Nutrition Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers:
Healthy Fats and Foods vs Media Hype and Commercial Foods

There is a lot of misinformation out there about correct nutrition for kids. A few examples include: fats (critically important!), soy (terrible!), and vegan diets (terrible!). Some of the reasons for this misinformation include that pediatricians only spend 1 hour in medical school studying nutrition, and the nutrition info we get as consumers are created by the big money driven companies who make infant formula and kids cereals. They are the ones who funded design of the “Food Pyramid” (a joke of a nutrition plan). They all have vested interest in marketing their highly processed junk foods & cereals to all populations, including children. And they don’t even discuss the “healthy fats” which are so critical.

About 35-50% of the calories in breastmilk come from fat, depending on the mother's diet. Until 2 years of age, infants should continue to consume approximately the same amount of fat in order to thrive. Healthy fats are incredibly important for their brain, neurological development, and organ & bone growth. Human studies show that infants under age 2 who consumed a low fat or fat restricted diet suffered from growth failure (height & weight). Ideally, healthy fats should not be restricted until the child has finished growing. While adults guidelines are to consume 30-40% calories from fat, an infant/child should consume 40-50% of calories from fat. It may seem like a lot, but it just takes a few servings of coconut/coconut oil, avocado, chicken, chicken liver, duck, fish/cod liver oil, olive oil, raw grass-fed organic milk and butter (Grass fed contains CLA, vit A&D).

 Vital Choice is a recommended source for fish & fish oil products.

Some parents may be concerned about excessive weight gain in children, but they should never restrict healthy fat consumption- it is critical for proper brain and nerve development in children. Problems with excessive weight gain are often related to excessive consumption of sugary junk foods, salty snacks, fried foods (unhealthy fats), and sweetened drinks and juices.
What are the healthy fats?
Here are 4 types of fats worthy of your attention. Make sure your child gets very high quality, unrefined, unprocessed, organic fats. They become the building blocks of her brain and organs.
Percent = ideal ratio for total fat intake:

1. Saturates 40-50%: Coconut meat & coconut milk, cow milk (raw, grass fed) or goat milk, butter (grass fed), and fat from organic animal meat (grass fed).
2. Omega 9 - 35%: avocados, chicken fat, duck fat, macadamia, olive, turkey fat.
3. Omega 3 – 10+%: cod liver oil, fish oil, flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts.
4. Omega 6 – 10%: In most animal, fish, & vegetable fat, and highly concentrated in corn, safflower/sunflower oil, pumpkin & sesame seeds. Always buy organic as corn and soy are GMO crops.

Infants and children are typically deficient in Omega 3s these days, and increasing this amount can greatly help brain function and development, attention, concentration, learning, behavior, and IQ. Peer reviewed scientific research. The recommended dose is 1/4 teaspoon per day of Cod Liver Oil for infants under 6 months, and then 1/2 tsp per day for 6-24 months, and 1 tsp or more for 2+yrs.

Soy and the Vegan Diet

Soy is NOT a health food. It has powerful estrogen like effects and is harmful especially to infants and children. You should NEVER feed soy to your children. The scientific research on this topic is shocking and disturbing and include failure of penis to grow, lower sperm count, early puberty (2-8 y.o), thyroid disease, cancers, soft teeth, gastro-intestinal malabsorption, and delayed brain development. The multi-billion soy industry does not want you to know about it. Please read more: The Truth About Soy

Infants & children should not eat a Vegan diet

Did you read the article about the parents who got a LIFE sentence in jail for manslaughter of their baby who they killed by feeding a vegan diet?

Here is an article summarizing the Traditional Diets for healthy pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Here is an article on Traditional Diets for babies.

If you still have concerns about beginning to eat meat or animal products, or feeding them to your child, please seek the help of a nutritionist to help you begin the process. It is vitally important to the health and survival of your child!

Raw milk vs pasteurized milk

Raw milk (unpasteurized) is one of the hottest health foods because it is easy to digest, contains immune building compounds, natural enzymes, and CLA which yields true health benefits. The research on raw dairy is fascinating. However, pasteurized cow’s milk is linked to ear/sinus infections, colds, allergies, skin rashes, constipation, and diarrhea in kids and adults. More details on Raw Milk here.

1. Book “Know your Fats” by Dr. Mary Enig PhD (fatty acid expert)
2. Weston Price Foundation: Breast Milk Nutrient Comparison Chart
3. Book: The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla Daniels, PhD
4. Book: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig PhD
5. Omega Research (Peer reviewed research on Omega 3 fatty acids)
6. Raw-Milk-Facts.com
7. The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid

Low Fat Milk for Toddler?

No! If you’re buying low-fat milk for fear it is contributing to your child’s extra pounds, think again. It’s not whole milk causing our childhood obesity epidemic. It’s all the other junk he’s eating, the vitamins he’s not getting, and the lack of physical activity. Whole milk mostly contains its vitamins and nutrients in the fatty portion, so if you get skim milk, your child is missing out on those great vitamins! Not to mention, the vitamins they fortify milk with are the poorest quality and very poorly absorbed. Yet, real natural milk (raw) has the kind of vitamins and enzymes which are easily absorbed.

Natural Remedies for Common Infant Health Concerns

Constipation Age 0-6 months:
If breastfed, mother should drink pear/apple/or prune juice as it passes through breast milk. Also, mom could try removing commonly constipating foods (which pass through breastmilk) like dairy, wheat gluten, and soy. Mom and baby should take probiotics and make sure her gut is healthy. Leaky gut in mom could result in problems for baby.

Or, Rub 2 small drops of Castor Oil on the abdomen, always rubbing in a clockwise motion (as you face the baby, with the bowels.) 4 to 5 hours should result in a movement. WARNING: Do not use more than 2 drops or you will risk giving your baby diarrhea/cramps.

Age 6-24 months:
Pasteurized dairy could be the cause. Try RAW milk products instead, eliminate foods in his/her diet containing white flour and/or sugar, increase healthy fats, drink more water, eat more fiber rich raw/lightly steamed veggies/fruits, ground flaxseeds/chia seeds, and no soy. It would also be a great idea to add a good quality probiotic (beneficial bacteria). Here’s one especially for infants which I’ve used for my baby since she was born. HLC Neonate.

Eczema

Breastfeeding: Mom should get off dairy, gluten, soy, and eggs (which are typically fed soy). If that does not help after 3-4 weeks, try a full elimination diet from Dr. Sears. Or GAPS diet and clean up mom’s gut. Add EFAs, probiotics for both mom and baby.

Infant Formula Fed
The pasteurized and ultra-processed milk powder in the formula can be responsible for a whole host of health problems. Switch to Homemade Infant Formula with raw goat milk or liver based (dairy free infant formula).

Eating solids:
No dairy, gluten, or soy. Take a good dose of Omega 3s, Emu Oil, Coconut oil. And Probiotics.

Environmental Triggers:
Check your environment...soaps, bathing too often, laundry detergent, floor cleaners, air fresheners. They can all cause it or aggravate it.

Pay attention to triggers: flare-ups could be caused by stress, heat, seasons changing

Age 6-16 months
Preparing Foods for your Infant or Toddler
Whether you're a stay at home mom,or you're packing up your baby’s lunch for Daycare, making your baby's food is more simple than you think, much healthier than the jarred baby food, and MUCH better than the junky stuff they serve the kids at Daycare which they claim is "healthy".

You can either freeze the protein separately (raw works best) and steam it up same day you serve it, or cook it and add into the veggie mix ahead of time, then freeze the whole jar so it's ready to go. The 4-6oz jars can easily be heated using either a baby food warmer, or hot water. Don't forget to add in the healthy fats. One small pat organic grass-fed butter into the veggies, one small dab pat coconut oil or cream in the fruit, and a ½ tsp Cod Liver Oil daily somewhere like in the food or milk. Avocado is a great food and one infants and kids can eat daily. It's filled with Omega 9 fats, antioxidants, and minerals. Carrot sticks hold up really well in lunch boxes. Just pack it all up and off to daycare. Giving your child this nutritious food daily will ensure he/she thrives with great health rather than fall into the epedemic of children's health and behavioral problems.

The Problem with Commercial Infant Formula

Read these great articles from Natural News

Clearly, finding a safe infant formula is a daunting task. According to The Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles, there are many risks associated with using infant formula instead of breast milk. For example, formula feeding is responsible for up to 26% of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in children. Middle-ear infections are three to four times more common in children who are fed infant formula, and children who are fed infant formula are also much more likely to be hospitalized due to bacterial infections. In addition to the health risks, some studies have shown that formula-fed babies don’t do as well on intelligence tests as breast-fed babies.