Take Care of Your Children

Here are three important topics concerning the health and safety of babies and children.

Infant Preferences

In 2019, several universities, primarily the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, published a review of 21 studies examining the relationship between infant feeding patterns and their health status and nutritional preferences. Researchers found that infants aged 4 months to 2 years who tasted a single vegetable or fruit for at least 8-10 days showed a preference for the food they tasted, both in terms of consumption amount and eating speed. Interestingly, the infant's preference extended to other foods within the same food group.

Additionally, a review of 27 studies was published, focusing on the impact of the primary caregiver’s feeding patterns on infant weight gain and health. The studies showed that responding to hunger and fullness cues from the infant led to normal weight gain until age two, while restrictive feeding caused overweight and pressuring feeding caused underweight.

What's in the Plate?

In 2019, a study conducted by the American scientific organization - HBBF (Healthy Babies Bright Futures) was published. The study examined the presence of four metals: arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium in 168 baby foods. Parents were asked to buy the most popular baby foods, which included 61 brands and 13 types of food, such as baby formula, biscuits, cereals, pureed vegetables, and fruit juices.

The researchers discovered that 95% of the baby foods contained at least one of these metals. Furthermore, one in four foods contained all four metals, and only nine of all the foods tested showed no traces of the four metals. Moreover, 94% of the foods contained lead, 3/4 contained cadmium and arsenic, and 1/3 contained mercury. I advise: Try to breastfeed at least until six months old, and feed them homemade foods that haven't been industrially processed until the age of one.

"Toxin Awareness" for Kids

The National Poison Information Center at Rambam Medical Center,the Ministry of Health, and the BETEREM organization for child safety released data about child exposure to toxins in 2018. It was revealed that 21,829 children were exposed to toxins that year, with about 90% of poisoning cases occurring in their own homes, where 80% resulted from ingestion. Additional exposures occurred from eye contact, inhalation, and skin exposure. It also became clear that around 55% of poisonings were in children under eight years old. A more detailed breakdown shows that 45.4% of all poisoning cases involved infants and children up to five years old. In this age group, 2,512 children were referred to the emergency room or hospitalized, with 224 suffering moderate to severe injuries. It also turns out that approximately 47% of child poisonings are due to medication exposure, approximately 43% due to chemical exposure like cleaning materials, and about 4% due to exposure to poisonous plants and venomous animals. In short, create a safe home environment for your children.

Want to know more? Purchase the course series"Growing Healthy", taught by naturopath Sarah Bar Asher. Availableat the Jewish Campus on the Hidabroot website.

Sarah Bar Asher is a naturopath and lecturer on nutrition and the food industry.