Because babies are so small, an excess of any single nutrient in their diet can quickly build up. Some nutrients can even cause toxicity if they're present in the system in excess. Nitrates can cause a type of poisoning in infants called Methemoglobinemia. This condition prevents the blood from absorbing oxygen. It's more commonly seen in infants whose families rely on well water, but there are occasionally cases that result from naturally occurring nitrates in certain vegetables. These include:
- Green beans
- Collard greens
In the United States, there's been only one reported case of infant nitrate poisoning that resulted from eating vegetables. Nevertheless, some commercial baby food producers monitor the nitrate content of these vegetables to ensure that it's not too high, but because you can't test the nitrate levels of foods at home, some doctors recommend against using these vegetables in homemade baby food [source: Shelov].
Salt, sugar and other seasonings are also unnecessary in your baby's diet. Diets that are high in salt and sugar are associated with childhood obesity and adult diseases such as hypertension and diabetes [source: Fuhrman].
Now that you know what foods your baby needs, keep reading to learn how easy it is to prepare them at home.