Breastmilk carbs vs fats and proteins

[Cocosilk]

This is a bit random but as I'm breastfeeding my 7 month old and have just started him on solids, I was pondering how his diet of breastmilk looked as far as the macronutrients were concerned and learned that:

The average macronutrient composition of breastmilk is approximately 1.2 g/dL for protein, 3.6 g/dL for fat, and 7.4 g/dL for lactose (the main carbohydrate in breastmilk). https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/breastmilk-composition

and then wondered if a child's diet, and then an adult's diet should differ in these ratios or not.

My two "go to" meals for him that I make at the moment are pureed chicken liver with roasted pumpkin, and pureed pear with homemade goat's milk yoghurt and some poached egg (more yolk than white).

Most of the store-bought baby foods are full of carbs - all pureed fruits and rice cereals - so I figure what I am making at home must be a better balance.

Any other ideas for baby foods?

 

[Diakat]

I used baby led weaning - give him whatever you are eating.

 

[Hotpepper20000]

I used baby led weaning - give him whatever you are eating.

I have done this method with a number of children now. All of them have become fantastic eaters.

 

[Cocosilk]

I used baby led weaning - give him whatever you are eating.

Did you skip purees?

My little one was reaching for our food at 5 months but he wasn't sitting up by himself properly then and he's only just got okay with taking a teaspoon of pureed food into his mouth more recently. I just worry he would choke on non-pureed stuff at the moment still. Especially the steaks

 

[Hotpepper20000]

Did you skip purees?

My little one was reaching for our food at 5 months but he wasn't sitting up by himself properly then and he's only just got okay with taking a teaspoon of pureed food into his mouth more recently. I just worry he would choke on non-pureed stuff at the moment still. Especially the steaks

I give them food that’s big enough for them to hold in their hands and chew.
If you are breastfeeding still then the food at the table is more about learning and discovering then being filled.
There are a lot of resources online.

 

[lessci]

I don't have children myself, but my mum put whatever they had in the blender

 

[Cocosilk]

I guess my question is also more along the lines of how many carbs would you feed a kid to make sure you don't send them down the path of diabetes?

I'm eating low carb. So if I were to feed baby what I was eating, he'd be eating a lot of fatty meats, eggs and yoghurt. But I thought since breastmilk has a certain amount of carbs, that it might be wise to follow a carb to fat to protein ratio that is similar to breastmilk maybe.

 

[KK123]

I guess my question is also more along the lines of how many carbs would you feed a kid to make sure you don't send them down the path of diabetes?

I'm eating low carb. So if I were to feed baby what I was eating, he'd be eating a lot of fatty meats, eggs and yoghurt. But I thought since breastmilk has a certain amount of carbs, that it might be wise to follow a carb to fat to protein ratio that is similar to breastmilk maybe.

Well, I would not become too fanatical about what a baby eats other than to ensure no 'rubbish' is eaten, like overly sweet puddings/purees etc. A balanced diet for a baby must surely be a combination of meat/veg/some fruit (maybe you could go for not so carby ones), dairy, pulses and anything appropriate for a baby to eat that is not processed rubbish. I think the issue can be that some babies are fed the extras such as a pudding following every meal, who needs that?, and then as they grow into toddlers they get sweets 'as a treat' and on and on. It's hard of course because at some stage they stray from your influence over what they get to eat but I reckon if you start off healthily then that has got to be a bonus. I personally would not start carb counting for babies but would cut out the obvious 'sweet treats'. x

 

[sno0opy]

While i also did baby lead weaning and it worked well, "give them what your eating" does not work if your on the Keto diet, i really strongly dont believe thats a good diet for a child.

Kids need carbs, feed them a diet rich in them to help them grow and develop. They need a full balanced diet, pretty much NHS guidelines.

I wouldn't be looking at anything to do the diabetes. They also need plenty of fiber to help get there digestive systems functioning properly.

A good mix of carbs, veg, fruit, meats and other proteins. Balance is key.

 

[Brunneria]

There has been a huge amount of controversy lately around ketosis, babies, breastfeeding and carb content of infant diets.

It was right at the root of the Tim Noakes South African court case (which he won, resoundingly) following him making a twitter comment about babies, ketosis and breast feeding.

@Cocosilk
It is probably worth you getting up to speed with that, because you will find a huge amount of support for ketosis while breast feeding, and for infants, and a lot of media coverage, articles and people drawing on a lot of different studies on the subject.

This link is to a thread on the subject
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/prof-tim-noakes.102885/

 

[Resurgam]

I'd say ease up on the liver.
Although the chickens are unlikely to be getting their preferred diet (the Rhode Island Red hens we had were the best mouse catchers I have ever seen) so their livers will not have the concentration of things usually seen in carnivores, I am uneasy about it featuring so frequently. I used the giblets for gravy but the meat was part of the meal.
My children got what I was eating for my low carb diet, plus a serving of starchy food, and free access to fruit all year round. They are both tall and slender.

 

[Diakat]

Yes I skipped purées.
But I have not limited my child’s diet regarding carbs.

 

[TriciaWs]

Be careful about looking at averages for the nutrition in breast milk as it varies not just during the day but over longer time periods too:
"It appears that total fat content continues to increase after three months postpartum. In a study tracking the same lactating mothers over time, researchers found that the fat content in milk expressed at 6 months was higher than the fat content in milk expressed at 3 months (Szabó et al 2010)"
https://www.parentingscience.com/calories-in-breast-milk.html

Interesting that the fat content rises ...

 

[TriciaWs]

Unless advice on meals has changed a lot recently, I would be adding things like broccoli, spinach etc as part of the veg, and giving them some chewy or hard veg sticks to exercise their jaws and help new teeth.

 

[lucylocket61]

I guess my question is also more along the lines of how many carbs would you feed a kid to make sure you don't send them down the path of diabetes?

I'm eating low carb. So if I were to feed baby what I was eating, he'd be eating a lot of fatty meats, eggs and yoghurt. But I thought since breastmilk has a certain amount of carbs, that it might be wise to follow a carb to fat to protein ratio that is similar to breastmilk maybe.

Breast milk changes over the months. Just as the milk of any mammal does. This is why cow's milk, for example, is homogenised to smooth out the difference.

Likewise certain cheeses are made at certain time periods after calving due to the alterations in the composition of the milk producing different textures.

 

[Cocosilk]

There has been a huge amount of controversy lately around ketosis, babies, breastfeeding and carb content of infant diets.

It was right at the root of the Tim Noakes South African court case (which he won, resoundingly) following him making a twitter comment about babies, ketosis and breast feeding.

@Cocosilk
It is probably worth you getting up to speed with that, because you will find a huge amount of support for ketosis while breast feeding, and for infants, and a lot of media coverage, articles and people drawing on a lot of different studies on the subject.

This link is to a thread on the subject
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/prof-tim-noakes.102885/

Thanks for that!

I feel like it makes absolute sense not to feed kids processed foods. That's a no-brainer provided you are organised.

The thing about breastmilk is that is it sweet. So I wonder how it's not possible for any breastfed human not to start out life with a kind of a sweet tooth. I think babies will naturally take foods that are sweet before they will want something else. I've already noticed this with my 7 month old. If he tastes pear, he seems to like it. If I give him avocado, or egg, he's not so enthusiastic. So I mix pear or pumpkin with things like egg and liver to sweeten them a bit and then I've got him taking those more nutrient dense foods more readily.

I've also given him the juice (broth) from the pressure cooked meats/fats/bones I've been making.

I watched a bit of that Tim Noakes video that was in the link you sent (have to finish it later) but he mentioned sugar and cancer, which I had also read about. And I'm shuddering because today one of my aunts was telling me how my cousin's 20 month old baby is ill and has been for the past 7 weeks - he has lost 2 kilos and has rashes and fevers. They are testing for cancer at the moment. My aunt said, very sure of herself "I know a woman who cured her baby's cancer with fruit juice, and I think that's what we should give the baby. At the moment he is not allowed to eat meat or dairy products. It's meat that causes cancer..."
I told her what I'd heard about fruit juice and the sugars potentially feeding cancer cells but she was ADAMANT that it was the right thing to do in this case. She thinks I am nuts because I have been eating more meat than vegetables this past week (I'm experimenting). It's hard when there is so much contradictory information out there, isn't it? And it's sad that there is nothing more I can say to prevent them from feeding the ill baby a diet of fruit juice if they believe that is the elixir of life...

 

[Resurgam]

It is a simple fact that some cancers can only use glucose as an energy source - they simply do not have the mechanism which enables ketosis.
Meat, with its protein and fats enabled Humans to grow larger brains, they are essential for developing brain and body - they are essential for life. I think you should have a word with your cousin as soon as possible, just to make sure their baby is not malnourished.

 

[Cocosilk]

It is a simple fact that some cancers can only use glucose as an energy source - they simply do not have the mechanism which enables ketosis.
Meat, with its protein and fats enabled Humans to grow larger brains, they are essential for developing brain and body - they are essential for life. I think you should have a word with your cousin as soon as possible, just to make sure their baby is not malnourished.

Sadly, my cousin will listen to my aunt because I live in a different part of the country from them. I just emailed my aunt with a couple of articles about it but I doubt she'll take any notice. She is too sure she is right...