February 7, 2021

What Cereals Are Safe For Babies?

A few days ago, we stumbled on a disturbing question asked by a parent on Twitter. He wanted to know if Golden Morn was okay for a 7-month baby. It was quite shocking and our simple answer was “No” but we believe parents should really know why some cereals aren’t safe for babies.

It may sound weird that some cereals are not good for babies but there are different types: those meant for babies and those meant for older children and adults.

What is Infant Cereal?

Infant cereal is usually a formula made from grains and other supplements processed for infant consumption. It is specially manufactured to meet the nutritional requirements of infants before the introduction of appropriate feeding or before they begin to eat food meant for older children.

What is the difference?

Most individuals erroneously think that that all cereals are the same so they feed their babies any type they find in the market. No, they’re quite different and we might have to mention some technical stuff in order to explain the difference.

One of the major differences between these cereals is the process of hydrolysis. For most Infant cereals, hydrolysis is a key processing process but it isn’t necessary for other family cereals. Hydrolysis makes it easy for baby foods to be digested because the internal organs of babies aren’t yet strong enough to digest some food substances.

Babies produce a small amount of salivary amylase—an enzyme that helps digest grains—because of their under-developed organs and they produce almost no pancreatic amylase until after their molars are developed. The digestive systems of most babies is not strong enough to handle grains, cereal, or wheat until they are older. When babies are fed cereals that didn’t go through hydrolysis, the complicated digestive process they’re incapable of can destroy their intestinal lining. Unhydrolysed cereal can also result in food allergies, loss of weight, vomiting, and irritation can occur in babies as well.