Radish For Babies – When to Introduce, Benefits, and Precautions

When Can You Introduce Radish to Your Baby?

Once your baby is ready to eat solids (6 months and above) slowly introduce them to different kinds of vegetables. Radish can be one of them, but it requires special attention before you introduce it to your baby. Being a hard vegetable, even after cooking it fully, radishes can be difficult to digest for your baby because of the immature digestive system. For this reason, you may want to try a very small amount of radish if you are feeding that for the first time.

It is always suggested to wait for a day or two and observe the reactions. If you do not see any digestive issues after feeding radish to your baby you can continue with that as a portion of basic solid food for your little one. However, it is suggestible to feed radish once your baby turns a year old. It is then the digestive system is matured enough to digest hard vegetables like radish. Also, note that radish can cause gas trouble in babies, it also contains high sodium content.

Nutritional Value of Radish

Radish or Mooli is a common root vegetable found in most Indian kitchens. Daikon radishes are white and are the most commonly used radishes in India. A well-cooked radish can be good nutrition for your baby. The below table provides the appropriate nutritional value of cooked daikon radish per 100 gms.

Amazing Top 5 Health Benefits of Radish For Babies

Among many good things that Radishes provide, here are a few important health benefits that your baby can gain by eating radishes.

1. Acts as an Immunity Booster

Radishes are immunity boosters. The presence of myrosinase, an enzyme family that acts as a powerful anticancer agent makes radish an important vegetable to be included in your baby’s diet. Radishes also increase antibacterial and antiviral properties in the body thus helping the baby stay away from seasonal infections.

2. Helps in Better Digestion and Bowel Movement

The amount of fiber and water content present in radishes helps your baby’s digestive system stay active. Radishes help improve gut health and boost digestion and ease bowel movements. This can help the baby stay away from constipation and other digestive issues. Radishes also boost bile production which plays an important role in digestion.

[Read : Constipation In Babies]

3. Helps in Removing Toxins From the Body and Aids in Kidney Functioning

A healthy kidney functioning is vital to send the toxins out of the body. Radish acts as a diuretic and helps purify urine and reduce the fluids in the body.

4. Rich in Antioxidants

Radishes are rich in antioxidants. It will help reduce free radicals and control the cells and tissues from undergoing oxidative stress.

5. Prevents Cardiovascular Diseases and Controls Blood Pressure

Being rich in minerals and antioxidants, radishes help your baby stay away from cardiovascular diseases in the future. Radishes are rich in potassium which plays an important role in blood pressure control.

How Do You Introduce Radish to Your Baby?

Ensure to buy tender and organic radishes to feed your baby. Introduce a small pea-sized and well-cooked radish. It is very important to cook the radish fully before you feed the baby. Wait for a day or two to see if there is any reaction. You can continue including radish in your baby’s diet if you do not see any such unwanted reactions. But it is suggested to wait until the baby turns a year old and their digestive system is mature enough to digest such hard root vegetables as radish.

You can introduce radish to your baby once they are ready to eat solids. However, ensure to get an appointment with your doctor before deciding to introduce radish into your baby’s diet. Because radishes are high in sodium content, giving too much radish to your baby can upset their stomach.

[Read : The 3-Day Wait Rule For Babies To Introduce Solids]

Precautions to Take While Introducing Radish For Babies

Radishes are soft and mushy when cooked well. But, when you plan to introduce radish to your baby, you might need to consider a few precautions.

• Radishes alone can be a choking hazard for young babies. Hence, it is important to dice, boil and mash them well before feeding.
• Ensure to combine them with other root vegetables if your baby is young and it is their first encounter with radishes.
• Do not continue feeding radishes if you see any reaction like stomach upset and loose stools.
• Being a hard vegetable, radish can be difficult to digest for your little one. So, wait until they completely adapt to solid foods before introducing radish.
• Ensure to give a small pea-sized radish to your baby and see if they can digest it.
• Once your baby is fine with digesting radish, you can increase the quantity slowly.

[Read : Infant Choking]

Are There Any Side Effects of Radish For Babies?

Radish potentially does not cause any side effects, if given in small quantities. However, it can cause stomach upset in younger babies when given too much. Some babies will not be able to digest radish, and that is when you should wait till your little one turns a year old. Sometimes radish can cause dehydration because of its diuretic property.

Top 3 Tasty and Healthy Radish Recipes For Babies

Here are some healthy and tasty radish recipes that you can try for your baby

1. Radish-Carrot Rice Puree

Boil both radish and carrot together, cool, and mash them well. Mix a teaspoon of cooked rice to thicken the puree. It will make a soft and mushy food for your baby to slurp on easily.

2. Steamed Radish

If your baby is 9 months and above, you can give small pieces of well-steamed radish. Wash the radish thoroughly and peel it before steaming. Ensure it is cut into small pieces (to avoid choking) and you can slowly increase the size as the baby grows.

3. Radish Soup

You can also make a creamy soup with a radish and potato combination. Adding mild spice can enhance the taste and your baby may start loving it. Wash, peel, and pressure cook a small potato and a radish. Cool them down and blend them well, add very little amount of cumin powder to taste, and feed this to your baby.

Radish serves to be one of the best nutrition-filled vegetables for babies. It is a root vegetable and hard in nature and needs to be cooked completely before going into your baby’s tummy. Ensure to cook it properly as radishes can be a choking hazard for the baby. You can happily opt for radish as your baby’s first food. But, it is always better to consult your pediatrician when in doubt.

FAQ’s

1. Are Radishes Hard to Digest For Babies?

Being a root vegetable, raw radishes are hard. But they turn soft and mushy once you cook them well. Sometimes radishes can be hard to digest for younger babies, hence it is better to introduce them in very small amounts until your baby’s digestive system is mature enough.

2. Are Radishes Gassy For Babies?

Radishes sometimes can upset your baby’s stomach. Hence, it is important to keep a track of your baby’s reaction after introducing radish.

3. Does Radish Cause Constipation in Babies?

No, radishes do not lead to constipation in babies instead they aid the bowel movement and help in easy waste removal. Radish also aids in better digestion in babies.

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