Lets talk about weetbix.

[Junglemum]

Like did you know celery contains the same amount as weet-bix in one stalk?

I had no idea!

[*EJ*]

Very interesting and WOW on all your research Falguni!!

DS1 has had wheatbix from an early age (not sure exactly when) started on rice cereal and then progressed to wheatbix once he was needing a little more at breakfast time.

I must say i have never looked into wheatbix so throughly but in my ignorance (maybe/maybe not) believed i was giving him a healthy nutritious breakfast compared to other choices i could have made. On top of the wheatbix he also has puffed rice, LSA mix & apple/pear puree that i make each week. Scarey thought but would this be considered a high salt content breakfast? Once again considereing it's fruit picked from a tree?

The mention of eczema is an interesting one, DS1 does have patches on his arms & legs of 'dry skin' that i apply a perscribed cream to. I use soap free products but these will still flare up now and again. I wonder if it has anything to do with wheat??

To this day he has wheatbix every morning and he loves it. I have breifly researched the contents in food we eat and i try really hard to make the right decisions. I'd definately be interested to hear what others think and have found out from research and expereince.

Great thread Falguni

[Indadhanu]

Thats a great post. I also tried to find the "not under 12 months" recommendation, on the box and on the website, but never did (I suspect its an urban legend, like the 'illegal to put poopy nappies in the bin' legend too ).

I never really understood the delaying wheat thing... actually, I still don't... since commercial teething rusks are made from wheat? And all recipes I found for home-made teething rusks were just breadsticks. Feeding a baby is so confusing...!

Also, did you know cornflakes is JAMPACKED full of sodium? Over 200mg in one 30g serve. Crazy!

[Roryrory]

Good work on the research!!

I researched introduction of wheat when Flynn was little and found a US study that showed the "late" introduction of wheat (ie: late was considered to be after 7 months!) was as much an indicator of developing coeliacs disease as "early" introduction (ie: before 5 months). But the sample was children who already had one other close family member (parent/sibling) with CD, so how this applicable this is to other kids I don't know. But in light of that study I introduced Flynn to solids at 5 months with a view to introducing wheat at spot on six months (not that I had CD, I just have a sensitivity as does DH).

So it is a hard thing to work out!!!

[Rouge]

Unfortunately Sodium is sodium, any doctor will tell you if you are required to have less than 1000mg (or whatever the measurement is) of sodium a day celery is definitely out. So whilst it might be fiberous and what not the sodium content would be just as much an issue (if that concerned you) as weet-bix. Another interesting fact about sodium is that in salt its only 40% sodium and 60% chloride and as humans we do need a certain percentage of sodium in our diet. Sodium deficiency can be just as bad for us as too much. So its important to note that moderation is the key with any foods. Just as overeating some of the healthiest foods for us can make us sick so can having too little of things like fat, sugar and salt. They all have their place. Obviously processed foods are not a necessity but even things like the raw diet and wholefood diet can make people sick too. This happened to my SIL who ended up with no periods and malnutrition from being on a raw food diet. Which is quite interesting. She still eats quite healthily but she is no way near as hard on herself, and now her body has returned to normal.

[Phteven]

Just on the topic of celery, it's pretty much an empty food since it uses more calories to chew and digest it than it contains. That's great if you're a dieting adult but not so great for a growing child. I love celery but we seldom eat it here.

[Janie]

Love your work hun!

I have been meaning to look into the whole weetbix thing for ages . You've prompted me to go and check what I wanted to, and I am feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself. DS mostly has porridge, but sometimes has vita brits. I have always had vita brits, never once bought weetbix! After comparing the two, we will definitely be changing to weetbix. And I can't believe that after trying to eliminate Nestle from our shopping, I never even thought about the fact that vita brits are made by Uncle Toby's (therefore Nestle)!!!!

So thanks for getting me off my butt, to check this out. And I loved reading your info about the allergy aspect of introducing wheat - I too have always felt confused by the info out there.

ETA Okay, loving all this info about celery......can't believe I never knew this stuff!

[maz]

Obviously processed foods are not a necessity but even things like the raw diet and wholefood diet can make people sick too. This happened to my SIL who ended up with no periods and malnutrition from being on a raw food diet. Which is quite interesting. She still eats quite healthily but she is no way near as hard on herself, and now her body has returned to normal.

OMG....that has just blown me away big time!!!!

[AnyDream]

A bit OT but...I'm gonna pipe up and say I *love* Weetbix. Main reason, DD1 (never a big eater) skated along near anemia for a while (between the ages of 4 - 8 & flat-out refused to swallow supplements), and Weetbix has the added iron in it. None of the other brands (based on hasty supermarket packet reading) have the iron. Basically I could feed DD a breakfast of Weetbix and a glass of iron-fortified juice and over several weeks her appetite, energy etc would return to normal.