Avocado oil

Avocado oil can be offered once your baby is ready for solids, usually around 6 months. It has a mild taste and a high smoke point, so you can drizzle it on food or cook with it.

The oil is pressed from avocado flesh. The avocado tree is native to Central and South America. The oil is used in cooking. It also appears in wellness and beauty products.

Avocado oil is high in unsaturated fats, both single-bond and multi-bond types. It also has antioxidants such as lutein and vitamin E. These support growth, brain development, vision, immunity and nutrient absorption.

How to use it

Use the oil in sauces, dressings and marinades, or in cooking. Dripping it over vegetables, rice or pasta is an easy way.

You can also place a small amount on the tray so baby can taste it alone.

Compared with olive oil

Each one provides monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, antioxidants and vitamin E. Some types of olive oil may hold more antioxidants. Avocado oil tolerates more heat, so it suits high-heat cooking.

Avocado oil is a liquid, and the choking risk is low when it is used in an age-appropriate way. Still, any food can cause choking. Mix the oil into food or give only a little. Stay close while your baby eats.

Avocado oil is not a common allergen. It comes from avocado, and avocado allergy is rare. A child who already reacts to banana, chestnut or kiwi has a higher chance of reacting to avocado. Latex or certain pollen allergies can lead to a reaction too. A passing tingle, itch or sting around the lips and tongue is typical. A dangerous reaction is unlikely.

Refining strips out the bulk of the allergenic proteins, and the oil is often refined.

The fruit itself can possibly trigger FPIES. FPIES is a delayed allergy that brings repeated vomiting and diarrhea a few hours after eating. Refined avocado oil rarely triggers it.