We received a message this weekend from Lianne in Iowa, United States who was worried about giving her baby foods that might cause gas (or ‘wind’.)
My son is 6 months old and has just started baby food. We’ve only given him sweet potato, squash and fruit so far. I’d like to introduce broccoli and beans, but my friend told me not to give beans because they gave her son gas. Lucas had a lot of colic in his first few months and I’m afraid to cause any more problems. What would you suggest?
Well, it’s certainly true that some foods are more likely than others to cause gas – not just in babies, but in adults too. It’s also true that the foods most likely to cause gas will only do so in certain individuals, whilst others can eat them and suffer from no problems with gas at all!
So it’s important not to compare your baby’s reactions to certain foods with those of other children. Just because a friend’s baby seems gassy after eating broccoli, for example, doesn’t mean your baby will too!
Why do certain foods cause gas
Some foods are more likely than others to cause intestinal gas because they are composed of a relatively high percentage of material that the body is unable to digest, such as certain sugars and carbohydrates.
If your baby eats these foods, this indigestible material goes to the large intestine, where it is consumed by the natural ‘healthy’ bacteria in his gut. Whilst consuming this material, the bacteria give off their own waste product – gas – which your baby’s body then has to deal with.
The foods most likely to cause gas include…
- beans (of all kinds)
- dried legumes (lentils etc)
- brussels sprouts
- whole grains (particularly wheat)
- dried fruit
Some people even experience gas after eating dairy products (including cheese), apples peaches and pears.
So – as you can see – the list of foods that can cause gas is not only fairly lengthy… it also contains a great deal of very healthy foods that you certainly don’t want to be excluding from your baby’s diet!
Introducing foods that may cause gas – tips to minimize the problem
There are ways of minimizing the side effects that the typically ‘gassy’ foods have on your baby…
- Soak dried legumes – like lentils – for at least a few hours before cooking them, or preferably overnight. Better still, change the soaking water a few times throughout the process! Much of the indigestible sugar in the legumes dissolves into the water… so you can simply toss the problem down the sink!
- If cooking broccoli for your baby, use just the florets (you could save the stems for making stock). Some people find that the stems cause them to produce more gas than the florets – and the florets are more nutritious for your baby anyway!
- When cooking any foods that have a reputation for causing gas, add sliced fresh ginger to the cooking water – or add a little ginger to the finished dish. Ginger is a wonderful digestive aid. The first time you use ginger (from 6 months onwards), treat it as a ‘new food’ and introduce with a food your baby is already enjoying.
- Make ‘gassy’ foods a regular part of your baby’s diet, rather than only offering them from time to time. In some cultures, ‘gassy’ foods like lentils are consumed on a regular basis… but this doesn’t mean that everyone who eats them is plagued by gas! This is because the body becomes accustomed to processing those foods – so for your baby, any problems with gas will likely diminish as he begins to enjoy those foods more frequently.
- When you introduce beans to your baby, try lots of different varieties! You may find that navy beans give your baby gas, for example, but that black beans don’t cause any problems at all!
- Avoid canned beans – these won’t have received your special ‘gas-busting’ treatment (soak-rinse-soak), so canned beans may give your baby worse gas than beans you’ve cooked yourself.
- Make sure your little one eats plenty of natural yogurt, which helps balance the healthy bacteria in his gut.
Why it’s a good idea to delay the introduction of particularly gassy foods
We don’t recommend offering the worst offenders (like beans) to your baby as a very first food – after all, his digestive will be busy enough becoming accustomed to a solid diet rather than a purely liquid one!
But you can try offering some of these foods after he’s already enjoying some of the more ‘innocuous’ fruits and veggies – from 6 to 8 months.
Not only will his digestive system be more mature by 8 months – he will probably be fairly mobile. And this is actually an important point to take into consideration.
Producing gas after eating certain foods is a normal, healthy reaction – the problem arises when your little one is unable to expel that gas.
Younger babies – who are not yet crawling or perhaps not yet sitting up – are more likely to suffer from trapped gas, which can be very uncomfortable. Once babies are on the move, however, the gas seems to work its way out much more easily – and whilst this may result in a fair amount of noise in the diaper department, it doesn’t usually lead to distress. In fact, our little ones have always giggled and seemed rather delighted by their sound effects!
So to summarize, we recommend…
- NOT offering typically ‘gassy’ foods as your baby’s very first foods.
- Delaying the introduction of the gassiest foods until your baby is AT LEAST 6 months of age, but preferably closer to 8 months… and mobile!
- Following the steps shown above to minimize the effects when preparing certain foods.
- Offering ‘gassy’ foods on a regular basis so that your baby’s body becomes accustomed to them.
- Accepting that a little gas is perfectly normal and that – as long as your baby does not seem distressed by it – gas in itself is not a problem.
Are there any foods that give YOUR baby gas? Have you found any ways to minimize the gassiness caused by certain foods? Please do share your experiences!
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