Afraid your baby will hate fruits? Eat them when breastfeeding

Most mothers find it difficult to train their babies to like fruits and vegetables.

But experts have discovered that breastfeeding can be a good way to start.

Medical experts from Monell Center suggest that breastfeeding mothers can incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diets first.

"It's a beautiful system," says Julie A Mennella, an author of the study.

"Flavours from the mother's diet are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother's milk. So, a baby learns to like a food's taste when the mother eats that food regularly."

Mennella advised mothers to offer their baby plenty of opportunities to taste fruits and vegetables as they make the transition to solid foods by giving repeated feeding exposures to these healthy foods, regardless of whether they’re breastfeeding or using formula.

"Vegetable and fruit consumption is linked to lower risks of obesity and certain cancers," she says.

"The best predictor of how much fruits and vegetable children eat is whether they like the tastes of these foods. If we can get babies to learn to like these tastes, we can get them off to an early start of healthy eating."

The results revealed that breastfeeding confers an advantage for the baby's acceptance of foods during weaning, but only if the mother regularly eats those foods.

"Babies are born with a dislike for bitter tastes," explains Mennella.

"If mothers want their babies to learn to like to eat vegetables, especially green vegetables, they need to provide them with opportunities to taste these foods."

The researchers also found that babies' facial expressions did not always match their willingness to continue feeding, noting that infants innately display facial expressions of distaste for certain flavours.

They urge caregivers to provide their infants with repeated opportunities to taste fruits and vegetables, focusing on the infant's willingness to eat the food instead of on their negative facial expressions during eating.

"Babies are born with a dislike for bitter tastes," explains Mennella.

"If mothers want their babies to learn to like to eat vegetables, especially green vegetables, they need to provide them with opportunities to taste these foods."

The researchers also found that babies' facial expressions did not always match their willingness to continue feeding, noting that infants innately display facial expressions of distaste for certain flavors even from the womb.

They urged caregivers to provide their infants with repeated opportunities to taste fruits and vegetables, focusing on the infant's willingness to eat the food instead of on their negative facial expressions during eating.