10 HEALTH BENEFITS AND PRECAUTIONS OF HONEY FOR KIDS

The 10 health benefits and precautions of honey for Kids/Children. Honey is a completely natural sweetener that can be a good sugar substitute as it is much healthier and beneficial for our bodies. But, in addition, the properties of honey and all its benefits help the little ones in many aspects of their health, so the diet of children must include meals with honey as an ingredient. You need to know about honey

Several parents have been moving away from refined sugar towards alternatives such as honey and jaggery. In this context, it is important to understand the nutritional value of honey, how it can benefit the child, and when to begin giving them honey.

Curds and honey He shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
 –  Isaiah 7:15

Main properties of Health benefits of honey

• High content of vitamins and minerals.
• Improves digestion.
• Protection of the circulatory and nervous systems.
• Increases defenses.
• Anti-inflammatory activity.

 

What are the health benefits (advantages) of honey for your children?

• It provides them with long-lasting energy. Honey is primarily composed of three sugars: sucrose, glucose, and fructose.
• It is rich in vitamins and minerals
• It protects their liver from harm.
• It aids in the healing of wounds.
• It soothes coughs.

On the eighth day, when they give birth to a baby, they name the child. During the naming ceremony, they provide honey, sugar, sweetness (Adun), sugar cane, and palm oil and give them to the child for prayer.

Some people (including me) in Africa believe that when your wife tells you she is pregnant with you, you can start talking or praying for the baby. Tell him or her what you want the child to be in life and tell him or her how much you love him or her.

There are so many benefits when it comes to honey and its power when it comes to improving the brain and the health of a child. Honey has been used for thousands of years due to its ability to build up a child’s immune system, fight off germs, treat allergies, and improve overall health. This can help your child avoid illnesses and feel better overall when they can stay healthy.

What most people don’t know is just how powerful and beneficial raw honey is for a child’s health, vitality, and overall well-being. Honey has antibacterial and antifungal properties that can help fight infections and boost the immune system. The nutrients found in raw honey can help build strong bones and teeth, and even aid in brain development and eye health. With so many benefits, it’s no wonder honey is one of the oldest remedies known to man.

The power of honey and all the benefits it brings to your child’s health can’t be denied. Honey contains a wide range of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds. Honey also has antibacterial and antifungal properties, which makes it an ideal ingredient to fight illness and boost immunity.

Honey has many benefits. It is rich in enzymes, minerals, and vitamins, which can help build a child’s immune system. It can also help soothe a sore throat and help fight coughs, making it a great go-to when a child isn’t feeling well.

Everyone knows how yummy and beneficial this natural ingredient is. Honey, which is extracted from nectar, is one of nature’s best gifts and can enhance a child’s health in many amazing ways.

 

 10 Health Benefits and Precautions of Honey for Kids/Children

Honey has many amazing benefits for the growth and development of kids.

1. Vitamins and minerals

Honey has quite a few minerals that are extremely helpful for children. It can be used in various recipes or also be given to children directly.

2. It safeguards the liver.

Honey has properties that help the liver control blood sugar levels. (It is good for the liver but doesn’t help with controlling sugar levels.)

3. Healing Potential

Honey has many amazing healing properties, like helping coughs and colds, blood sugar, and even healing wounds and burns.

4. Eases Throat Pain

Honey is one of the most common natural medicines for a sore throat. It has been used in Ayurveda and other natural medicines in different forms to heal a sore throat. Honey for kids’ cough is something that is followed in many Indian homes, as it works wonders.

5. Stomach Discomfort Medicine

Honey is great medicine when children suffer from stomach pain or stomach upset. It helps heal the pain and also increases the child’s metabolism during this time.

6. Relieves tooth pain

Honey, along with a little cinnamon, is good medicine to heal a toothache. You can make a paste with one tsp of cinnamon and five tsp of honey and apply the paste directly to the aching teeth. This is a great pain reliever when you have a bad toothache.

7. Digestion Aids

Honey is said to be a natural medicine that helps with indigestion. You can make tea with honey when you have indigestion. This will help you instantly, and you will feel a lot more relaxed.

8. Promotes the Healing of Dry Skin

Honey is one of the best moisturizers for the skin. You can make your moisturizer with honey and lemon, honey and Aloe Vera, or just little-diluted honey and apply it to your child’s skin. You will notice how dry skin is transforming faster than ever.

9. It Helps Soothe Muscle Pain

Honey helps soothe muscle pain and even growing pains in children. A teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water will do wonders.

10. Treats Mouth Ulcers

Mouth ulcers can be painful, especially for kids. Apply a little honey with turmeric to the mouth ulcer, as it will help heal the wound faster.

11. Aids in the treatment of asthma

Honey is a great help when children suffer from asthma, especially when they have an asthmatic attack during the night. Honey has the property of suppressing congestion and providing a way for easier breathing.

12. Useful During Chronic Inflammation

Honey can heal inflammation as well. It has been used as an anti-inflammatory for many years now.

 

Ways to Use Honey for Coughs and Colds in Children

When children are struggling with a bad cold, cough, or fever, honey can help to a great extent. Honey is used in different ways during sickness.

One way that has worked and is the most common way of using it is to add honey to warm water with This mix will soothe the throat and also increase the metabolism of the child.

Taking a tablespoon of honey, consumed as it is, can also soothe the throat and help in the healing process.

  

Tips to Make Kids Consume Honey Easily

Honey is loved by almost everyone. It is sweet, and children usually enjoy it. However, you can still find children and adults who do not enjoy the taste of honey. If your child is in the latter category, you could use honey in different food items like cookies or tea, or you could even add it to milk. By adding honey to different food items, you can reduce the sweetness in them. This way, your child will eat honey easily.

 

Precautions to Take While Giving Honey to Your Child.

1. Not appropriate for infants

Keep it away from children less than one-year-old, as honey is a toxic food item for babies. 

2. Be Aware of Infant Botulism.

Clostridium bacteria that can survive in honey can cause infant botulism. It is a bacteria that resides in the soil but can get into food items like honey. 

3. Do not keep it open.

Honey should be closed and kept in a cool place. Because of the sticky texture and the sweetness of honey, it can attract dust and ants. Hence, it must always be closed and kept.

4. Avoid Food with Honey for Babies Under a Year Old.

Sometimes parents forget to identify foods that contain honey and accidentally feed them to their infants. Always be aware of cookies and other items that contain honey when you have an infant around you.

5. Breathing Problems

Honey can cause breathing difficulties in infants and even children. This could be because of allergic reactions. So, if you identify any such problem, it is important to visit a doctor immediately.

 

Sixth, muscle weakness

If you notice that your child is struggling with muscle weakness, then this could be a reaction to honey. Again, it is important to meet the doctor immediately.

Honey is an amazing natural food that has numerous benefits. You can use honey instead of sugar as it is so much healthier and also comes with multiple benefits. Giving honey to your child is a great way to start living a healthy life.

When Can Babies Have Honey?

Since 2008, lots of changes have been made to the rules for when babies can have certain foods. You might be surprised to learn that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has reclassified many foods that used to be no-nos for babies until they were older as fine for babies after they begin eating solid foods.

However, that is not the case with honey or products made from honey.

The recommendation for when babies can have honey continues to be after age one. That includes both kinds of honey in their raw form and foods cooked or baked with honey.

The AAP Pediatric Nutrition Handbook states, “Infants younger than 12 months should avoid all sources of honey.”

That statement makes it pretty clear that anything containing honey should be off-limits, including honey cereals.

 

Safety Concerns

The reason for the delay is not food allergies or choking hazards, but rather a serious disease known as infant botulism. Infant botulism is caused when a baby ingests spores from a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum.

This bacterium produces a toxin inside the baby’s digestive tract that can be absorbed into the body and have serious effects on the baby’s muscle control. In rare and extreme cases, the breathing muscles can become paralyzed. If mechanical assistance is not provided, the baby could die. Signs and symptoms of infant botulism include:

• Constipation
• A stoic demeanor
• Feeding sluggishness or a weak sucking
• Inadequate cries
• Less movement
• Swallowing difficulties or excessive drooling
• Twitching of the muscles

Breathing problems

 

When It’s Safer

Maybe you are wondering why honey is not safe for babies under age one but fine for everyone else. The answer lies in the maturity of the baby’s digestive tract.3. Young babies do not have the intensity of acids in their digestive systems that help fend off the toxins that the bacteria produce. So, while adults and children can handle small amounts of exposure, it is not the case with babies.

 Baked Goods Made with Honey

Baked goods made with honey are still off-limits too. Even the high temperatures of cooking and baking will not destroy botulism spores. For this reason, you shouldn’t give your baby baked goods or cooked foods containing honey either.

 Wait to introduce honey

However, there are certainly those that would argue that these guidelines are overly cautious. They might point to the fact that other cultures outside the United States regularly introduce honey to babies. Furthermore, they might point out that the incidence of infant botulism from honey exposure is very low risk.

In the United States, fewer than 200 cases are reported yearly, and most of these infants recover fully after treatment.4. If you are considering introducing honey before your baby turns one year old, be sure to talk with your pediatrician and listen to what they advise.

But the statistics certainly do teach us that caution may be prudent. Before guidelines for preventing infant botulism were advocated, 395 cases of infant botulism were reported to the Center for Disease Control from 1976 to 1983. Most of those babies required hospitalization to recover, and sadly, 11 of those babies died.

Why risk something so serious yet so preventable? Have your baby wait until after their first birthday to enjoy honey and foods containing honey.

 

5 Health Benefits of Honey for Children Over 2 Years

As your child grows through the first few years of life, it’s fun to introduce them to new things. You get to show them the joy of going down a slide, learning to dance, and eating new foods.

Kids have to be introduced to new foods gradually, depending on how many teeth they have and how old they are. A piece of chicken nugget or a spoonful of ice cream is sure to make them smile, but what about the softer foods, like honey?

Many parents think honey is safe for kids because it’s all-natural, but children younger than two years old should never eat it. They could contract bacteria that cause infant botulism unless they’re around two years old.

1. It increases energy.

When kids eat sugary foods, every parent knows to watch out for the energy boost and eventual sugar crash. Sweet foods are fun to eat and occasionally celebrate with, but they spike the blood sugar levels in your child and ultimately leave them more exhausted.

Honey is a natural sweetener that doesn’t contain sugar. The sweeteners in honey are digested more slowly, which means they are easier on the blood sugar. Your child is less likely to develop type 1 diabetes if their blood sugar is well controlled with easily digestible foods like honey. 

2. It Protects the Liver

Even if your child only eats a teaspoon of honey each day on toast, their liver will be extra-protected. Honey has anti-toxin properties that stop toxin production in the body, starting with the liver. It’s easily absorbed before protecting against toxins they may introduce into their system. 

3. It’s Easy to Digest

Kids should grow up with the safest and best options in life. Introducing them to all-natural honey after they turn two is an easy way to transition them to organic solid foods. Kids of all ages benefit from organic products, especially when those products are food. Organic honey is also affordable since it’s naturally occurring and not a specialty item. 

4. It alleviates coughs

Young kids are more prone to acute coughs because they’re still developing their immune systems. If your two-year-old develops a cough, give him honey. It’s been shown to work faster than cough suppressants, which will be more expensive anyway. Mix a teaspoon or two into warm water and give it to your child to drink daily until the cough has gone away. 

5. It has vitamins and minerals.

Does your child dread take their daily vitamins? They may enjoy a spoonful of honey more. Studies have proven that honey contains vitamins and minerals that help a child’s growth, including the development of their GI system and their heart.

 

Experiment With Recipes:

Honey helps and protects kids over two years old in a variety of ways, so make it a fun experience for them by experimenting with recipes. Use it in drinks, on toast, or in muffins to create a sweet and satisfying way for your kids to benefit from all that honey has to offer.

 Can you give honey to children?

Although honey has amazing medicinal properties that can help us, it is not meant for babies who are less than a year old. Of course, it is natural and full of good things, but your baby is not yet ready for it. This is mainly because honey has something called dormant endospores of a bacterial species known as Clostridium botulinum, which can be toxic and cause problems for an infant.

There are different varieties of honey, such as manuka honey, which is found in New Zealand. Although it has many benefits, it is best to keep all kinds of honey away from children under one year of age.

 

 When Can You Give Honey to Children?

Honey is nutritious but should only be introduced to children after they are one year old. This is to avoid infant botulism, an illness that may occur due to the consumption of honey by children under the age of one year.

Honey contains spore-forming bacteria called Clostridium botulinum which can multiply in the intestine. The bacteria releases toxins that can irritate the little one’s gut since infants have an underdeveloped digestive system that cannot fight off clostridium spores.

On the other hand, honey is safe for children over the age of one year because their digestive systems are mature enough to expel the bacteria through the body. However, use it as a replacement for refined sugar, but not in addition to it.