One of my biggest concerns with commercially made baby food is the common inclusion of a wide range of additives (flavours, colours, thickeners, gums and preservatives I’m looking at you) but the other concern I have is that at they often tick the carbohydrate and fruit box but they forget the fats!

Fats are incredibly important for our growing children, particularly for their brain development. It’s well researched that healthy fats are a crucial component of wellbeing. Fats have the unparalleled ability to create long-lasting satiation. They are required to help the body absorb nutrients, support brain function, protect internal organs, and to support healthy skin.

Fats are especially crucial during the reproductive years for boosting fertility, supporting baby’s brain to grow during pregnancy, and enriching breastmilk during postpartum. For our little ones, fats are necessary for protecting major organs and building nervous system tissue, stabilising blood sugar and keeping baby satiated for longer, and preventing constipation. Interestingly, the human brain is actually made up of nearly 60% fat, specifically the fatty acid DHA.

Thanks to the fat-free boom of the 1980s, the fear of fats unfortunately still runs deep in our society. The low-fat movement saw us shift away from embracing naturally saturated fats like butter, tallow and lard to incorporating artificially saturated fats like margarine and many vegan butter spreads.

These artificially saturated fats are polyunsaturated oils that should be soft at room temperature but their structure has been modified (transformed = trans) by having hydrogen forced into them (hydrogenated), which makes them solid at room temperature. These oils are artificially saturated, creating trans fats that are extremely damaging and disruptive to hormone production, among other things. This is why I always recommend butter (if tolerated) over margarine!

Talking about polyunsaturated oils, these are our omegas including omega-3 which has huge benefits for our health and our children’s health. The omega 3 fatty acid is best known for its role in brain development and ability to improve cognitive function, which is noteworthy for children as most brain growth is completed by 5-6 years of age.

If we were truly eating and living off the land, we would have a balanced ratio of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which is ideal. Unfortunately though, with the introduction of industrial seed oils, which are classified as omega 6s, we have seen this balance shift.

Oils such as canola, corn, grapeseed, soybean, safflower, sunflower, and vegetable have greatly skewed the ratio of omegas consumed. The standard American diet actually now contains as much as 17 x (!) more omega 6 than is ideal. The overconsumption of oxidised omega 6 is responsible for a variety of modern diseases, inflammatory conditions, high LDL cholesterol, and accelerated ageing.

So what oils do we use then? In my cooking, I love using saturated fats like coconut oil, ghee, tallow and lard. For dressings and drizzling, I love using olive oil and avocado oil. I always seek out oils that have experienced as little processing as possible.

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