Teaching our children to be
discriminating people begins from the moment of birth. Under careful
scrutiny we begin the painstaking task of introducing our newborn to
'first' foods, the determinants of his future health, a canvas upon
which core strength, behaviour and intellect depend. I have seen the
miracles unfold. My grandsons, aged one and two, are exhibits A.
Development of taste, texture and smell
begins in the kitchen. Mom is the conductor. Introducing baby to
pureed, sliced or diced carrots, peas, apples, bananas, beets,
broccoli, and other 'interesting' foods, during this phase sensitive period, governs baby's dietary
future. Health is the result. Processed foods and
'introductory' grains are not welcome. Their presence is suspect, certainly now.
Feeding baby is a serious matter! Their palates are being imprinted, as love and wisdom guide their moms.
Protecting our children from sugar's
path of destruction begins with first foods. Breast milk begins the process with these focused modern moms, a president, a doctor and
French immersion teacher. They are supported by the 'village', this vast
network of family. A recent program on arsenic in organics
mentioned the high percentage of this chemical in baby's first foods:
rice cereal. Eating 'first' cereals can be problematic in other ways,
too, I am learning. Fruits and vegetables are the royal pair.
Sugar masquerading under other names
but disguised as ingredients is not new. We are ingesting it at an
alarming rate. We know of sugar's almighty power to aid and abet
illness. These modern moms know too. No sugar, dairy or gluten.
Setting the health trajectory for their children has begun. Cereals
are missing. When cereal are included, it seems, the nutrient density
of 13 vitamins is less potent while cereal's 'anti-nutrients' begin
their metabolic interference, too. Oh, my! Baby's digestive system is too
delicate and new to play this dietary game. (But I love my buckwheat
kasha and cornmeal, nonetheless. Let's wait and see. That combo
helped my preemie thrive and survive)!
In my generation - generations ago -
the internet did not exist and today's authors had not been born for
'those' books to be published. Back then, I bought every book I could
find on the premature infant. “Born Too Soon” was #1, in my
library. We learned from books and nurses, too. Nutrition
was not a topic under discussion just the next vaccine on the
schedule of doses to be given. How times have changed.
Advancements in the information
highway, today, have given these modern moms the tools they need to
evaluate this early food game, the most important game of all. My
grandsons eat the foods we hear about, pureed or not, cooked or raw,
depending. Teeth are important tools to be managed wisely. Oranges,
kiwis, cooked beets, broccoli, sweet potatoes, strawberries and
avocados, to name a few, are daily menu options. On the top of the
list is the banana, a fruit high in magnesium. Both boys love this
sweet, 'natural' food made by Mother Nature. It is not food like. It
is food!
Core strength is present in my
grandbabies. Skin elasticity, high level thinking (executive function) and attention skills, early language
development and an understanding of 'be careful', 'hot- danger' and
“Read me a book on the couch”mark the learning curve of these little humans. Real food and loving human interaction did this.
As I enter the kitchen, our youngest - at one- is
feeding himself. Blueberries, strawberries, kiwis and thinly sliced
peeled cucumber are today's favourites. Soon mom gives him portioned avocado, directly from
the 'shell'. He devours it like candy. No fries with that. Just
the delicious morsels of a food widely acclaimed for its nutrient and
healthy fat value. Was that a filling afternoon snack or was it
dinner. Hard to tell. Whatever it was, it will be repeated in a few
hours with other super foods. And no fries with that either.
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