Anyone remember what their first bite of food was? Probably not. But I bet your mom does.
My mom came for a visit recently, and during one of our (many!) grocery store trips, we walked down the baby food aisle, which was overflowing with an overwhelming amount of brightly colored choices. Her eyes immediately widened and she remarked, “There was only one brand I can remember when you were a baby.” (The brand she remembered was Beech-Nut.)
Good nutrition was always a big priority in our household when I was growing up and in many ways shaped me and led me to my career choice as a pediatric dietitian. Navigating an intimidating territory like what to feed your kids is something I feel passionate about and am grateful to help parents with. Not to mention the pleasure I find in nourishing my own kids with the healthiest choices.
But back to my mother’s comment. It got me thinking: have baby foods really come such a long way?
Commercially available baby foods started to be sold in the early 1900’s and became popular for convenience and their perceived safety of modern manufacturing processes. (1) The first products had only one major ingredient—like peas or prunes—which was pureed with water to create a smooth consistency.
Over time, blends of two or more fruit (apples and bananas) or vegetables (peas and carrots) made their way to the shelves. Packaging transformed from cans and glass jars to plastic containers and pouches. The labels almost always had an image of a healthy baby or a picture of the solid form of the food that was pureed in the package, and sometimes both.
But were these baby foods created with well-balanced nutrition in mind? And, let’s cut to the chase—are today’s baby foods?
The short answer is no.
The packages lining the shelves in today’s baby food aisles (and now in the refrigerated section, too) probably feature plenty of vegetables. They may give you a false sense of security and confidence. But if you look at the ingredient label, there’s very little veggies actually in the food. Most are still based on apple and peach purees, with maybe a calories-worth of spinach. Sometimes the first ingredient listed is water! These baby foods don’t provide meaningful amounts of the micronutrients that the developing brain needs, especially during the most critical windows of development in the first 18 months; nutrients like choline, zinc, and vitamin E.
There’s a huge focus on organic, farm-fresh, non-GMO produce, BPA-free plastics, sustainable farming and manufacturing practices; and there’s so much right with that. But it gets the most important part wrong: none of these ensure that your baby is getting the nutrients they need for healthy brain development, during the windows when they’re needed most. And once that window closes after 18 months, there’s no going back. The foundations of those brain cells are set for life.