ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) in its recently released guidelines recommends feeding infants foods of semi-solid consistency while introducing complementary foods to them at six months. "Start with thin but not watery porridge (dal gruel) for 4-5 days and gradually increase its thickness to slurry consistency (well mashed or pureed foods).  

ICMR along with National Institute of Nutrition released 17 new dietary guidelines for Indians across different age groups to help them make better food choices.

"Do not give watery foods such as dal kaa paani, instead give mashed pulse/dals of a thicker consistency," says the medical research body.

Many parents may feed infants watery foods like dal kaa paani after they spit out semi-solid or mashed foods. But the guidelines say that it could be because they are still learning to swallow.

ICMR guidelines say that infant's act of spitting out the semi-solid food could be part of their learning process to swallow the food and it doesn't mean they dislike the food. Physiological maturity of swallowing such food is achieved when such foods are fed regularly to them.

"The fact is that an infant cannot achieve full coordination needed for the act of swallowing and hence, brings out the food by movements of the tongue). Therefore, it is important to start feeding with semi-solid foods in small quantity (two or three teaspoons)."

What are complementary foods?

Breast milk alone is not sufficient for adequate growth of infants after a baby turns 6 months and semi-solid foods must be added to breastfed infants from 6 to 12 months.

"The total energy and protein requirements for an infant from 6 to 12 months range is from 650 to 720 Kcal/day, and 9-10.5g/day respectively. But on an average, after six months, breast milk provides about 500 Kcal and 5g protein per day, which is inadequate for optimal growth of infants after six months of age," says the guideline.

What to eat, what to avoid

The guidelines state the micronutrient need of infants is high and foods served to them should be high on micronutrient-dense. "Along with cereals, nutrient-dense foods such as oil seeds, nuts, milk, vegetables, and fruits must be included. Flesh foods and eggs or pulses such as lentils, chickpea, kidney beans, cowpea, black gram can be good source of proteins," says ICMR.

The apex medical research body however warns that fruit juices and sugar-sweetened beverages must be avoided, while fresh fruit juices or fresh fruit purees can be given to infants. "Sugar or salt need not be added to complementary foods," says the body.

Best foods for infants

Carrot puree, pumpkin puree, spinach puree, potato puree, apple puree, grated boiled egg, mashed fish, can be given to 6–8-month-old infants while grated mixed vegetable, egg pudding, and eggnog could be added to the diet of 9- to 12-month-old babies. Plain dalia, boiled egg, and vegetable khichdi are suitable for babies of 1 year and above.

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