New moms start thinking that when their baby is six months old, is it appropriate time to feed their baby juices and whether it should be fruit juice or vegetable juice? Here are simple answers to all your juice diet questions for babies:
1. When should you start giving juices to your baby?
Babies who are breastfed need not be given anything apart from breast milk till they are six months old. Even formula-fed babies should be given just formula or maybe some cooled boiled water to wash off the formula from the baby’s mouth.
After the 6th month, mothers can start giving diluted fruit and vegetable juice in addition to breast milk.
2. Why do juices need to be diluted?
Babies don’t have a full-fledged digestive system early on so they have to be given diluted juice for easy absorption of iron and other nutrients from the juice.
3. How to dilute the juice appropriately?
You can begin by adding 75% water and 25% juice to the mix and after a few weeks you can keep the ratio of juice and water 50-50%.
4. When should you give juice to your baby?
If your baby has started on solids, then you should give juices accompanying the solids during meal times. This will help in the absorption of iron from the food.
5. Should you add sugar to the fruit juices?
No. You should not add any kind of sweetening agent whether it is sugar or jaggery to the juices.
6. Should you give boiled apple juice to your baby?
Since many sellers add wax to the fruits like apples and pears and they are also exposed to pesticides, you should peel off the fruits before boiling them to get rid of toxins from the fruits.
7. When can you give raw juices to baby?
You should begin by giving boiled or skewed juices only and once your baby is used to the intake of juice without any allergies, then you can start giving raw juices. Remember to rinse the fruits and vegetables thoroughly before making the juice.
8. What is the time within which freshly home-made juices should be consumed?
Within 15-20 minutes of preparation of the juice, it should be consumed to avoid bacteria growth. Do not store the juices and make fresh batches whenever needed.
9. Should you feed your baby on juices majorly in a day?
High juice intake can cause loose motions in kids and even develop dental caries in the early age.
10. Can I give canned or packaged fruit juices to baby?
Do not attempt at feeding your baby packaged, tinned or canned juices. Those juices contain added flavour, preservatives and sugar which can be harmful for the baby. Avoid feeding your baby anything that is brought ready-made from the market. Instead make things at home.