Why diversify from 4 months?
Today, it is recommended to diversify the diet of infants between 4 and 6 months, especially in cases of allergic ground. All studies have demonstrated, without exception, the benefit of this measure. They made it possible to identify an ideal firing window. “Before four months, the digestive and immune system is not ready, and after 6 months, the body is less tolerant of diversification”, explains Professor Tounian. The main thing is to introduce as much food as possible between four and six months, among those recommended.
The WHO, however, recommends milk for up to 6 months. Why ?
“The WHO recommendations mainly target third world countries where the problem is not so much the prevention of allergies as a sufficient and quality nutritional intake”, specifies Pr Tounian, head of the pediatric nutrition department at the Armand-Trousseau hospital (Paris). In this context, the breastmilk remains the best food for up to 6 months and beyond. In France, the problem is quite different. While breast milk is also recommended for the first six months of life, for its nutritional qualities and its benefits for the immune system, “We must offer other foods in small quantities before six months, without fear of deficiencies, infections or intolerance”, adds the professor.
Isn’t it a bit early to start the spoon?
It is not about replacing milk with a new food. Around 4 or 5 months, the vast majority of children take the bottle. It is then easy to mix a teaspoon of compote or soup with milk the first few times, then gradually increase the doses over the weeks. For breastfed infants, the spoon remains. Some won’t want it right away, and you have to be patient. “It is especially a question of making the child taste food before six months”, explains our specialist.
Do you still have to wait 1 year for the egg white?
Until recently, we gave first egg yolk around 6 months, and the white, around 1 year. Nothing has proven the value of this measure and we can offer the white and the yolk from 5 months, still cooked, in the form of a crushed hard-boiled egg or an egg-based dessert cream. Be careful, the raw egg is more allergenic: we therefore wait to have introduced the cooked egg to taste a chocolate mousse made from raw eggs.
Should the vegetables be introduced first so as not to accustom the child too early to sugar?
No problem: starting by putting compote in his milk will not distract him from his bottle enriched with soup, a few days later. On the other hand, it is true that the child takes the fold of family habits. If you systematically add sugar to his Petit-Suisse, he will probably shun plain dairy products. The reverse is also true. “But whatever, a little sugar will not harm it and too many parents are worried about the weight of their child, reassures Professor Tounian. It disrupts the whole family’s relationship with food. “. So we are in distress.
What precautions should be taken with the main allergens?
Eggs, peanuts, fish, exotic fruits and nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds) are indeed known to be responsible for allergies. “As a precaution and to better identify an allergen, they must be introduced on their own, without mixing them with other ingredients, and wait a few days before proposing a new food”, explains Prof. Tounian. In the event of a family predisposition to celiac disease (digestive intolerance to gluten), it is very important to introduce wheat-based products between 4 and 7 months (infant cereals in small quantities according to age in milk or compote for example). Not after! This cuts the risk of celiac disease by 4. “A protective measure from which all children should benefit”, adds Dr Château-Waquet, allergist.
Can we mix several ingredients at the start?
Apart from the main allergens that must be introduced separately, there is no risk of combining foods with each other. The ideal is therefore to alternate recipes based on mono-ingredient, so that the child can identify the tastes separately, and more gourmet recipes to avoid monotony.
