Prepared baby foods have nutritional qualities comparable or even superior to homemade products. They are, however, more expensive and less diverse.
We keep telling us that ready meals are bad for your health: too much fat, too much sugar, too much salt. But if this is true for adults, what about baby food? Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the UK compared industrially made infant foods with home-prepared foods. The conclusions are not as clear cut as for the dishes for adults. These foods have certain qualities, and exceed their homemade equivalents on several criteria.
The study, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, analyzes a panel of 278 prepared meals available in supermarkets and pharmacies, including 174 “organic”, and 408 recipes for homemade dishes. These were chosen from 55 top-selling children’s cookbooks.
Two thirds of the industrial products tested correspond to the energy requirements recommended for babies from six months old (age of the introduction of solid food in the diet of infants). This is twice as much as for homemade recipes. Half of them are even in surplus on this point. Young children need a lot of energy, but taking too much is not recommended as it can impact their health and the risk of obesity. In addition, food prepared at home provides 44% more protein and fat, including saturated fat, which should not be abused.
Start with plants
Another important component is the nutritional composition of the products. Homemade recipes counted more varieties of vegetables (33 against 22 in commercial products), but within the same meal, the diversity is greater among industrial products, which contain 3 different vegetables, compared to two at others. If industrial dishes are more provided with plants, it is because they are more intended for the first stage of weaning. It is indeed advisable to start the inclusion of solid foods by fruits and vegetables in infants. In contrast, animal products are less varied in prepared foods. Red meat is over-represented, while it is not recommended to consume it in large quantities, while seafood is not present enough. The risk ? A diet too low in fatty fish, which is essential for children’s development.
But the choice of parents is not guided solely by these nutritional considerations. We must also take into account the financial aspect, and on this point, industrial products are twice as expensive as homemade. Even when using “organic” products, it is cheaper to cook yourself. To reconcile nutritional benefits and wallet, researchers therefore propose to alternate prepared dishes and homemade menus.
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