Chicken contains many nutrients that babies need to thrive, including vitamins B6 and B12, iron, zinc, choline, selenium, and vitamin B3. Together, these nutrients help support antioxidant activities, fuel cell energy, create healthy blood, promote a strong sense of taste and smell, and boost brain health. Chicken is also a great source of protein, with the full spectrum of amino acids that help develop a growing baby’s brain, muscles, nervous system, heart, skin, and hair. There are many labels for chicken. Free-range, organic, vegetarian-fed, cage-free, pasture-raised… What do they mean, and which one is best? Labels can help consumers, but sometimes they can be misleading. Some chickens are “vegetarian-fed”, which suggests a certain quality, but the label often means the birds are eating commodity grains like corn and soy. “Free-range” and “cage-free” chickens have access to the outdoors where they can eat a more natural diet of worms and bugs in addition to plant-based ...
Tuna is tricky, especially when it comes to babies. We recommend serving other fish that are lower in mercury and to refrain from serving tuna of any variety to babies and toddlers under the age of two.
While the FDA deems “canned light tuna” safe for children age 2 and up, the levels of mercury in studies of canned light tuna (or any other kind of canned tuna) did not meet our fish standards for babies. Further, a Consumer Reports analysis of canned light tuna found that the mercury levels in the samples varied widely, with some containing double the average amount of mercury listed by the FDA.2
The research and recommendations are unclear around how often a baby younger than 2 years old can have tuna, so consider the risks and explore healthier alternatives. There are a number of safe canned fish options, including low-sodium sardines and low-sodium, wild-caught salmon.
Not in our opinion. Tuna contains many essential nutrients including iron, potassium, protein, selenium, and vitamins D and B12. Yet all varieties of tuna, including the commonly recommended “canned light” and skipjack varieties, contain varying levels of mercury, a toxic metal which can have devastating effects on our central nervous and neurological systems.3The most vulnerable? Babies.
Mercury is a highly toxic metal and there is no known safe level of exposure.4 Most fish these days contain varying levels of mercury as a result of pollution from coal and energy plants that emit toxic metals into the air, which then settle into the water and bind to the flesh of fish. Mercury accumulates within the body (and can take decades to expel), which makes it a particularly persistent and progressive toxin.5
To make matters worse, of all canned foods, tuna has some of the highest levels of bisphenol-A, or BPA, which is a chemical that’s used to line the interior of plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Toxins bind to fats, and because tuna (and other fish) are naturally high in fats, the fish is highly susceptive to the BPA in a can’s lining. Always purchase cans or pouches marked BPA-free.
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