Baby rice is not that different from normal rice, other than its consistency – it’s very fine, quite like flour. Since it is especiallymade for babies, it often contains several vitamins, like zinc to strengthen the immune system. It also comes with iron that is essential for healthy blood and thiamin that enables body to get energy from food. Many parents don’t know much about baby rice consistency. They want to know, “what is baby rice made of?” and “What are the real benefits of using baby rice?” If you have the similar questions, just continue reading to learn everything about baby rice.
What Is Baby Rice Made Of?
One of the common questions parents ask is, “what is baby rice made of?” It actually depends on a number of factors. First of all, you need to consider how you get it. Are you going to buy it from a shop? If that is the case, you should probably be checking the label to know its ingredients. One popular choice is XXX Brand Cereals, which contains dry skim milk, rice flour, safflower oil, dicalcium phosphate, reduced iron, natural flavor, inulin, soybean, lecithin, and some vitamins, such as riboflavin, niacin amide, and thiaminemononitrate.
You can always decide to make it at home as well. For this purpose, you can either use brown rice or opt for white rice as well. Here’s a bit more about how to make baby rice at home and how you get the optimum baby rice consistency.
Ingredients
- Half cup of rice
- A cup of water
Directions
Add some water to a saucepan and add half cup of rice to it. You can use basmati rice, brown rice, or jasmine as well. Be sure to stir it thoroughly and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Be sure to keep stirring half way through cooking time. Once you notice that the rice is no longer in the pan and is turned into finer consistency, you may consider adding half up of water, formula milk, or even breast milk. Now turn it into a puree while making sure it doesn’t turn into paste. Once done, give it to your baby mixed with veggies, fruits, and liquid of your choice.
Is It Safe to Feed Baby with Baby Rice?
A simple answer is – just avoid feeding rice cereal to your little angel for it contains high levels of arsenic. The FDA has already confirmed that rice and rice products contain certain levels of arsenic that might not be healthy for your child. The arsenic raises the risk of cancer. They found a substantial amount of arsenic in products, including rice breakfast cereals, rice baby cereal, white rice, brown rice, rice drinks, and rice crackers.
It is worth mentioning that most foods will always contain some amount of organic arsenic, but that’s not what causes serious issues. You experience certain problems by giving such foods to your child that may contain high levels of inorganic arsenic. The alarming thing is that some baby rice cereals are loaded with arsenic; in fact, the amount is five times more than other alternatives such as oatmeal. It means giving three servings of such rice cereals will definitely increase the risk of developing cancer.
The experts believe that it is important to give your young ones a variety of foods to reduce their exposure to organic or inorganic arsenic. It is always a better idea to consider other alternatives, especially when there is no evidence to confirm any benefits of rice cereals.
3 Significant Reasons to Give Up Shop-Bought Baby Rice
It is true that even if you prepare baby rice at home, you will still be putting your baby’s health at stake. The disadvantages are even bigger when you opt for shop-bought baby rice. Here are some important reasons why you should avoid using shop-bought baby rice.
It Leads to Deficiencies
Many studies have found that after switching to solids, your baby may not show any interest in breast milk for at least 24 hours. If you’re using store-bought baby rice as the first solid food for your baby, it means you’re using a poor substitute to nutrient rich breast milk. This may cause certain deficiencies in your baby. Moreover, your baby may have lower hemoglobin levels if you start baby rice or other iron fortified foods before your baby is 7 months old. Some experts also associate white rice cereal to childhood obesity because it is made of processed white flour and is high in calories.
It Contains Too Much Sugar
Yet again, you don’t want to overload your child’s body with sugar. This will cause obesity and lead to several other complications as well, and giving baby rice is quite like feeding your kids a spoonful of sugar.
It Can Be Toxic
As mentioned already, baby rice and other rice products contain arsenic, and increased arsenic exposure may increase the risk of certain cancer. This will also expose your child to several toxic metals, such as cadmium, which can cause serious kidney and neurological damage. These foods, especially store-bought rice porridge, may also contain other toxic elements such as uranium and lead.