Can breast milk help your baby love food?
Can breast milk help your baby love food?
Taste the difference
Help them become a lifelong healthy eater
Breast milk can help your baby become a lifelong healthy eater as the food you eat while breastfeeding can influence their taste preferences throughout weaning and beyond.
In the same way, the taste of your breast milk will vary depending on what you’ve eaten. And it’s now thought that these flavours are more likely to be accepted by your baby once they start to wean. Research also tells us that the acceptance of a variety of tastes during weaning helps children to become lifelong healthy eaters.
It is also thought that this process, known as taste imprinting, may help explain the continuation of cultural and ethnic food preferences.
As well as affecting the taste, your diet directly influences the nutritional composition of your breast milk. So eating oily fish, for example, will not only help your baby to like the taste of salmon, it gives them a rich source of DHA – one of the most beneficial LCPs for visual and cognitive development.
Learn more about the varied composition of breast milk and why it is the perfect nutrition for your baby.
Worried about breastfeeding?
It’s completely normal to find breastfeeding a little tricky at first, but our breastfeeding guide is full of tips and advice to help you succeed and overcome any common problems.
Discover more about the miracle of breast milk
Learn more about the positive effects of breast milk for your baby's health and development in the following articles.
Breast milk and breastfeeding
Brighter futures start here
Discover more about infant development to help shape your baby's future
Questions about feeding and nutrition?
Our nutritionists and feeding advisors are always on hand to talk about feeding your baby. So if you have a question, just get in touch.
Important notice
Breastfeeding is best for babies and provides many benefits. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, you eat a varied, balanced diet. Combined breast and bottle feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of your own breastmilk, and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. Always consult your healthcare professional for advice about feeding your baby.