You can slowly build up spices over six to nine months by adding ajwain, jeera, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon powders for flavouring different recipes, says Madhavi Bhardwaj.
I don't think anyone talks about spices when starting solids for their babies in the US but in our desi households, it can't be the case!
Introducing food means introducing a world of spices and flavours to our little ones.
Q. 'Ma'am, how should I prepare dal for my baby? Can I add hing and a little salt for flavouring?
Yes, you can start with some spices while starting solids and then slowly build up.
Hing and haldi are generally considered safe for consumption. Also, turmeric has antioxidant and antibacterial properties and hing has carminative action. Both help gut health and digestion.
You can slowly build up spices over six to nine months by adding ajwain, jeera, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon powders for flavouring different recipes.
Onion, garlic and tomato paste can also be introduced by seven to eight months.
Just go slowly and introduce one new thing at a time, just to be sure which one is the culprit in case of any untoward reactions.
Overall, you can safely introduce most of the condiments by 12 month that you as family consume.
Add chillies gradually around 12 months according to your baby’s acceptance and tolerance.
Now, let's talk about salt and sugar.
Salt and sugar
WHO and ESPGHAN (European Society for Paediatric, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) recommend breast milk in the first six months of life, as it contains enough sodium for the body's growth and development.
From six to 24 months, avoid adding salt to food, since breast milk and complementary foods contain enough sodium content needed for the body.
WHO also recommends avoiding added sugars in a baby's diet during the first two years of age and limiting them later on.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises not to offer highly salty or sugary food items or snacks in the first two years of life.
This new guideline has come to light, keeping in mind the increasing cases of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and other lifestyle disorders in youngsters.
Let us discuss these guidelines in our sociocultural milieu.
The Indian diet has always been a colourful one with plenty of flavours and spices.
Salt has been an integral part of our diet across all ages.
Babies have an inherent liking towards sweet and salty tastes. Their taste buds start coming in between two and six months of age. So, most of the six-month-old babies can appreciate salty and sweet tastes.
When we introduce solids with added salt and sugar, we influence and encourage their preference for salty/sugary food.
Since babies are still developing eating skills, there will be some low intake days and some good days. We as caregivers tend to offer preferred taste more to avoid these low intake days. Gradually, over time, children tend to crave sugar rush or prefer high salt/sugar processed food options over neutral tasting homemade food.
Keeping in mind the easily available junk food options such as instant noodles, momo, snacks, pizza, chips and biscuits, it becomes very difficult to keep our babies away from unhealthy food options.
This is already a common occurrence in our households. Young school children and even adolescents are consuming too much junk food daily these days.
Food delivery apps have made access to outside food just a click away, and by the time young adults realise their mistakes, it is too late. This is why we advise feeding babies fresh homemade food without added salt or sugar.
Here are a few examples straight out of my starting solids workshop to understand the concept better.
'Ma'am, if there's no salt in my child's food, will they miss out on iodine as well, as the salt we use for cooking is iodised, and iodine is needed for thyroid and other functions in the body?'
Iodisation of salt was a healthcare measure, keeping in mind the increasing or high rate of iodine deficiency goitre in our country. That does not mean that there are no plant or animal sources of iodine in our diet.
There was a time when the common man could not afford fruits and veggies or meats and fish daily. The percentage of people below the poverty line was too high. And that is why the most economical healthcare measure was to fortify common salt (present in every household, whether rich or poor).
With changing times, our children can afford good nutrition with dairy products, fresh fruits, veggies, cereals, nuts and seeds and even meats and fish for those who consume them.
Mother's milk itself is a good iodine source for the first six months of life, as long as her nutrition was optimum. Later, with complementary food introduced in a balanced and wholesome manner, the baby's iodine requirements are not dependent on added salt alone.
If for some reason, the baby is on restricted diet like cow milk protein allergy, vegan, fruit, food allergies, do get in touch with your pediatrician to consider adding iodised salt in appropriate quantities keeping in mind not to introduce processed junk food.
With changing times comes a shift in health challenges. Iodine deficiency goitres are no longer a worry for us, but the high consumption of junk food with excessive salt and sugar is.
Now, the greater scare is that of high salt/sugar processed food, which is so easily available in our own homes with food and grocery delivery apps and just-around-the-corner shops.
Since we advise that the baby should be on the family pot by the first birthday. In Indian households, where the family pot includes a lot of spices and condiments, we advise gradually integrating a pinch of salt or more into your baby's diet after the first birthday.
You can bring down the family spice intake, and the baby learns to accept new tastes and flavours and meet you midway.
Excerpted from Bacchon Ki Doctor: A Doctor's Guide To Milk, Myths, Motherhood And More by Madhavi Bhardwaj with the kind permission of the publishers, Ebury Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
