Nourish - Your child's future health today

Nourish is the name of  the study being undertaken at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)and Flinders University in South Australia to evaluate how positive early feeding practices can influence the food preferences and dietary intakes in very young children. It is being led by Professor Lynne Daniels and Dr Anthea Magarey.

NSW babies are getting heavier

A recent study (1) has shown that newborn babies in NSW are getting heavier, raising questions about the possible long term health effects. Similar trends have been seen in Sweden and Canada.

Breast feeding reduces risk of SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a major cause of death in infants during the first year of lfe and parents receive advice on how to prevent it. Risk factors  include in the infant sleeping prone, infant being overclothed and sleeping with excess bedding, mother smoking during pregnancy and the infant sleeping with adults. A German study has found that breast feeding can protect the infant from SIDS (1).

Prebiotics added to infant formula reduce infections

The prebiotics, galacto and fructo- oligosaccharides (GOS/FOS), added to infant formula have been shown to reduce intestinal infections such as diarrhoea and possibly respiratory infections during an infants first year (1).  Prebiotics are non digestible food ingredients which reach the large bowel and promote the growth of 'good' bacteria. They are added to infant formula to replicate a bacterial profile in the gut similar to that of the breast fed baby.