“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
Mandy Sacher is the author of Wholesome Child, a nutrition guide and cookbook aimed at establishing a healthy approach to food and empowering parents to FEED THEM RIGHT FROM THE START. Eschewing the white bread and rusks destined to ruin our children’s appetite for anything close to variety, Mandy shared with me her thoughts on introducing solids, fussy eaters and the benefits of probiotics*.
*Your body is full of good and bad bacteria. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for you, and keep your digestive system and gut healthy.
TLH: my third child has spent the majority of her first 10 months on antibiotics due to renal reflux. What advice do you have to maintain a healthy gut when antibiotics are involved?
MS: When we’re looking at babies’ gastrointestinal tracts and establishing that healthy gut flora, it often goes back to pregnancy. If the mother has had a vaginal birth and is breastfeeding those are two very simple ways to transfer the good bacteria from Mum’s diet to her baby. Of course this is not the case for everyone so we have to look at other ways we can establish and maintain a healthy gut flora. One great opportunity that presents itself is of course once you begin to introduce solids to your baby.
3 things you as a mum can do:
- PROBIOTICS: There are different strains according to the age of the child, but with regards babies and young children you need to look for oral supplementation containing lactobacillus and bifidobacterium probiotics. There are numerous options on the market so it’s wise to consult with a dietitian, nutritionist or your GP or paediatrician.
- LABELS: Learn to decipher what’s written on the packaging of the food you’re buying for your baby. Often what it says and what’s reality are two different things.
- FOOD: You want to be offering foods that are beneficial for baby’s gut, so opting for something like Kefir yoghurt, which is a natural yoghurt with probiotics (offer in small amounts), as opposed to the mainstream options which contain sugar, flavourings and numbers. For babies who are dairy-free there are coconut alternatives. Bone broth too is very good for promoting healthy bacteria and while I wouldn’t offer them before at least 10mo, fermented vegetables are also excellent probiotic-boosting foods. But offer them in small doses.
TLH: what are the types of foods we should be offering our children to benefit their gut flora?
MS: I recommend babies and children to have a whole food diet, which involves more veggies than fruit, lots of wholegrains, good quality protein and healthy fats. So many things go out of whack when there are too many refined carbohydrates in a baby’s diet, but it’s because we know these types of foods are very easy for them to eat. Mums are worried about choking so they offer their baby things like cruskits, rusks, white bread and so on which will easily dissolve. But these types of foods play no beneficial role in promoting those healthy bacterias.
If you’re offering finger foods (from 6mo) then vegetables are the perfect option. Give them steamed cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, sweet potato chips, pumpkin chips, carrot chips and legumes which are great for boosting prebiotics. For meat options, try my recipes for lamb rissoles, lamb kofta, chicken meatballs. If you’re giving them pasta, use bone broth instead of water to boil it in. It’s just about choosing whole food instead of the refined carbs because very often parents start with those rusks and the bread as the first finger food which is not going to promote healthy gut flora. Plus a healthier balance reduces the chances of our babies developing eczema and other inflammatory conditions.
TLH: prior to starting solids, is there a way for mums to get probiotics into their babies?
MS: Yes, there are specific probiotics which have been designed for lactating mothers, so if you’re breastfeeding it will benefit both you and your baby, particularly if your baby has been or is on antibiotics. You can also continue to administer probiotics this way even after solids have been introduced and give baby their own probiotic to really reinforce that heathy gut flora. There are also probiotics that you can put into formula, so even if your formula claims to contain prebiotics and probiotics I would still recommend getting a good grade practitioner probiotic if you’re going to put it into your formula.
TLH: why is taking probiotics so important especially for breastfeeding mothers?
MS: It’s so important that your diet and your gut health is intact to ensure that what is going into your milk is beneficial and healthy for your baby, especially if you plan to breastfeed over a long period of time.
TLH: what is your advice when it comes to kids who are fussy eaters?
MS: Kids who become fussy eaters are likely not eating a lot of vegetables and instead have a sweet tooth which draws them to refined carbs. This is where supplementation comes in while you’re training a child’s taste buds. Our body produces bacteria which becomes accustomed to getting sugar and yeast which in turn gives us a craving for these foods. So it’s implementing small changes to replace sugary foods for healthy alternatives and thus feed the healthy bacteria. For example, swapping sugary yoghurt for natural yoghurt boosted with a probiotic which you could sweeten with some Manuka honey (for children over 1).
When you’ve got a baby you’ve got kind of a clean slate. What you start those babies off with is what’s really going to take hold but with children over 3 there’s different strategies and techniques we need to implement. That’s where it becomes about behaviour but also about introducing the healthier versions of the foods they like and slowly starting to transition their diets to one that is directed by whole foods. It doesn’t have to be anything extreme; it’s just going back to non-processed foods.
TLH: what is your advice to busy mums who may rely on store bought purees instead of homemade?
MS: Batch cooking and time saving techniques is something I talk about at my introducing solids workshops. Perhaps finding other mums in your community, family, friend, mothers group whomever and sharing the workload, so one mother makes a dish and someone else makes another and you make one more and then you divide them between you to freeze and use.
The problem with store bought foods is the consistency and texture and it’s often that they’re processed at high heat. I’m all about the mothers when it comes to introducing solids and I do understand time deprivation. But there are ways around it, even if you find yourself with some leftover steamed vegetables from one meal you’re making, throw in a can of chickpeas, blend it together and that’s another meal. The point is there are time saving hacks you can be creative with.
The other thing with store bought purees is that they tend to taste the same unlike homemade food, which never tastes the same and that’s good because if we encourage variety from early on that will help them develop their taste buds as they get older. Too much of the same and it becomes difficult to transition them away from it.
TLH: what’s one reason Mums should buy your book, Wholesome Child?
MS: All the meals in my book are for the whole family, you just adapt them to baby, for example remove baby’s portion before adding the salt, but the point is you’re just making one meal for the whole family.
Use the code back2school to get a 15% discount on Mandy’s book Wholesome Child (RRP: $39.99 AU) until 6 August 2018.
About Mandy
Wholesome Child founder, child nutrition expert and mother of two, Mandy Sacher, is a Paediatric Nutritionist and SOS Feeding Consultant. Her private practice focuses on prenatal and childhood nutrition, helping parents and mums-to-be feed their children healthy, nourishing foods right from the start. Visit her website for recipe ideas, details of her upcoming workshops and to buy her book.