Vitamins & Minerals FAQs

• My doctor just told me that after 6 months babies need iron in their formula, but if she is eating green beans and peas and things that already have iron then why couldn't I switch her back to her normal formula? NEW!
  
• My daughter is 17 months. I recently stopped breastfeeding and now she is a little anemic. How can I add more iron into her diet? NEW!
  
• Comparing organic and conventional baby foods, I noticed that Earth's Best does not list potassium content on its label. Why is that? NEW!
  
• Can you feed your baby too much protein? NEW!
  
• I see that a toddler needs 2 servings of dairy. Is that all that they should have for milk a day?
• According to Earth's Best ads, your baby foods do not contain sugar or salt. So what is 11g sugar and 16g sodium on some product's nutrition label?
• My one year old doesn't like milk but he likes yogurt and cheese. How much calcium does he need? How much of these foods constitutes a day's worth of calcium? NEW!
  
• Is it possible for my baby to get too much iron?
• My son's latest blood test revealed that his iron is low and the doctor recommended iron drops twice a day. Should I give them only once a day and complement with high iron-level foods? NEW!
  
• What are the benefits of eating apples?
• Is the vitamin content from Earth's Best jarred baby food equal to the vegetable being offered as a full time substitute for the fresh version made at home at the time of consumption? NEW!
  
• How many grams of protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium should my baby get?
• Can baby get too much of some vitamins and minerals?

My doctor (I don't really trust her) just told me that after 6 months babies need iron in their formula, but ever since I have given her this iron formula she cries every time I give her a bottle she cries and puts up a fuss like it bothers her. But if she is eating green beans and peas and things that already have iron then why couldn't I switch her back to her normal formula? What's your opinion?

First of all, I would recommend that if you don't have a trusting relationship with your doctor, that you perhaps look for another one, particularly because your little baby's health is something you want to be certain about. In this case, your doctor is correct. After the age of 4 to 6 months, the birth stores of iron that a baby is born with have been depleted. Babies are growing rapidly and expanding their blood volume. In order to meet those demands for energy and iron for the blood, your baby needs outside sources of iron. The iron in vegetables is hard to get, so a baby would need to eat so much, volume wise, that they simply can't get all they need from them. The only real way to ensure that babies are getting the iron they need to have them get supplemental iron. There are different ways you can do that. For babies not on solid foods, then an iron fortified formula or iron drops are good. Babies taking solid foods can get high quality iron supplements from fortified infant cereal, such as { Earth's Best Whole Grain Iron Fortified Infant Cereals |http://www.earthsbest.com/products/cereal.php]. Iron supplementation is a good idea at least until the age of two. A long-term iron deficiency can have lasting negative effects on a child's mental and physical development. Making sure they get the iron they need is very important. A baby under the age of one needs 11 milligrams of iron every day.
 

My daughter is 17 months. I recently stopped breastfeeding and now she is a little anemic. How can I add more iron into her diet?

The best way to get iron into her diet is by serving her iron fortified infant cereal twice a day. That will provide her with her daily iron requirements. Try some of the organic, Earth's Best Whole Grain Cereals . Also, Earth's Best has some [ jarred, iron-fortified products |http://www.earthsbest.com/products/product/1176.php] that will add balanced nutrition and variety to your baby's diet. If she is eating finger foods, then look for snacks and dry cereals that are iron fortified as well. Earth's Best offers a number of different, iron fortified snack items such as cereal bars and cookies .
 

I am trying to compare organic baby food to conventional baby food. I much prefer to do the healthier (organic) baby food. But, why is there Potassium in the conventional baby food applesauce, but the Earth's Best brand does not list potassium content on it's label?

By law, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) does not required the declaration of potassium on food nutrition labels, so when a company does list it, it is on a voluntary basis. That doesn't mean a food without it on the label doesn't contain any potassium. In fact potassium is so wide spread in food, it's hard to find a food without it. Earth's Best Applesauce, like all applesauce, does contain potassium, it simply isn't declared on the label. Because potassium is not a nutrient of concern in a baby's diet, due to it's common presence in all foods, Earth's Best has reserved its limited label space to share more critical nutrition information.
 

Can you feed your baby too much protein? My baby is 9 months old and weighs 21 pounds. She gets around 24 grams of protein a day - is that too much?

A baby can get too much protein if it is crowding out other, equally important foods. Plus, digesting protein is hard on the kidneys and too much can be taxing on their system, requiring an increase in the amount of fluids they need to help dilute the waste products of protein metabolism. The recommended intake of protein for a 7 to 12 month old baby is 13.5 grams. While there is no upper level at which protein is deemed toxic, getting much more than the 13.5 grams does mean a baby's distribution of nutrients is apt to be unbalanced and the baby risks not getting other essential nutrients. I would recommend you look at your baby's diet to see how well balanced it is, and then make the appropriate adjustments to bring the protein level down somewhat and adding in other foods as necessary.
 

I see that a toddler needs 2 servings of dairy. That would equal 8 ounces of milk or other dairy equivalent. Is that all that they should have for milk a day?

A toddler needs 500 mg of calcium a day, which is the main reason for the dairy recommendation. Dairy also supplies a good amount of high quality protein, and is usually fortified with vitamins A and D. Two servings of milk, to total 16 ounces, not 8, would supply the recommended 500 milligrams of calcium. No dairy is needed beyond that. However, you can substitute all sorts of calcium containing products for the milk, such as yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, calcium fortified juices, cereals, crackers, and bread. However, many of the calcium-fortified products don't have the protein that dairy sources of calcium would have, nor would they have the vitamin D or A. Therefore, if your child is not getting the recommended dairy servings, be sure to look for other sources of protein, and vitamins D and A.
 

According to Earth's Best ads, your baby foods do not contain sugar or salt. So what is 11g sugar and 16g sodium on some product's nutrition label?

Most foods have some naturally occurring sugar and sodium. That must be declared on the nutrition panel, just like the other naturally occurring nutrients. With our baby foods, we don't add any sugar or salt, but we do report what's been put in there by nature. Fruits especially contain lots of natural sugars, usually in the form of fructose. Some fruits contain more than others. The same is true for vegetables. The sodium content of fruits and vegetables is generally dependent on the sodium in the soil where they were grown.
 

My one year old doesn't like milk. He screws up his face when he swallows and then pushes the cup away. He does, however, like yogurt and cheese. How much calcium does he need? How much of these foods constitutes a day's worth of calcium?

Your one year old needs 800 mg. of calcium a day. One cup of plain, whole milk yogurt contains 300mg. of calcium. Some non-fat yogurts with non-fat dry milk solids may have up to 400 mg. of calcium. So, 2 to 2 1/2 cups of yogurt a day would provide all the calcium he needs. However, that's a lot of yogurt and I imagine you may not get him to eat that much. One ounce of cheddar cheese (about the size of three dice) has 200 mg. of calcium. That would me about 12 'dice' worth of cheese would meet 100% of his calcium needs. Of course, mixing and matching calcium sources if most likely the easier way to have your toddler get his daily requirement of calcium. There are now many calcium-fortified foods from which you can select to supplement the calcium he gets from dairy products. Food labels (except those labels designed specifically for children) will state the percent daily value for calcium based on the adult requirement of 1000 milligrams. Therefore, if a label indicates that one serving of a food provides 30% of an adult's needs, you can figure it provides 300 milligrams of calcium or almost 40% of your child's needs. You may find this information helpful when choosing puddings, yogurts, tofu, fortified soy milks and other calcium containing foods that you may use to up the calcium content of your son's diet. Earth's Best recognizes that calcium is a mineral often deficient in the diets of children, so they have designed and offer foods especially for children that are calcium fortified. Some of these foods may be good to include in your child's diet to supplement his calcium intake. These Earth's Best calcium fortified foods include:
Tot's Arrowroot Squares (http://earthsbest.com/products/tots_arrowrootsquares.php) Whole Grain Bars (http://earthsbest.com/products/product/323.php) and Tot's Cereal Bars (http://earthsbest.com/products/tots_cerealbars.php)
 

My 6-month-old is formula fed and the formula is iron enriched. My pediatrician is also recommending a vitamin supplement with iron. Since the baby cereal that I am using (Earth's Best) also has iron in it, I am concerned. Is it possible for my baby to get too much iron?

It is very possible to get too much iron. Between two servings of infant cereal and the formula, your baby is getting plenty of iron. I recommend you speak to your doctor about this and suggest that you delay introduction of the supplement until after you are done formula feeding. Generally formula contains all the nutrition a baby needs and a supplement beyond that is not necessary. Or, you can switch to a formula that is not iron fortified as an alternative.
 

My baby is 9 months old. His latest blood test revealed that his iron is low and the doctor recommended iron drops twice a day. Should I give them only once a day and complement with high iron-level foods? What foods would you recommend?
I am also exclusively breastfeeding. Should I have some iron supplements too? - Thank you so much!

It is not uncommon for babies who are exclusively breast fed to become iron deficient. That's because, while the iron in breast milk is more highly absorbed than iron from other sources, there still isn't enough of it to meet baby's needs. Therefore, iron fortification of baby's diet is advised from about four months on. Iron is critically important in the development of the brain, nervous system, and to accommodate his expanding blood volume. Traditionally, iron fortified baby cereal is the first source of dietary iron for a baby. However, for babies who won't be introduced to solids until later, iron drops are recommended. For now, you should follow your doctor's advice to give iron drops twice a day. That's because you are trying to bring him up from a deficit, and so this more aggressive approach is needed. It usually only takes two to three weeks for the anemia to be cured, at which time you can switch to high iron foods to meet his needs. If you wish to continue to exclusively breast-feed, then continue the iron drops. If you plan on weaning soon, begin now with introducing iron fortified baby cereal twice a day http://earthsbest.com/products/cereal.php">http://earthsbest.com/products/cereal.php

 

What are the benefits of eating apples. Is it the pectin, or just the fiber? I know the old adage of "Eating an apple a day, keeps the doctor away." but how true it this?

The more research is done, the truer we are finding that adage to be. For years we have known that apples are a good source of fiber. In recent years we have been discovering just how beneficial the type of fiber found in apples is. And, researchers have also been discovering other beneficial ingredients in apples including antioxidant phytochemicals and D-glucaric Acid.

The predominant fiber in apples is pectin, a soluble fiber. Soluble fibers have been shown by many research studies to lower blood cholesterol levels. Apples are high in pectin, having almost 1 gram per 100 grams of fruit. Not only have the research studies shown soluble fiber to lower blood cholesterol, they have shown apples, in particular, to be beneficial. The positive effects are not only on total blood cholesterol levels, but also in improving the ratio of 'good' (HDL) cholesterol to 'bad' (LDL) cholesterol. What baffles researchers is that they are finding that apples lower blood cholesterol more than they would predict based on its pectin levels. So, they are speculating that something other than pectin is at work in helping to lower those levels.

What scientists are hypothesizing is that an ingredient called D-glucaric acid may be increasing the anti-cholesterol effect of apples. A preliminary study in rats fed D-glucaric acid showed a dramatic decrease in blood cholesterol levels. How it works is still unclear and more studies are needed. The D-glucaric acid content of many other fruits and vegetables was looked at, and except for grapefruit, apples had the most.

Apples are also high in anti-oxidant (protect against cell damage) phytochemicals (compounds found in plants), in particular one group of phytochemicals called flavonoids. The flavonoid most predominant in apples is one called quercetin. A Finnish study published in 1996 in The British Medical Journal, showed that of 5000 study participants, those who ate the most apples had the lowest incidence of death from heart disease. The researchers concluded that "the protective effect of flavonoid was associated with a diet high in intake of apples". Apples lead all other fruits and vegetables for the level of quercetin, and the Jonagold variety was the leader.

Studies that looked at both eating apples and drinking apple juice revealed that the form in which you got your daily dose of apple didn't matter. That's a good message for parents whose kids love apple juice, but refuse the fruit. Earth's Best offers a variety of apple juices and sauces from beginners to tots:

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Encourage kids to keep up their apple juice drinking habit throughout life. Just be sure to do it in moderation so that it doesn't take the place of other, equally important foods in the diet.

While the nutrition label on a jar of apple juice may not look impressive, there's more than meets the eye. Apples are chemically complex fruits with benefits that are still being discovered. So don't pass up the apple juice for a seemingly more impressive nutrition label from some fortified, manipulated, man-made drink. Seems nature knew the best formula for our health.
 

Is the vitamin content from Earth's Best jarred baby food equal to the vegetable being offered as a full time substitute for the fresh version made at home at the time of consumption?

Most likely the nutritional content of the jarred baby food will be equal to what you would prepare fresh at home. That's been found to be true in a number of studies. The reason for this, is that in food manufacturing plants, like Earth's Best, the fruits and vegetables are processed almost immediately after harvest, so that they have little to no time to lose nutritional value. They are processed in the shortest time possible to ensure food safety while preserving taste and nutrient content. Then, once sealed in the jar, the nutritional value will decrease at a much slower rate, than would the fresh piece of produce left unprocessed. That's because it is no longer exposed to air-one of the most nutrient damaging agents.

The most nutritious fruits and veggies you can give you baby are those that are only hours from harvest. If you can prepare fruits and vegetables fresh off the vine or tree, or fresh plucked from the earth, then you are giving your baby the best. But, if you are preparing fruits and vegetables from the produce counters of your local grocery store, you are most likely using produce that is days old, and which has had time to lose nutritional value. So, from a nutritional standpoint, the nutritional value will be equal to that found in the jar of baby food. The taste of the fresh prepared will most likely be superior, and for that reason, feeding a baby fresh processed foods is a good idea. Ideally, you will find produce that is farm fresh, you will prepare it immediately, and freeze a little extra for use in the next month or two. If that's not possible, then offering some organic, jarred baby food is most definitely a good nutritional choice every day.
 

I am wondering what the best balance of nutrients should be for my baby, and how much sodium is too much?

The number of grams of fat, protein, and carbohydrates your baby should get depends on his calorie intake. The optimum composition of a baby's diet is 40 to 50% fat, 40% carbohydrates and 10% protein. So, if your baby is getting 800 calories a day, 80 of those calories would be from protein, 320 would be from carbohydrate and up to 400 would be from fat. Knowing that 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of carbohydrate each is 4 calories, and each gram of fat is 9 calories, the number of grams would be: fat (400/9 = 44) 44 grams, carbohydrate (320/4 = 80) 80 grams and protein (80/4 = 20) 20 grams.

Babies do need some sodium in their diet, but the sodium naturally occurring in food is generally enough. The minimum level of sodium is 120 mg. for infants 0 - 5 months, and 200 mg. for infants 6 - 11 months. According to the Committee on Nutrition of The American Academy of Pediatrics, the safe and adequate intake of sodium for a one to three year old is between 325 and 975 mg.
 

I am wondering if there are some vitamin and minerals I should be careful to make sure my baby doesn't get too much of.

Too much of just about anything can be dangerous. But, for some vitamins and minerals, the toxic level of intake comes at a much lower level. For the most part, those vitamins that dissolve in water, like the B vitamins and vitamin C are fairly safe, even at high levels since the body will wash out excesses in the urine. But other vitamins, and some minerals can build up in the body and reach toxic levels. It is very rare for anyone to get toxic levels of any vitamin or mineral in it's naturally occurring form. Almost all vitamin and mineral intoxications come from overdosing on supplements.

To be safe, never give your baby a supplement that provides more than 100% of the recommended intake of a particular vitamin and mineral. And, once your child is at the age where he is eating fortified foods, be sure to not serve more than what will add up to the equivalent of a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. For example, if your toddler is drinking plenty of milk, drinking calcium fortified orange juice, and eating some of the calcium fortified breads and cereals, it is possible for him to be getting too much calcium.

The nutrients you want to pay particular attention to so as not to get too much include:

Iron -- Although iron is a very important mineral to get enough of, too much can be dangerous. While it would be hard to get too much iron naturally occurring in foods, you can get too much iron from supplements. Iron poisoning is an all too frequent occurrence in small children who accidentally eat iron-supplement pills. A small child needs about 11 mg. of iron a day. The minimum toxic dose is estimated at 100 mg.

Copper -- don't use any copper supplements with babies. Not only does copper interfere with the absorption of other nutrients, even low levels can be toxic.

Vitamin A in the form of retinol -- vitamin A can be formed in the body from beta-carotene. When vitamin A is ingested in the beta-carotene form, only what is needed will be manufactured, so an overdose isn't possible. Be aware though... too much beta-carotene may impart an orange tinge to your baby's skin. Pre-formed vitamin A, found in high levels in foods like liver and other organ meats, and in some supplements can build up in the fat, especially the liver, and can cause jaundice and liver damage.