Introducing Veggies To Your Baby? Wait Until 6 Months Of Age

It is advised that vegetables should not be introduced to your baby till the age of 6 months because the traces of nitrate found in vegetables make your baby sick.

Plants and soil naturally contain traces of nitrate. Nitrates as such are not harmful, but when nitrate is converted to nitrite by the nitrate-converting bacteria present in the gut or gastrointestinal tract, it can be harmful to your baby.

The nitrate concentration in the vegetables varies as per the environmental factors and the age of the plant. Few vegetables like beetroot. Squash, lettuce, radish, carrot, and spinach contain a higher amount of nitrate than others. When such vegetables are given to babies they can lead to a rare form of anemia, cyanosis, and Infant methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome). The blue baby syndrome is a serious health hazard when nitrite starts interfering with the process of oxygen transportation carried out by the red blood cells (RBCs) in the body.

A timeline of around 6 months is suggested for the babies to start eating vegetables because by the age of 3 months the production of hydrochloric acids in the gastrointestinal tract increases. This hydrochloric acid can destroy the nitrate-converting bacteria in the body. Hence, not letting the nitrates get converted to nitrites.

By the age of 6 months, the digestive system is better developed to fight these bacteria. This is the time when you can start feeding your baby some healthy vegetables with some extra attention to the vegetables that contain a higher amount of nitrates.

Do not hesitate to feed veggies to your little ones, just start at the right time with some extra care.