently amended on several occasions. The annexes of the Directive give criteria for the composition (energy, protein, carbohydrates, mineral substances, vitamins and certain other ingredients) of infant formulae and follow-on formulae including, where necessary, minimum and maximum levels. The Directive also prohibits the use of certain very toxic pesticides in the production of infant and follow-on formulae, processed cereal-based baby foods, and edible ones levels lower than the general maximum level of 0.01 miligram per kilogram for a few other very toxic pesticides.

By limiting or avoiding the above hazardous foods, babies and young children can maintain a healthy diet and reduce their risk of developing noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiac diseases. 

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