title: The Role of Avocados in Complementary and Transitional Feeding.
abstract: Infant dietary patterns tend to be insufficient sources of fruits, vegetables, and fiber, as well as excessive in salt, added sugars, and overall energy. Despite the serious long-term health risks associated with suboptimal fruit and vegetable intake, a large percentage of infants and toddlers in the U.S. do not consume any fruits or vegetables on a daily basis. Since not all fruits and vegetables are nutritionally similar, guidance on the optimal selection of fruits and vegetables should emphasize those with the greatest potential for nutrition and health benefits. A challenge is that the most popularly consumed fruits for this age group (i.e., apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries) do not closely fit the current general recommendations since they tend to be overly sweet and/or high in sugar. Unsaturated oil-containing fruits such as avocados are nutritionally unique among fruits in that they are lower in sugar and higher in fiber and monounsaturated fatty acids than most other fruits, and they also have the proper consistency and texture for first foods with a neutral flavor spectrum. Taken together, avocados show promise for helping to meet the dietary needs of infants and toddlers, and should be considered for inclusion in future dietary recommendations for complementary and transitional feeding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. kbcomerford@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Kevin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Comerford
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. keith.ayoob@einstein.yu.edu.
authors.forename: Keith T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Ayoob
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. murrayMD@live.com.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4KI, Canada. satkins@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Stephanie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Atkinson
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005518:Food Preferences; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009753:Nutritive Value; D027421:Persea / Q000737:chemistry
keywords: avocado; fiber; infant; monounsaturated fat; toddler complementary feeding; transitional feeding