Infants should not be given cow's milk, but breast milk or infant formula throughout the first year of life. This is one of our new recommendations for infant food and nutrition for young children.
The new recommendations for child nutrition in the first two years of life are described in a new publication: Nutrition for infants and young children – a handbook for healthcare professionals (in Danish only). The publication contains a number of changes relative to the previous recommendations for infant food.
For example, the type of milk children should drink throughout the first year of life, new recommendations for iron supplements and vitamins, new recommendations for young children's fish consumption and descriptions of what type of fish breast-feeding mothers should not eat.
The new recommendations are based on documented evidence on the food infants and young children should have to grow optimally. The recommendations follow in the wake of the new Nordic nutritional recommendations, the new Danish official dietary recommendations and a report about the need for new recommendations prepared by the Danish Health and Medicines Authority.
The publication contains the following recommendations, among other things:
- New recommendations for milk to infants
We now recommend that children are not given cow's milk, but only breast milk or infant formula throughout the first year of life. The reason is that the protein content of cow's milk is three times as high as in breast milk and the iron content is low. Documentation shows that too much protein during infancy may have an impact on the development of overweight later in life.
- New recommendations for iron supplements
We no longer recommend iron supplements during the first 6-12 months for children born at term. From the age of 6 months, the need for iron should come from an iron-containing diet with meat and fish. Premature infants still need iron supplements.
- New recommendations for fish consumption
The Danish Health and Medicines Authority and the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration now recommend that children younger than 3 years do not eat large carnivorous fish, like tuna fish. This includes canned tuna. The reason is that there may be a risk that the child gets too much mercury through the food, and a high intake of mercury may affect brain development negatively.
- New recommendations for the introduction of gluten
We now recommend that children are given glutinous as well as non-glutinous products and in increasing volumes from the time when the child starts to eat solid food. This means that glutinous food may be given to children before the age of 6 months.
In addition to the above recommendations, the publication also emphasises that children should be offered many different tastes and textures of food from the age of 6 months and that children are able to pick up food by themselves at an earlier age than described previously. Moreover, the publication contains a new section on the development of eating habits and the prevention of eating disorders in young children.
Link
Nutrition for infants and young children – a handbook for healthcare professionals (in Danish only)