A malnourished seven-month-old baby has died weighing just 9lbs after his parents fed him a gluten-free diet which included quinoa milk.

They mother and father ran a natural food store in their home town of Beveren, near Antwerp, and their son's diet, described by doctors as unsuitable, led to him being less than half the expected weight for a boy his age.

An autopsy showed his stomach was totally empty and despite the baby gasping for air in the days leading to his death, the parents never thought to seek medical attention. A prayer card was found in his nappy.

The parents now face jail sentences, with Belgian prosecutors alleging they contributed to the death of the boy from dehydration and undernourishment.

Hospital Virga Jesse Ziekenhuis in the city of Hasselt, where the parents took their baby to see a doctor. Shocked by the health of the child, the expert told them to take him immediately to seek specialist, emergency treatment

The baby was taken to Hasselt in Belgium where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival

Parents tried a variety of milks with the baby, including a formula made from quinoa (pictured)

Local media in Belgium reported that the parents gave their child a gluten-free diet, which public prosecutor's said contributed to the death of the baby.

The seven-month-old boy named Lucas was taken to Hospital Virga Jesse Ziekenhuis in the city of Hasselt on June 6, 2014 after 34-year-old father Peter S and 30-year-old mother Sandrina V went to visit a homeopathic doctor who urged them to seek immediate hospital care.

Lucas' nappy contained a prayer card and the boy only weighed 9.47lbs (4.3 kg) and suffered from dehydration and malnutrition.

Doctors at the hospital in Hasselt could said the boy was dead on arrival and yesterday the trial against the parents started.

We never went with Lucas to a doctor because we never noticed anything unusual The dead baby's father Peter S

Public prosecutors - chasing an 18 month sentence for each parent - are saying they are to blame for the death of Lucas after they gave their baby the wrong food and compiled their own diet.

The parents, who run a natural food store in their hometown, fed their child on a special milk diet.

Even though Lucas lost a lot of weight and family friends said the boy looked dismal and was gasping for air, they never sought medical attention.

The public prosecutor said: 'The parents determined their own diagnosis that their child was gluten intolerant and had a lactose allergy.

'Not a single doctor had a dossier about Lucas and child protection services did not know about them.'

The prosecutors are blaming the parents for driving to a homeopathic doctor on the other side of the country when the baby was starving instead of going to the nearest hospital.

In court, the parents defended themselves and the boy's father Peter S said: 'We never went with Lucas to a doctor because we never noticed anything unusual.'

Mother Sandrina V said in tears: 'Sometimes he gained a little weight, sometimes he lost a little. We never wished for the death of our son.'

According to their lawyer Karine Van Meirvenne the parents thought Lucas had an eating problem.

Elisabeth De Greef from the University Hospital of Brussels said the baby's diet was unsuitable

Van Meirvenne said: 'Lucas had an eating disorder. He got cramps when he was fed with a bottle and his parents tried out alternatives.

'Oat milk, rice milk, buckwheat milk, semolina milk, quinoa milk. All products which they also sell in their store.'

Yet according the public prosecutor 'this equals intentionally denying food' to the boy.

According to child doctor Elisabeth De Greef from the University Hospital of Brussels, feeding quinoa milk and other such foods to infants is an absolute no-go.

She said: 'These kinds of milk, which you can buy in a supermarket, do not contain the necessary proteins, minerals and vitamins.

'They are not adjusted to infants and thus unsuitable.'

The trial is continuing, with the presiding judge set to deliver his ruling on June 14.