Iron Comes First!

Health Canada advises the first solid foods for infants be iron-rich. Iron is optimal for brain development and growth. By about 6 months of age, babies should be served pork, meat, fish, poultry daily as their iron stores are depleted. Pork is one of nature’s best sources of iron.

Canadian Guidelines Recommend Meats as First Solid Food for Babies

New Canadian guidelines state iron-rich foods should be the first that babies consume when being introduced to solid foods. This includes pork, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, legumes, and iron-fortified infant cereals.

Iron in pork is more readily absorbed by the body

Frequent consumption of pork, meat, poultry, and fish can contribute considerably to meeting infant iron requirements because the heme iron provided by animal sources is more readily absorbed than non-heme iron found in plant-based foods such as infant cereal.

The recommendations are groundbreaking. Previously, it was recommended that babies start out eating infant cereals, followed by fruits and vegetables, then meat as they transition to solid foods. But science indicates there is no need to follow the old recommendations.

The rationale for this change in infant feeding practices is two-fold:

  • Firstly, iron is critical for a baby’s growth and cognitive, neurological, motor, and behaviour development.
  • Secondly, by about six months, a baby’s iron stores start to diminish and those solely fed breast milk will not meet their iron requirements and are in danger of becoming anemic or iron deficient. Iron deficiency during infancy and childhood may affect proper brain development which is irreversible.

Pureeing meat is as simple as making fruits and vegetables into baby food. However, pureed meat for babies should not contain added salt, sugars, or oils. The amount of food offered should be guided by the infant’s hunger and satiety cues.

Nature has provided delicious, iron-rich pork perfectly compatible with the way humans absorb iron – very efficiently. Adding meat to a meal also helps our bodies absorb up to four times the amount of iron from other foods like green vegetables, bread, and cereals. Given the small size of a baby’s stomach, serving meat at each meal makes good nutritional sense.

Iron may prevent behavioural issues in small babies

In a study published in Pediatrics, scientists at Umea University in Sweden found iron supplements may help boost brain development and ward off behavioural problems in low-birth-weight infants. Low-birth-weight infants are more likely to end up iron deficient and need more of the nutrient for catch-up growth.

In the randomized controlled trial, researchers followed 285 infants born between 4 pounds, 7 ounces and 5 pounds, 8 ounces. When the babies were six weeks old, the researchers randomly assigned them to get iron drops or iron-free placebo drops each day until their six-month birthday.

Then at age three and a half, the children were assessed for intelligence and their parents were surveyed about the child’s behavioural issues. The researchers compared kids in the iron-drops and iron-free study groups with another 95 children who were born at a normal weight.

There were no significant differences in IQ between any of the groups.

However, significantly more babies given placebo iron-drops had behavioural problems, as reported by their parents. The issues included problems managing emotional reactions, anxiety, depression, and sleep and attention problems.

The researchers suggest a casual relation between infant iron deficiency and later behavioural problems. They are continuing to monitor the same group of children as they get older, to see if new cognitive or behaviour problems develop, or old ones get better.

It is important all parents meet with their health care provider to discuss their baby’s iron requirements.

Sourced from Globe and Mail, Reuters and information provided by Karine Gale, RD, Canada Beef Inc. 

References

Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants – Recommendations from Birth to Six Months (A joint statement of Health Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada, and Breastfeeding Committee for Canada,  September 2012).

www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/infant-nourisson/recom/index-eng.php

Effects of Iron Supplementation of LBW Infants on Cognition and Behavior at 3 Years, Pediatrics 2013; 131:1 47-55; published ahead of print December 10, 2012, doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0989.

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/1/47.abstract?sid=7f1a1e17-b0d4-41bf-ba53-4d16113af81a