Alicia Silverstone 'Premasticates' Her Son's Food: What Are The Risks?

Alicia Silverstone both puzzled and seriously grossed many of us out with the news that she "premasticates" her son Bear Blu's food.

In a video posted on her site, the actress and notorious vegan-ess explained that she feeds her 10-month-old small bits of pre-chewed food -- "from my mouth to his."

So what gives?

Saliva, as Science Daily points out, is 98 percent water, but plays a crucial role in making food moist and easily swallowable.

And it turns out, Silverstone isn't alone in her pre-chewing habits.

According to a letter in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, premastication of solid foods by nursing mothers is "commonplace among diverse cultures around the world" -- particularly in resource-strapped areas where clean water and baby formula are not always available.

And a study published in the journal Maternal & Child Nutrition suggests that, until recent times, pre-chewing played a "crucial role" in supporting infant health. That same paper posits that its abandonment, particularly in poor communities, "has placed children at increased risk of inadequate nutrition and decreased ability to confront infections associated with the introduction of complementary foods."

Here in the U.S.?

Well, premastication may be more popular than people think: According to a Centers for Disease Control report, approximately 14 percent of the caregivers here report engaging in the behavior.

But while pre-chewing may have some benefits by helping infants get nutrients they need, the possible health risks of premastication are also well-documented.

That same CDC report states that premastication has been identified as a possible route of HIV transmission through blood in saliva, as well as other pathogens. It cites studies looking at the possible transmission of hepatitis B and herpes.

A study in Pediatrics detailed three cases of HIV transmission in the U.S. possibly linked to premastication.

And the Orlando Sentinel reported on an Iowa-based insurance company, Delta Dental, that said in a press release that pre-chewing can pass along dental disease.

The bottom line? Pre-mastication may have some documented health benefits, but opponents say it's not without health risks, so it's probably best to speak with your health care provider before you have an urge to chew ... and spew.

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Comments

[Attila232]

08:47 PM on 04/21/2012

Oh for crying out loud!!! What do you think mother's did before Gerber. My father [born in 1914] had a nanny and she chewed all his food for him. If you did a culture of your own mouth you'd probably throw up if you could see the results. This world relys too much on Madison Ave. advertising execs and our own vanity.

[Cupik]

12:32 PM on 04/02/2012

We did it with our two sons until their palate and swallowing reflex was mature enough to operate on their own. Our oldest's first solid food was moose soup with tons of veggies and barley. Once he tasted that broth and we made sure the meat was adequately chewed - he went to town. Happy memories.

We don't smoke and we didn't do it if either of us was fighting any sort of upper respiratory malady.

[BernieKeating]

02:25 PM on 04/01/2012

Good or bad, I wish I didn't know this.

[TotallyDaft]

10:38 AM on 04/01/2012

Not something I would do, but Alicia is, as far as I know, a healthy woman who certainly seems quite intelligent, probably has thought this out and went for it. It's her child. Besides, I've seen loads of Mom's chew a bit of something, then pop it into their kid's mouths, so it's not THAT unusual. She just takes it a step further.

[BlueZoo]

11:01 PM on 03/31/2012

There is a reason we are told from the time we are small not to eat or drink after anyone. It can make you dangerously ill! While pre-mastication might have been done in bygone times, it is no longer necessary to do so. What good is it to sterilize your baby's bottles if you are just going to go ahead and give him/or her bacteria in this manner? I find this a total disregard for your baby's health and welfare!

[sabelmouse]

09:44 AM on 04/01/2012

maybe we should sterilise breasts as well ?

[MyNameIsJames]

06:04 PM on 04/27/2012

You are soooooo wrong. You must have FLUNKED high school biology? There is this little thing called the immune system that must be exposed to germs in order to build antibodies and strengthen the immune system. Pre-chewing is GREAT for that exposure - similar to breast feeding. OMG! No wonder our nation is falling apart. We need people who can grasp the BASICS!

[TheRenaissanceMan]

09:13 PM on 03/31/2012

Disgusting! It can transfer bacteria.
We have technology for a reason!

[sabelmouse]

07:24 AM on 04/01/2012

to bring us closer to extinction ? cause that's where we're heading.

[TheRenaissanceMan]

05:15 PM on 04/01/2012

No, technology can save us from extinction.
It's not inherently bad, but its how you use it.
We're not using it positively at the moment, but we are starting to get better.

That's another discussion, however :P

[MyNameIsJames]

06:07 PM on 04/27/2012

Please - go get a remedial middle school biology book and read about the immune system - learn about antibodies and how they are formed. Then read about why pre-chewing and breast feeding is good for a child's immune system.

Holy crap. Were you home-schooled? Are you Southern? What gives!

[maribelles]

05:26 PM on 03/31/2012

It seems to me that this practice deprives the child of the development of his or her own jaw and mastication skill- building. Blending, chopping, and mashing food would suffice, and allow the developing child the opportunity to get in touch with their own salivary gland function, while also furthering the child's grasp of swallowing skills. Human children have their own means of predigestion- lolling the food around in their mouth with the saliva, and later rolling it against gums and developing teeth to further mash it. Additionally, our jaw/mouth reflexes are related to our pelvic and lower colon reflexes- I say the child should go it alone for balanced development of body functions- starting with safe, somewhat mashed food such as avocado..

[MolliBlum]

07:39 AM on 04/01/2012

I don't see how "this practice deprives the child of the development of his or her own jaw and mastication skill- building" any more than "blending, chopping, and mashing food" would... surely the mechanical options you mention mash the food even more finely.

[MyNameIsJames]

06:07 PM on 04/27/2012

Exactly

[myviewsofnow]

11:07 PM on 04/28/2012

The digestive processes in a human begin in the mastication process. I agree with this post. Why not give the child a diet that begins with the states pureed food and goes up by increments? The other way just delays growth into healthy eating patterns, possibly.

[mamabeverley]

04:08 PM on 03/31/2012

People have been doing this for thousands of years. What do you think people did before food processors and baby food?? As long as you are healthy, what difference does it make? Maybe, going back to some of the "old ways" would benefit our children.....

[TheRenaissanceMan]

09:11 PM on 03/31/2012

It can transfer bacteria. Now we have food processors, or just a fork!

[sabelmouse]

07:25 AM on 04/01/2012

so can kissing. or any close physical contact.

[mamabeverley]

07:20 PM on 04/02/2012

Yes, it can transfer bacteria. Not ALL bacteria is bad. How many women do you know that wash their breast before breast feeding?? You see women all the time whipping that thing out and sticking their baby on it. How many germs are on that nipple?? We have become a germ-o-phobic society, and we are paying for it. BTW, there are a lot of people that don't have food processors. So, do your self a favor, don't go to a foreign country, this is a popular way of feeding kids.

[giagul]

03:59 PM on 03/31/2012

its her life, her mouth, her son. i still say. eeewww lol... but i have seen more gross stuff. like someone sucking a boogers out of their baby's nose with their mouth. YUCK.

[honorable7 dowsee3]

03:47 PM on 03/31/2012

Well, as a 79 yr old woman, I have a personal comment to make about ALicia SIlverstone's baby feeding habit. My Hawaiian grandmother would do the same thing with my father when he was a baby. As it was the cultural habit at that time in that part of the world, it was an accepted ritual.
She continued with this method even tho he was 5 and 6.
After she died of TB complications when my father was 6, he became quite ill and was diagnosed with TB. He was promptly sent to a Sanitorium in Switzerland for a year for a cure.

As Hawaii became a Territory and more modern health influences became a reality in that part of the world, this practice gradually became outdated.Thus, these transmitting diseases developed from the old ways gradually came to an end.

Why chance it today? BActerial infection from gums and teeth are also great enemies.

Buy a good blender and fill it with great fresh ingrdients. It is a lot safer.

[sabelmouse]

07:26 AM on 04/01/2012

does she have tb ?

[kirbyfan]

07:30 PM on 04/11/2012

How would anyone know if they have an infectious disease while it's still in the incubation stage? I think that's her point.

[ginadeoliveira2008]

02:16 PM on 03/31/2012

Gross! Might be needed in some extremely poor areas of the world where no clean water is available, not the case here. Who does not know the amount of bacteria even in a healthy mouth!

[sramosobriant]

12:12 PM on 03/31/2012

When we moved to New Mexico from Texas, my mother taught me (hooked me?) on green chile by sucking the spicy juice out of the meat in the stew. It went from her mouth to mine. An occasional chile seed sneaked in and burned my throat, but I kept asking for more. Never occurred to me to teach my sons to eat the tantalizing food that way, so when I indulge these days, I indulge alone. Go Alicia!

[jessiernut]

11:36 AM on 03/31/2012

As others have pointed out, this is nothing new, and it isn't a big deal. If she educates herself on the "risk", it is her choice on how she feeds her child. It always amazes me how critical people are of another person's parenting choice. Just because it isn't your own doesn't make it wrong (excluding child abuse, of course).

Would I choice to do it? Probably not, although I have bitten off pieces of food for my toddler to make it smaller for him. Not terribly different, and he's functioning well.

[viciousvirago]

10:52 AM on 03/31/2012

"Premasticates". No biggie. I've seen all kinds of apes do it at the zoo. See how much we've evolved?

[evelynranma52]

09:56 AM on 03/31/2012

This has nothing to do with Silverstone giving her child the best care in all ways. It has to do with Silverstone being a control freak. I can imagine what this is like when the kid gets older and runs up to Mom at a restaurant and demands the food out of her mouth.

Disgusting...............period.

[sabelmouse]

07:27 AM on 04/01/2012

like breastfed kids that never get of the breast or co sleepers that still sleep in their parents beds when they're 30.

[MolliBlum]

07:41 AM on 04/01/2012

Funnily enough, kids grow up.

[dd35-scot]

09:04 AM on 04/01/2012

Yup and it never did my six sisters and one brother or me any harm.My mother did it for all of us,after all we developed in her womb over nine months and were all breast fed obtaining all of her immunities.As far as I'm aware a lot of mammalian species do the same thing with their young.We were also allowed to play in the mud etc and we ate worms,or at least I did lol.We were not molly coddled and were allowed to build up immunities unlike a lot of present day children where everything has to be absolutely" germ free."