I recently finished reading the following book: Super Nutrition for Babies that was given to me by my friend Danielle. Danielle is always in the know about what’s new in the world of holistic nutrition. I admire her desire to feed her family the healthiest diet possible. I am lucky that she shares her knowledge with me! This fall I am taking a class with her on the benefits of raw milk and I am 95% sure we will be leasing a cow and making the switch from pasteurized to unpasteurized milk. Stay tuned for more information on that in the fall!
Book Review: Super Nutrition for Babies: The Right Way to Feed Your Baby for Optimal Health
By: Katherine Erlich, M.D. and Kelly Genzlinger, C.N.C, C.M.T.A
The book is organized by your babies age in months. It’s easy to follow. My favorite parts are the “Mom to Mom” blurbs that list helpful tips to making food preparations they teach you easier to implement! I am going to list what I took away from each chapter.
Chapter One: Feeding Fundamentals
Raw milk is a healing food when it comes from a trusted, clean dairy source which allows their cows to graze on green pastures in sunlight and fresh air. These cows are not given drugs, growth hormones, and antibiotics so raw milk does not contain toxins. It is known to be an immune booster. It is rich in vitamins and very rich in absorbable minerals. Go to www.realmilk.com to find out more.
The authors describe food in four categories: Crap, Okay, Pure and Power Foods. You want to strive to feeding your family power foods. There are lists that describe how to go about doing this!
Chapter Two: 6-8 Months
My youngest has a mild milk protein intolerence. The allergist assured me that we can always give her soy milk after the age of one. She told me that the grocery stores now carry soy cheese, soy yogurt, etc. This book explained the reasons why soy is NOT a good addition to a pregnant woman or infant’s diet. Reading this came at the perfect time for me. I also learned about the importance of Cod Liver Oil as a supplement to a baby. They recommend 1/2 teaspoon high quality CLO once a day either mixed in with breastmilk/formula or given by spoon. They also recommend keeping the baby upright for at least 15-30 minutes after administering it.
Chapter Three: 8-20 Months
The truth about fluoride is explained here. I use a fluoride toothpaste in the morning with my daughter but not in the evening. I am curious to find out more about fluoride. If you haven’t had a chance to explore household toxins and how to eliminate them by choosing toxic free cleaning products, this is a great chapter for you to read! I love the homemade jello recipe in this chapter and have already placed my order for Bernard Jensen’s gelatin on Amazon. Check out this video from Mama Natural for her recipe!
Chapter Four: 10-12 Months
The importance of Vitamin D supplements is explained here along with suggestions for nursing mothers taking vitamin D.
Choosing beverages wisely for children is also discussed. Beverages should not include high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes and sweeteners.Coconut water is a natural source of nutrient rich hydration and can be used to help sooth sore throats and boost hydration by freezing into ice pops!
Chapter Five:12-18 Months
Beware of sugar, white flour, trans fats, refined salt, colors, dyes and flavorings. They are a part of everyday meals and snacks. This chapter talks about keeping your child on the traditional-foods path by feeding them whole foods versus processed foods. There are many natural sweeteners that can be used in foods like maple syrup and raw honey.
Chapter Six: 18-24 Months
I thought this chapter had many good points. It discusses the connection to good foods and a healthy child. “Dietary influences on tantrums and the terrible twos” Amen! Check this out “Children’s consumption of restaurant and fast-food meals rose by 300% between the 1970’s and 1990’s.” Yikes! They suggest to take the sugar out and put the fat and protein back in. The authors suggest that if you do purchase packaged goods, strive to avoid the following worst ingredients: hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, aspatame, sucralose, saccharin, msg, propyl gallate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, dyes (red 3, yellow 6, blue 1, blue 2 and green 3), acesulfame potassium (or acesulfame K), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) brominated flour, potassium bromate, sodium benzoate and sodium nitrite.
Chapter Seven: Mom’s Diet Does Matter
This chapter discusses the importance of nursing moms and their diet.
Chapter Eight: Drugstore Formula Doesn’t Cut It
This chapter explains how to make homemade formula.
One of the best parts about this book is that not only do they make suggestions on feeding your family better foods, but they give you the resources to buy those foods (or recipes to make them). There are quite a few “crunchy mama” suggestions that might scare people away from this book like feeding your baby shaved liver or fish eggs but with these suggestions comes a bountiful source of reasons as to WHY these foods are beneficial to your child’s diet.
Here are things I am committed to changing after reading this book:
- purchasing my sardines and anchovies from a more reliable source (www.radiantlifecatalog.com)
- buying meat snacks from a better source (www.uswellnessmeats.com)
- incorporating coconut water in our smoothies
- Don’t buy anymore fluoride toothpaste
- order desicated liver since I failed at including shaved liver in our foods
- good bye to soy products for all of us (with the exception of tamari soy sauce, edamame and miso soup which were given the okay in the book)
- Make sure the fish we eat is wild caught
- whip up a batch of homemade jello with a good source of gelatin
- take a class on the benefits of raw milk and possible start leasing a cow!