Any unbiased information on 1 year olds and iron?

[TheSkiingGardener]

I was quite happily going to switch DS to cows milk from 1 year and bl**dy Cow and Gate have been bombarding me with dire warnings about the fact that he will shrivel up from lack of iron if I do.

So is there some unbiased information out there, if you use their Iron calculator DS would have to be chomping on the contents if my toolkit to be getting enough. It can't be that difficult, he eats like a horse anyway, can it?

If he eats a normal healthy diet he will be fine. The main reason cows milk is a problem is that lots of toddlers fill up on milk so don't eat very much, cows milk has very little iron so these toddlers tend to be at risk of anaemia. If he eats a nice varied diet and doesn't fill up on milk (ie milk on cereal, after meals and at bedtime rather than before or with meals) he will be fine on cows milk.
Cow and gate want you to spend money on their product. I'm a paediatric doctors and our dieticians do not consider follow on milk as a necessary thing.

Logically I know that and 100% agree with you sallysparrow. But they must be using some figures in their blooming comparator thing and that makes it seem virtually impossible to get enough iron in.

How much iron do they need? Maybe I can pacify my mummy guilt (which C&G are desperately plugging in to) if I do the sums myself.

If you look at the portion sizes on the cow and G calc you may find that your dc is getting more than you think. Things like the baked beans: the portion is 1 tablespoon whereas my dc have half a can , raisins also a very small portion.

Make sure he's getting a varied and balanced diet - lots of greens and different veggies etc.
They want you to feel guilty and buy their product, it's what their business analysts are telling them to do to maximise sales!
Don't give in to it.

i glanced at my iron calculator then put it away! my boys eat fortified cereals for breakfast and although they are going through a fussy/junk food stage i'm not too worried. i have recently started giving them a multivitamin & mineral though cause of the fussy eating, as they are a bit too old for follow on milk but i did use a bit of follow on milk when they were just over 1yr. i think i stuck with the 6month+milk rather than the 1yr+milk because of the price, and got hipp cause it was cheaper!

I think it's marketing bunkum. If they're eating a little red meat and green veg every day, then they're getting plenty of iron. A roast beef sarnie, a steak, spag bol or a Thai beef curry all contain lots and our LO frequently enjoys all of the above. Not sure about iron content of lamb but our LO eats that regularly too. I have actually been buying her sliced roast beef and lamb from the deli to make sure she has a little bit as a snack or at lunchtime every day, even if we're having something veggie for tea. Citrus fruit is also good as it helps with iron absorbsion.