Arsenic In Rice Cereal

We’ve been told about mercury in fish. We’ve been told about arsenic in apple juice. Now we are told about arsenic in rice and rice products. It’s no surprise. We have been gradually polluting our water for a century and water is in every living cell in the world.

     Parents want their children to have healthy diets, but we don’t need to switch back and forth each time a new scientific report is published.

   We follow rules we were taught when we were growing up. Starting your baby on rice cereal has been a standard of our culture for decades. But it isn’t based on any science.  

     Babies grow just fine on breast milk or formula up until six months of age. They don’t need any solid food. But, between four and six months, most infants are chewing on anything they can get their hands on, so it is natural for parents to want to start solids earlier. A little solid food here and there is fine for young infants. But rice cereal and other processed baby foods are not necessary.

     Before six months of age, it is thought that the gut can “leak” complex proteins into the blood stream and feeding a lot of different proteins to infants between birth and six months old might increase the risk of allergies. But after six months of age, babies have a normal human gut and can digest anything they can chew. The best diet for adults and infants is eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables with some animal protein. Eat minimal amounts of processed food, added sugars and juices. Feed your infant what you are eating and, as long as your diet is healthy, your infant will be eating a healthy diet.

     Mush, crush or grind what you are eating so your infant won’t choke on it. You don’t have to introduce foods in any specific order ("vegetables before fruits"; "yellow before green").  Relax and make meal time a happy family time for everyone. Keeping it simple and ignoring the “rules” will give you and your child the best diet possible.