(HealthDay News) -- It's never too early to begin a heart-healthy diet -- even in infancy, the American Heart Association says.
Here are the AHA's recommendations:
- Breast-feeding offers babies the right nutritional balance until between 4 months and 6 months of age, when other foods should gradually be introduced to supplement breast-feeding.
- Avoid giving your baby 100 percent juice drinks until at least 6 months of age, then limit the amount to 4 ounces to 6 ounces per day.
- Be careful not to give infants and young children too much food, and don't force them to eat everything on their plate.
- Offer your child plenty of healthy foods. Even if the child isn't initially interested, continue to offer these foods.
- Avoid offering unhealthy foods just to get your child to eat something.
