Starting solid food is a major milestone in your baby’s life. Breastmilk or baby formula will be the only food they will eat until they turn six months. Trying out new flavors and textures of food will be an adventurous journey for your little one. Starting from semi-solid food, you will introduce your baby to all varieties of vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat. Fish is a heart-healthy food that should be introduced to babies in their young days. It is rich in nutrients that your baby needs for his development. But is it the same for tuna?
When it comes to tuna, there are concerns about the presence of mercury. Therefore, it is believed that tuna is not suitable for pregnant mothers, babies, and toddlers. If you are a tuna lover, you would not like to deprive your baby of the delicious flavor of tuna for his entire life. On the other hand, tuna is also rich in many varieties of nutrients despite the presence of mercury. If you are going to introduce tuna to your baby, when can you do it? Keep reading to know the answer and more about tuna.
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4. How to prepare tuna for my baby?
1. Nutritional value of tuna
Tuna is rich in vitamin B and Omega 3 fatty acids. It also has a large number of proteins without a high concentration of fat. Omega 3 fatty acids such as DHA are important for growing babies and toddlers. It also contributes to the brain development of children. Fish can lower the risk of high blood pressure and protect us from heart diseases.
Vitamin B is crucial for the development of the spinal cord, and deficiency of Vitamin B can cause birth defects. It also helps to prevent cancer and heart diseases. Canned tuna has these essential nutrients and is minimally processed compared to other canned food.
2. Risks of consuming tuna
Research has confirmed that tuna contains a considerable amount of mercury. Mercury is a metallic element that occurs naturally in the environment. Factory waste disposed of carelessly can also add mercury to the water bodies. Mercury particles that are present in air or vapor dissolve in water and interact with the bacteria in it. Fish living in that water will then absorb mercury into their bodies. When a person eats a fish that was exposed to mercury, he will absorb that mercury into his body.
When there is a high concentration of mercury in our bodies, it will cause many health problems such as neurological disorders. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Trusted Source recommends avoiding species of fish like swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tilefish. These fish species have a higher level of mercury in them. But you can offer your child two or three servings of fish with low mercury content.
There are several types of tuna, and one type may contain more mercury than the other. White tuna is known to be the type of tuna with the highest mercury content. Canned light tuna has a low amount of mercury in them. Therefore, it is the best kind of tuna to offer your baby.
3. Allergies to tuna
Whatever the new food you offer to your baby, you have to look out for symptoms of an allergy. If you keep an eye on the baby after giving him new food, you will be able to identify an allergy in the earliest stage and look for treatment as soon as possible. Quick medical treatment can prevent many adverse effects of allergies.
Until recently, it was advised to avoid seafood for the first year of a baby’s life to reduce the risk of an allergy. But the updated guidelines recommend offering fish and other seafood to babies while they are young. Introducing fish to the baby’s diet at an early age will decrease the chance of an allergy.
Many people are allergic to shrimps and shellfish but, tuna allergies are very rare. Therefore, you should not worry much about a tuna allergy but always watch for allergy symptoms. These are few symptoms of an allergic reaction.
- tightness of throat
- sneezing
- upset stomach
- throwing up
- diarrhea
- feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- hives (red, itchy bumps)
- rashes (eczema can be worsened due to allergies)
- swelling (lips, around eyes, tongue)
- trouble breathing
If you think your baby is having an allergy, please contact your pediatrician immediately because untreated allergies can be fatal.
4. How to prepare tuna for my baby?
There are many ways that you can offer tuna to your baby. But if your baby is young and you like offering homemade food to him, pureeing tuna is the best option. Put tuna into a blender and blend it till it becomes a yogurt-like paste. You can also mix this paste with a base like avocado. Do not offer your baby the food with multiple ingredients if you have not tried them before.
