Coloring Agents to Avoid When You Buy Food

Artificial colors do not occur in nature. Many are made from coal tar and can contain up to ten parts per million of arsenic and lead and still be approved by the FDA. Still they make food attractive. Babies and kids like brightly colored foods and it is easy for them to want these foods more than things that are healthier for them because they tend to be motivated to put things in their mouth that have visual appeal.

Still foods with artificial colors are terrible to feed any member of your family. They can cause allergic reactions, hyperactivity and ADD in children, may contribute to visual and learning disorders or cause nerve damage. The use of coloring in products normally indicates that other natural ingredients that may contain the color, like oranges, have not been used.

Here is a list of the worst coloring agents –
Blue #1, found in baked goods, candy, and soft drinks, has been shown to damage the chromosomes in a cell's nucleus and cause retardation in both kids and adults. Stay away from giving your kids those popsicles or Freezies that have this blue coloring. Jell-O brand products also contain it.
Blue #2, which is found in candy, may cause brain tumors.
Citrus Red #1 is sprayed on green oranges to make them look ripe so even if you are making juice or puree for your baby you could be giving him or her poisonous chemical additive that causes cancer. Wash and peel the skin off citrus fruit to be safe.
Citrus Red #2, used to color the skins of some Florida oranges, can cause cancer if the peel is eaten.
Red #3 is often added to canned cherry pie filling, maraschino cherries, baked goods and ice cream. Studies have linked this dye to nerve damage and to thyroid cancer.
Red #40 is found in soda, candy, gelatin desserts, pastry, pet food, and sausage, and is a suspected carcinogen. Be careful when serving Baby Jello.
Yellow #5 is the second most widely used colorant, and it contributes to behavioral disturbances in children, and can cause allergic reactions. It is found in gelatin desserts and baked goods.
Yellow #6 can cause tumors in the adrenal glands and kidneys. It is found in beverages, sausage, baked goods, candy, and gelatin.

If you want healthy kids, with good memories and attention spans that are happy and disease free then make sure you are reading labels.

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Special Nutritional Needs of Newborns

If you are feeding your newborn breast milk then there simply will be no need of any type of supplementation except maybe Vitamin D.

However if you are feeding your baby formula be sure to talk with the doctor about vitamin D supplements for your baby. Breast milk and formula may not provide enough vitamin D, which is essential to help your baby absorb calcium and phosphorus — necessary for strong bones. Too little vitamin D may also cause rickets, a softening and weakening of bones.

There are also two points of view in place about whether or not you need to supplement the breast feeding newborn's diet with Vitamin D.

The theory is that if the mother has not had enough sun exposure or vitamin D during her pregnancy then the newborn's diet of breast milk should be supplemented.
The baby may also not need Vitamin D if he or she spends a lot of time outside in the sun. Vitamin D can be synthesized quite simply by the baby when the sun shines on its skin.

If you live in a northern climate where there is not much sun or where you experience a long winter then the baby may definitely need supplementation. In southern climates limit the newborn's exposure and apply sunscreen.

The recommended time that a baby should spend in the sun every day is twenty minutes. It is best to avoid the hours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun is at its strongest.

Breast fed infants tend to be better nourished. Breast milk contains lactose, protein and fat and is easily digested by a newborn's immature system.

None of the important antibodies found in breast milk are found in manufactured formula, which means that formula doesn’t provide the baby with the added protection against infection and illness that breast milk does.

Although breast feeding is recommended there may be some women who are unable to provide natural milk to their child for one reason or another. This means feeding your baby with a commercially prepared formula.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate formula companies to ensure that they provide all the known necessary nutrients (including vitamin D) in their formulas.
Commercial formulas are coming closer to duplicating what is in mother's milk but haven’t matched their exact combination and composition. The substances in breast milk are too complex to identify and imitate so that it is effective.

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