A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all nutrients, and an adequate amount of water. Nutrients can be obtained from many different foods, so there are a wide variety of diets that may be considered healthy diets. A healthy diet needs to have a balance of macronutrients / energy ( fats, proteins, and carbohydrates ) and micronutrients to meet the needs for human nutrition without inducing toxicity from excessive amounts.

When it comes to the baby, diet begins right after birth till the infant is four months old. It continues along with other supplements, which are ideal in baby diets. An infant enjoys feeding patterns before he is a year old. The primary phase is the nursing period. This is the period of sucking the mother’s milk and other liquids.

During the first six months of a baby’s life it is best if you can breast feed. Breast milk is the ideal food for an infant and provides them with all the nutrients they need. An infant has a very sensitive digestive system and breast milk is well suited. Breast milk helps to reduce the risk that your baby will become constipated or have diarrhea. Proper baby nutrition requires that they get adequate vitamin D so if they are being breast feed it is a good idea to include a supplement. Vitamin D drops are an easy way to make sure that your baby stays healthy. Unfortunately not everybody is able to breast feed, in this case you will need to use a store bought formula. The formula that you use should be iron fortified and it should be based on cow’s milk. A lot of parents prefer to give their child soy milk but unless an allergy makes this necessary it is not a good idea. Soy milk doesn’t contain all the nutrients that a baby needs. A baby can be breast feed for two years or longer but at about six months you will want to start to introduce solid foods.

A lot of parents worry that they will start their child on solid foods at the wrong time, in fact many of them are in downright panic about it. In reality it’s not that confusing to know when you should start your child on solid foods. Baby nutrition needs can be met by breast feeding for the first two years so there is no need to rush into solid foods. At about six months the child will start to show signs that they are ready for solids. When your baby starts to seem hungry earlier than he used to and starts to show an interest in food when others are eating he is probably ready for solids providing he can sit on his own. Other signs are that he opens his mouth when he sees food coming towards him and that he can hold food in his mouth without pushing it right back out with his tongue. You also want to make sure that your child can indicate that he doesn’t want to eat by turning his head away before you start him on solid foods. If your child shows these signs it is time to start him on solid foods.

The best foods to start with when your baby is ready for solids are the same ones the rest of the family are eating, providing they are healthy foods. Obviously if the rest of the family are eating unhealthy foods you won’t want to give these to your baby. Baby nutrition is not all that different from anybody else’s, if the rest of the family is eating healthy foods there is no reason that your baby can’t eat the same things. It is important to remember that babies have much more sensitive taste buds than adults so the foods they are given must be very bland with no salt, sugar or spices added. If the foods your family is eating contain these you will want to get a commercial baby food instead. It is also a good idea to only introduce one food at a time and then wait a few days before you try a different food. Many babies have allergies to certain foods, by introducing one at a time you will be able to tell which food caused it if your child has a reaction.

Good baby nutrition requires a large amount of iron so it is a good idea to start your child with foods that contain a lot of it. Single grain cereals, meat, poultry and legumes are all good providing they are well cooked. You can also give your child egg yolks but not egg whites until they reach one year because of the risk of allergies. You should not introduce milk products until your baby is nine months old and even then you want to limit the amount, too much milk can cause an iron deficiency. At six months any foods you give your child will need to be pureed, once the reach nine months you can give them small pieces of soft fruits and vegetables and diced meats.

One of the biggest mistakes that parents make is trying to coax their child into eating, this is what leads to eating disorders later in life. You don’t want to try to entice them to eat by playing games or offering them sweetened foods, you want your child to follow their own hunger cues. A baby will eat when he is hungry and won’t when he’s not, don’t try to force it. Breast milk will provide sufficient baby nutrition for the first year at least so there is no reason to rush a child into eating solid foods. If your baby is hungry he will get excited and open his mouth when he sees food. If he isn’t hungry he will close his mouth and turn his head away, pay attention to these cues. When first starting out offer your child just a small amount of food and don’t rush them, babies often need to try a food several times before the are prepared to eat it.

For the most part babies can eat anything as long as it is bland but there are a few things that you are going to want to avoid feeding your child. Babies should not be given anything with lots of sugar in it like candy or pop, it will make them very hyperactive. It is also not a good idea to give children honey until they reach the age of one because of the risk of infant botulism. Egg whites should also be avoided until the age of one because of the risk of allergies, a lot of babies are allergic to egg whites. A lot of people are allergic to nuts, peanuts and shellfish so you should wait until a child is three years old before you introduce these to your child, especially if there is a family history of allergies. An allergic reaction in a baby is a serious health risk. Other than these restrictions baby nutrition is not really that different from adult nutrition and your child can be feed pretty much anything that they are willing to eat.

There is a risk that your child will choke when they first start to eat so it is important that precautions be taken to ensure that this doesn’t happen. First of all it goes without saying that your child should be supervised while eating, never give him food and leave him alone. The child should be sitting down whenever he is eating. Any foods that you give your child will need to be soft and cut into small pieces, anything round like grape or wieners should be diced, raw vegetables should be grated. Any hard vegetables or fruits should be well cooked in order to make them soft and then cut into small pieces. Babies can choke on soft bread fairly easily so if you are going to give your child something like peanut butter toast the bread or put it on a cracker. Things like peanuts and popcorn that are very hard and can be swallowed whole represent a serious choking hazard and should be avoided. You will also need to remove the pits from any fruits you give your child. Common sense should make it obvious what a child can and can’t eat without being at risk for choking.

There is no reason to give your child juice, this is something a lot of parents do and it is a mistake. Juice is quite filling and given that babies have small appetites you don’t want to fill them up with juice. Baby nutrition is better handled with solid foods so instead of letting them fill up on juice give them water so that they still have an appetite. Fruit juices tend to cause diarrhea in babies so that is another reason that you are going to want to avoid them. Fruit juices can also cause tooth decay, especially if they are given to small children. If you are going to give your child juice you need to limit the amount that you give them and only offer it at meals. They should be given their juice in a cup, you want to teach your child that juice is to be drunk with meals not in between. If your child is thirsty between meals they can be given water. Babies who are being breastfed don’t need any additional water they get everything they need from their mothers milk.