In the medical community there are quite a few differences regarding the recommendations of the age of introduction of fish in the baby's diet. Now a study indicates that babies who eat fish between six and twelve months of age have a lower risk of asthma in the future.
Recall that white fish is the first that is introduced in complementary feeding, between nine and twelve months according to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics. For its part, blue fish is recommended after 18 months, later, for its high fat content.
However, remember that not all blue fish is recommended for children under three years: the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) has issued a clear recommendation for children to avoid the consumption of fish species contaminated by mercury , that is, sharks, swordfish (emperor), pike or bluefin tuna.
So, once these clarifications have been made, the first thing we have looked for in the study published in the journal Pediatrics has been the kind of fish babies have eaten. We have found that the different species are specified:
In blue fish herring, mackerel and eel
In white fish the sole, cod, haddock, hake, trout ... It is curious that the swordfish is introduced into white fish, when we consider it blue.
But what we did not find in the study is the reference to the type of fish the babies ate. What we do know is that a small group was given fish even before six months of age, which seems excessive.
The study has been developed by researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). According to their conclusions, consuming fish (if more specifications) in the second half of life is associated with a lower prevalence of wheezing.
The eating habits of more than 7,000 children born between 2002 and 2006 have been studied, concluding that early exposure to certain fish fatty acids protect against the development of asthma.
It was observed that among children who ate fish after one year of age there was a higher prevalence of asthma (between 40-45%) than among children who ate fish between six and twelve months (30%).
That is why the authors believe that it would not be justified to delay the introduction of fish in the diet of babies, since its components would help in that early stage to strengthen the immune system.
But this is not the last word, and we must take into account many factors not specified in the study (starting with the type of fish) and especially wait for specialists in the world of pediatrics and Child nutrition confirm or not these recommendations.
