NUTRITION BITES

EARLY TASTE FOR VEG

roviding vegetables as an infant’s first food is an effective way to improve intake and may help children to develop a preference. Some 117 Auckland babies were enrolled in the trial and randomly assigned to receive either a mix of fruit and veg in their first four weeks of starting solids, or vegetables only. The study found that at nine months, those infants introduced to vegetables only were eating double the amount of broccoli and spinach than those exposed to the mix. Overall, the veg-only group was consuming 28% more vegetables than the mixed group.