So i often see references to not giving weetbix to babies under 12 months. Sometimes it is claims about the salt content, other times it is about fiber and sometimes allergy concerns.

So i did a little research this morning and this is what i found.

First i looked at the salt.
The recommended dietary intake of sodium is as follows;

0-6 months 120mg/day (estimated amount an exclusively BF baby gets)
7-12 months 170mg/day
1-3 years 200-400mg/day *

*from nrv.gov.au

Weetbix contain the following amounts of sodium per serve, which is 30g or 2 biscuits;

Original 96mg
Organic 87mg
Multigrain 157mg
Kids 33mg

Compared to
Oats 5mg / 30 g serve

So oats are the clear winner in terms of Salt, but given that my kids have home cooked fruit and vegies which have minimal amounts of sodium (for example 1/2 an avocado has 2mg of sodium, an apple has about 1mg) At the introduction of solids the RDI goes up by 50mg, i pressume that a baby will still get the 120mg/day from breastmilk and can have up to 50mg more sodium from solids per day. Although one kids weetbix, at 16.5mg a day is a large percentage of this (33%) in terms of salt content, my daughter would still be well under 170mg a day with her diet of mainly fruit and veg.
I guess if my kids were having other foods high in sodium i might see it differently.


I then went on to look at fiber.

Weetbix all contain 3.3g of fiber, except multigrain which contains 4.6g.

Oats are often suggested as an alternative, but the fiber in oats is 3.0g/serve of 30g, so not that different really. BM contains no fibre so i guess it would be a big change for their digestive system. Although the amount of fibre is not huge compared to fruit and veggies. 1 apple has about 2.3g of fibre, a pear has 2.1g, 1/2 Cup carrot has 1.7g.

So again the fiber content is a little higher in weekbix than oats but not significantly.

I have heard a few times that weetbix packets suggest not giving weetbix until 12 months. I looked but couldn?t see it on any box?s here. I did find on their Australian website that they don?t recommend introducing any wheat products until 7 months, but that was all I could find. If anyone has proof of this claim (ie, a box with it on) I?d be interested to hear. What it does say is ?2 Weet-Bix Kids with 1/2 cup of milk provides 1/3 of daily calcium & iron needs of children aged 1-7 years.? That is a far cry from "do not give to infants under 12 month" ( I email the company to ask them about this rumor, awaiting for a reply. )

Finally, the concern of allergy. Given that we have eczema in the family I am going to try and avoid high allergy foods related to eczema. But most things I read suggested that as long as there is no history of allergies it is fine to introduce wheat at around 7-8 months. Although many people say before this is fine, and others say wait until 12 months. There was a study done in Sweden that suggested introducing gluten while still breast feeding was important to reduce the likelihood of a child developing celiac disease.

I guess to the problem is that nutrition and disease is not an exact science. We?re still learning, hence the forever changing recommendations!

As far as weetbix are concerned from all I have seen they are fine as a part of a balanced diet for an infant, particularly if the rest of their diet is low in sodium. Oats are slightly better in terms of salt content and are a good alternative.

I would be very interested if anyone has further reading on introducing wheat...