\n
Before your little one\u2019s exciting flavour-led weaning adventure begins, there are a number of foods you should be aware of that will need to be avoided or introduced later as a precaution, as some can be harmful to healthy growth and development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Have a quick read of the 12 harmful foods and ingredients to avoid when weaning your baby, all of which are supported by nutritionists. \u00a0<\/p>\n
1. Added Salt<\/strong>: Salt and high-salt foods (like stock-cube) should be avoided as it can damage a baby\u2019s immature kidneys. Babies under 1 year old need less than 1g of salt per day, which they usually get from breast milk or formula.<\/p>\n2. Added Sugar<\/strong>: Babies are sweet enough! They don\u2019t require any more sugar. Sugar can damage a baby\u2019s growing teeth (even before the teeth have emerged) and lead to unnecessary and unhealthy weight gain. This does not apply to natural sugars from fruits, vegetables and in their usual milk.\u00a0<\/p>\n3. Honey<\/strong>: Occasionally honey contains a bacteria that can cause infant botulism \u2013 a rare but very serious illness. Avoid honey until after your baby\u2019s first birthday, and even then, use it sparingly \u2013 it can contribute to tooth decay.\u00a0<\/p>\n4. Low-fat Foods<\/strong>: Fat is an important source of concentrated energy for babies and toddlers. Full-fat foods (e.g. milk, yogurt, cheese) are a must for baby until the age of two, after which you can think about introducing low-fat foods if baby is growing well. Be aware of higher sugar levels in low-fat products.\u00a0<\/p>\n5. Whole Nuts<\/strong>: (excludes Nut Butters) Whole nuts are a choking hazard so shouldn\u2019t be offered to your little one until she is at least 5 years old. Peanuts and other nuts can, however, be introduced into a baby\u2019s diet in either a crushed or ground form from the age of 6 months. Alternatively offer baby peanut butter or nut butters instead, as long as your little one is not allergic \u2013 note: some contain added salt and sugar. Be cautious: discuss the introduction of nuts into your baby\u2019s diet with your GP or health visitor. If there\u2019s a history of allergies, asthma, eczema, hayfever in your family, you may need to wait until later to be safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n6. Runny Eggs<\/strong>: Undercooked eggs may cause food poisoning (salmonella) so no runny yolks for baby just yet. Eggs are safe from 6 months but the whole egg (yolk and white) should be cooked thoroughly (your baby can eat eggs with runny yolks from 1 year). Eggs are also an allergen in some infants so keep an eye on baby when introducing egg for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n7. Shellfish<\/strong>: Undercooked shellfish should never be offered to baby as it can cause food poisoning. Ideally wait until your little one is older (7\u20139 months old) before introducing it, well cooked, to baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n8. Shark, Swordfish, Marlin<\/strong>: These fish contain high levels of mercury which can affect a baby\u2019s developing nervous system, so avoid them. Offer oily fish instead: tuna, salmon or mackerel.<\/p>\n9. Wheat and Gluten<\/strong>: should be avoided prior to the age of 6 months as they can potentially trigger an allergy.\u00a0<\/p>\n10. Cow\u2019s Milk<\/strong>: Avoid cow\u2019s milk as a main drink as it lacks the right balance of nutrients for infants under one. Continue with breast milk or formula until your little one\u2019s first birthday \u2013\u00a0 the amount will decrease as she fills up on more solid food and you can move to 500\u2013600ml per day. It is then safe to introduce cow\u2019s milk as a main drink but it must be whole milk only.\u00a0 Cow\u2019s milk is suitable to use in cooking from 6 months.\u00a0<\/p>\n11. Tea and Coffee<\/strong>: Caffeine not only disrupts a baby\u2019s sleep but also reduces iron absorption, which can be detrimental to a baby\u2019s health and can potentially increase the risk of anaemia. Offer sips of water with meals instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n12. Squash, Flavoured Milk and Fizzy Drinks<\/strong>: These drinks aren\u2019t necessary for baby. They contain added sugar, which can lead to both tooth decay and weight gain. Offer sips of water with meals instead.<\/p>\nRead my article Must-Know: Achieve a Balanced Diet for Your Baby<\/a> for easy to follow nutritional information, and general details on what you should be offering to your little one during the weaning journey. If you already know, head over to my yummy recipes<\/a> and give them a go instead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before your little one\u2019s exciting flavour-led weaning adventure begins, there are a number of foods you should be aware of that will need to be avoided or introduced later as a precaution, as some can be harmful to healthy growth and development.\u00a0 Have a quick read of the 12 harmful foods and ingredients to avoid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[6078,52384,57317,39918,52383],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-132022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blw","tag-ahmed","tag-jagot","tag-nutritionists","tag-supported","tag-zainab"],"yoast_head":"\n
Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before your little one\u2019s exciting flavour-led weaning adventure begins, there are a number of foods you should be aware of that will need to be avoided or introduced later as a precaution, as some can be harmful to healthy growth and development.\u00a0 Have a quick read of the 12 harmful foods and ingredients to avoid […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-14T02:52:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-14T02:52:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\"},\"wordCount\":731,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Ahmed\",\"Jagot\",\"Nutritionists\",\"Supported\",\"Zainab\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blw\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\",\"name\":\"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-14T02:52:16+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed - Som2ny Network","og_description":"Before your little one\u2019s exciting flavour-led weaning adventure begins, there are a number of foods you should be aware of that will need to be avoided or introduced later as a precaution, as some can be harmful to healthy growth and development.\u00a0 Have a quick read of the 12 harmful foods and ingredients to avoid […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-03-14T02:52:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed","datePublished":"2025-03-14T02:52:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022"},"wordCount":731,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png","keywords":["Ahmed","Jagot","Nutritionists","Supported","Zainab"],"articleSection":["Blw"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022","name":"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png","datePublished":"2025-03-14T02:52:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FoodstoAvoid.png","width":800,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=132022#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Supported by Nutritionists \u2014 Zainab Jagot Ahmed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/132023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132022"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=132022"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=132022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/598f2a3a37c581edc420c362\/1519846388496-E5OYXULH8UJFZQMUGF3B\/Foods+to+Avoid.png?format=1500w\")
<\/p>\n