Stanford pediatrician encourages parents to “get the white out” of baby food
My daughter is one week shy of being six months old, and that means I’ll soon be introducing solids to her tiny taste buds. Rice cereal has long been the staple first food for babies, but Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital pediatrician Alan Greene, MD, wants to change that. Concerned about increasing childhood obesity and growing rates of diabetes, he recently launched “WhiteOut,” a campaign to cut white rice cereal from babies’ diets. USA Today reports:
He is concerned that babies are getting hooked on the taste of highly processed white rice and flour, which could set them up for a lifetime of bad habits, such as a weakness for cakes and cookies.
Greene, who is also author of the book Feeding Baby Green, encourages parents to make healthier choices by pureeing vegetables at home or offering brown rice cereal as an alternative. He adds, “I don’t want people to feel guilty. I have four kids and I figured this out just recently. But it’s time to change.”
Photo by dericafox
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:22 pm
My twins first food was sweet potatoes puree when they were turning four months old; and they loved it. They are now a bit over 6 months and have been introduced to apple sauce (unsweetened), carrots, banana, green beans puree, brown rice, butternut squash and lately yogurt! No processed food for them, just the real thing!
December 4th, 2010 at 11:17 am
as a holistic nutritional counselor and mother of a 4 month old i’ve done extensive research on feeding babies. Baby’s first food should be lightly cooked egg yolk and mashed ripe banana. Grains including rice should not be given until over 1 year. baby’s do not produce enzymes until over 1 year to breakdown sugars and carbs in grains.