What should baby’s first food be?
Spoiler. It’s an Avocado.
Navigating your baby’s early years can be daunting. As a new mother, with a desire to make your baby happy during the transition into solid foods and to ensure she is getting all the necessary nutrients, you might find yourself overwhelmed by the prospect of figuring out how and what to feed your baby. Take out the guesswork with this easy-to-navigate, quick visual reference about the health benefits of avocados for babies when introducing them early in life. Avocados stand out among other popular fruits in that they deliver five essential nutrients for toddlers (ages 1-3) — fiber (2 grams), vitamin C (2 milligrams), magnesium (10 milligrams), folate (20 micrograms), and vitamin K (5 micrograms) per 25-gram serving. A fun and effortless tool, this guide explains how avocados start nutrition right.
Simple resource guide with healthy tips and useful avocado mash-ups for your baby.
Nutrient-Dense Avocados Pack a Punch
A benefit of avocados for babies and toddlers is that they are a sugar-free healthy choice that contributes 2.5 grams of monounsaturated fat and 0.5 gram of polyunsaturated fat per 25-gram serving to a children’s diet. Preparing delicious, homemade foods using avocados and other healthy options like mangoes, strawberries, pears and squash helps broaden children’s palates and open the gateway into enjoying fruits and vegetables for a lifetime. Observational studies have demonstrated later health benefits of early nutrition choices when infants consumed higher amounts of fruits and/or vegetables, such as better body weights1, lower blood pressure2, lower risk of stroke3 and some cancers4 as well as overall higher fruit and vegetable intake5. Future research on ideal infant and toddler foods, including avocado, is warranted to further explore their potential in both early life and later-life health outcomes.6
Simple and delicious baby-friendly recipe.
Note: It is important to speak to a pediatrician before adding solid foods to an infant’s diet
References:
1. Saavedra, J.M.; Deming, D.; Dattilo, A.; Reidy, K. Lessons from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study in North America: What Children Eat, and Implications for Obesity Prevention. Ann Nutr Metab. 2013, 62 Suppl 3, 27-36.
2. Moore, L.L.; Singer, M.R.; Bradlee, M.L.; Djousse, L.; Proctor, M.H.; Cupples, L.A.; Ellison, R.C. Intake of Fruits, Vegetables, and Dairy Products in Early Childhood and Subsequent Blood Pressure Change. Epidemiology. 2005, 16, 4-11.
3.Ness, A.R.; Maynard, M.; Frankel, S.; Smith, G.D.; Frobisher, C.; Leary, S.D.; Emmett, P.M.; Gunnell, D. Diet in Childhood and Adult Cardiovascular and All Cause Mortality: The Boyd Orr Cohort. Heart. 2005, 91, 894-898.
4. Maynard, M.; Gunnell, D.; Emmett, P.; Frankel, S.; Davey Smith, G. Fruit, Vegetables, and Antioxidants in Childhood and Risk of Adult Cancer: The Boyd Orr Cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003, 57, 218-225.
5. Coulthard, H.; Harris, G.; Emmett, P. Long-Term Consequences of Early Fruit and Vegetable Feeding Practices in the United Kingdom. Public Health Nutr. 2010, 13, 2044-2051.
6. /health-professionals/research-initiative/role-avocados-complementary-transitional-feeding/
Fresh Avocados Offer Solutions for Hispanic Millennial Caregivers
FREE FACT SHEET
A majority of U.S. Hispanic Millennials serve as caregivers to their aging family members and want better sources of information on how to provide heart healthy diets.
While caregiving is a source of great cultural pride, nearly 45% admitted feeling stressed and even overwhelmed by the responsibility.
Hispanics continue to face higher risks for heart disease than non-Hispanics because of high rates of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
The USDA recommends cutting back on all bad fats in favor of good fats like those naturally in avocados that will not raise cholesterol levels. Education that fresh avocados can help reduce the risk of heart disease because they are good sources of fiber, have naturally good fats and have no cholesterol nor sodium, was well received through a survey, with more than 90% expressing peace of mind and over 90% intending to research more recipes and meal options including avocados.
Download Spanish PDFRetail Dietitian’s Heart-Healthy Toolkit
PROMOTIONAL IDEAS
There are so many reasons and ways to Love One Today® and now, we’ve made it easier for you to share the benefits of eating fresh avocados every day with your shoppers.
Our Retail Dietitian’s Heart-Healthy Toolkit is packed with ideas to help you promote heart-healthy eating and ways to do that with avocados all 12 months of the year. Each month features a variety of heart-healthy recipes, which are a delicious collection of fresh avocado recipes that have been reviewed against science-based criteria and certified to fit into heart-healthy diet and lifestyle recommendations.
We hope you’ll use these materials as thought-starters for tasks, such as your weekly blog post, or take and run with them as-is for your monthly nutrition TV segment or daily social media posts. We’ve made it easy for you by linking all photos, recipes, research and more to our website and making the social media posts shareable across your personal channels – just click on the social icons throughout the toolkit.
However you slice, dice, mash or spread the information in our Retail Dietitian’s Heart-Healthy Toolkit, we hope you’ll Love One Today® and share the good nutrition news about Hass Avocados with your shoppers, using our fun and engaging ideas.
50 Things to Love About Fresh Avocados
A list of 50 reasons to love fresh avocados, in no-particular order.
Click to share your favorite reasons to love fresh avocados, or download them all!
Blood Flow and Inflammation: Research Summary and Frequently Asked Questions
FREE FACT SHEET
Researchers believe the combination of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and antioxidants found in avocados could play a role in heart health.
Published in Food and Function, the pilot study, Hass Avocado Modulates Postprandial Vascular Reactivity and Postprandial Inflammatory Responses to a Hamburger Meal in Healthy Volunteers, investigated the effects of adding one-half of a medium fresh Hass avocado to hamburger (90% lean) on peripheral arterial blood flow (the movement of blood to different parts of the body) and inflammation, compared to a burger without avocado in 11 healthy men.
Avocados and Diet Quality: Healthy Eating Index Graphic
FREE FACT SHEET
Avocado consumers had significantly higher overall diet quality than non-avocado consumers in relation to the healthy eating index.
Research found avocado consumers more closely adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans compared to those who don’t eat avocados, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index.
1. Fulgoni VL, Dreher M and Davenport A. Avocado Consumption is Associated with Better Diet Quality and Nutrient Intake, and Lower Metabolic Syndrome Risk in US Adults: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2008. Nutrition Journal. 2013; 12:1 (2 January 2013).
These findings are based on NHANES survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the 24-hour dietary recalls may be inaccurate and biased due to misreporting and memory lapses. The findings cannot provide causal evidence between avocado consumption and improvements in diet quality.
Avocados and Diet Quality: Nutrient Intake Graphic
FREE FACT SHEET
Avocado consumers had significantly higher intakes of several important nutrients compared to non-avocado consumers.
Research found avocado consumers had significantly higher intakes of certain important nutrients including 36% more dietary fiber, 23% more vitamin E, 13% more magnesium, 16% more potassium and 48% more vitamin K than non-avocado consumers.1
1. Fulgoni VL, Dreher M and Davenport A. Avocado Consumption is Associated with Better Diet Quality and Nutrient Intake, and Lower Metabolic Syndrome Risk in US Adults: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2008. Nutrition Journal. 2013; 12:1 (2 January 2013).
These findings are based on NHANES survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the 24-hour dietary recalls may be inaccurate and biased due to misreporting and memory lapses. The findings cannot provide causal evidence between avocado consumption and improvements in diet quality.
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