Garlic is a very healthy but heavy and aggressive food. It is an excellent natural source of vitamins, protector against colds and infectious diseases. But at the same time, it is rather difficult and slow to digest, which can negatively affect the digestion of the crumbs. In addition, it is an allergen and can burn some internal organs. Let's find out at what age you can give your child garlic.

Composition and useful properties

This product contains B vitamins, vitamins A, C and D, various minerals and nutrients. The benefits of garlic are that it has antibacterial, disinfectant, antihelminthic, antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. It is a unique natural antioxidant and antibiotic. It has the following beneficial properties and functions in the body:

Garlic is good for both children and adults. By the way, a nursing mother can eat this product in small quantities after the third or fourth month of lactation. However, it is important to follow the measures and dosage. In this case, it is recommended to add garlic to dishes, and not eat separately.

Harm of garlic

First of all, garlic is a heavy, aggressive scalding product for which the baby's digestion is not yet ready. It irritates the child's sensitive mucous membranes, causing discomfort and even pain when chewing. Toxic substances in the composition corrode the walls of the stomach, disrupt the work of digestion, kidneys and liver.

Excessive use of this product can lead to indigestion, heartburn and upset stools. In addition, it can cause an allergic reaction. As a result, the crumbs develop skin itching, irritation and rashes, the pressure decreases and the state of health worsens, the airways and tissues swell, and the child becomes difficult to breathe. In especially sensitive children, even inhalation of garlic vapors or getting garlic juice on clothes can cause allergies.

Garlic should not be consumed by young children, people with gastritis and ulcers, with various diseases of the kidneys, liver and digestion. The product must not be eaten at a high body temperature above +38 degrees. It is prohibited for allergies and individual intolerance, for epilepsy and is undesirable for overweight.

For colds, you can give garlic only if there is no fever. Moreover, it should complement treatment, and not be the only drug. Treatment should be prescribed by a doctor! How to treat ARVI and colds, if the baby is sick, see. And then we will find out from what age you can give garlic to children.

When can you give your child garlic?

Garlic should not be given to young children, including newborns. If the baby is healthy, has no problems with excess weight and digestion, does not suffer from allergies, you can give this product a try at 9-10 months. Garlic is given only after heat treatment, in combination with other food and in an amount of no more than one clove at a time!

For a 1 year old baby, you can add garlic to soup or vegetable puree. Start your first garlic feed with half a wedge. Observe the reaction of the crumbs, if a one-year-old baby feels good, you can increase the dosage to a whole slice and add the burning component to the dishes no more than twice a week. If your toddler has symptoms of food allergy, exclude the food from the diet and see a doctor.

Fresh garlic can be consumed by children only from three to four years old in the amount of one clove per day. By the age of ten, the rate is gradually increased to three to four slices per day. In this case, the upper bar is five to six slices. But even in this amount, heartburn and eating disorders can already appear.

What not to do

• Forcing the child to eat garlic. Your baby may not like the taste and smell of the product. Do not force-feed the baby in this case. This can cause stress, provoke vomiting and nausea, and lead to rejection from the product forever;
• Give slices at temperatures over 38 degrees. In case of flu or SARS, be sure to consult a doctor, and do not rush to feed the baby with this product. Do not self-medicate !;
• Do not give your child garlic with you for immunity and as a prevention of colds, do not rub your neck and hands, do not feed before going to school or kindergarten. Such a smell will constantly haunt the child, irritate the mucous membranes. And very few of the kid's peers and friends will like this “aroma”, it can cause hostility and ridicule among others;
• Do not rub the area under your nose with grated garlic and do not force your child to chew the product. This greatly irritates the mucous membranes, can burn the inflamed tissue and further aggravate the condition;
• It is not recommended to lay out garlic in the room. For these purposes, it is better to use aromatic oils or dried orange. In the latter case, you can pierce a fresh orange with toothpicks or matches and leave it indoors. Such products fill the room with a pleasant aroma, cleanse and disinfect the air.

How to cook garlic for kids

At first, garlic must be subject to mandatory heat treatment and mixed with other components of the dish. Add chopped food a few minutes before the end of the soup or puree. You can add garlic to minced meat for cutlets, dumplings, meatballs and other similar preparations.

Garlic is used in appetizers, sauces, dressings, and gravies. It goes well with vegetable oil and sour cream, cheese, beans and other legumes, with beets and carrots, tomatoes and eggplants, bell peppers. However, be careful, many components can be given to a child only after two to three years. The order of introducing vegetables can be found in the article on introducing vegetable supplements.

Garlic is not recommended for cooking fish, cabbage and cucumbers. Do not cook too spicy dishes for children, do not add a lot of seasonings and spices! Many children really like the garlic snack, which can be used as a filling for tomatoes, eggs, eggplants, or spread on brown bread and make delicious toast.

To prepare this garlic oil, take two garlic cloves, 150 grams of hard cheese and two tablespoons of sour cream. Grate cheese and garlic on a fine grater, mix with sour cream and the appetizer is ready! It is perfect for the diet of children over three years old.

Alternatively, you can make a delicious and easy salad dressing. Take three basil leaves and two cloves of garlic, chop the ingredients and mix with olive or sunflower oil, lightly salt and pepper. This dressing can be used with any vegetable summer salad. You will find many interesting and healthy salad recipes for children at the link.

Garlic remedies

We looked at how and when you can feed your children garlic. The product is also often used for the preparation of folk remedies. For bronchitis, colds and severe coughs, a decoction with garlic juice and herbs can help. A remedy with chamomile and mint will help. It is useful for the immune system and accelerates recovery if the baby is already sick.

For the preparation of dishes and medicinal products, use only dense and clean garlic heads without stains and blackheads, with intact dry husks. Store in a sterile jar, basket, mesh, or container with ventilation holes. It is better to store garlic in a dark, cool and well-ventilated area with a temperature of 4-10 degrees above zero.

Garlic is a very healthy product. It contains more than 400 useful trace elements.It is known for its ability to fight bacteria that lead to the development of colds. Many mothers think about whether a child can be given garlic, and from what age this product should be included in the diet in order to prevent the appearance of possible stomach problems.

The benefits of garlic for children

Garlic contains such important elements for the body as potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, vitamins C, D, B. As well as phytoncides and phytosterols. Garlic has many health benefits.

It should be said that garlic is able to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and prevents blood clots.

It contains a high sulfur content, which promotes the synthesis of methionine, a substance responsible for the functioning and development of cartilage.

Excellent prevention of colds, thanks to the phytoncides contained in this product. On the initial stages of a cold is an excellent medicine.

On the basis of garlic, various expectorants, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents are made. They not only help fight viral diseases, but also get rid of worms.

When to give garlic to children?

In various forms, garlic can be given to children from six months. If your child is less than a year old, then you should not give one garlic. It can irritate the stomach lining. Add it to your child's soup, or lightly spread garlic on the croutons. Tasty and healthy.

As a preventive measure, the smell of garlic is very useful. To do this, you can make a necklace of cloves of garlic and, as fun, invite your child to wear the necklace for a couple of days. It will be an excellent prophylactic against many respiratory diseases.

From the age of two, you can offer the child one garlic. Just in no case force him to eat. The child himself knows how much garlic he needs to eat.

To preserve the maximum amount of useful properties, it is recommended to use the product raw or add it to food immediately before serving it. Heat treatment causes most of the beneficial essential oils to evaporate, which diminishes the benefits of the product.

It is best to give garlic not separately, but by adding it to ready-made meals. You can rub bread, croutons with garlic and put sausage on top, serving as a sandwich. You can also mix this product with cottage cheese or butter.

You shouldn't abuse this product. Give it to your child no more than twice a week.

If your child is often sick, but does not like the smell of garlic, then give him a leaf of parsley or cloves to chew. The smell should disappear over time. If the taste of garlic and onion is unpleasant for a child, then as a prophylaxis for colds, such a syrup can be prepared for him. Place two cloves of garlic in a container and cover with honey. After that, put on fire and bring to a boil, remove from the stove and cool. Then repeat the same steps twice more until a homogeneous mixture is formed. The resulting composition is taken in a spoonful three times a day.

So feel free to give your child garlic. The main thing is not to forget that the child needs to eat garlic in moderation!

Many adults are trying to protect themselves from the flu and colds with the help of famous folk healers - onions and garlic. But is such prophylaxis good for children?

It is unlikely that anyone would think of feeding a baby spicy, but by the age of 9 months, when the child is actively interested in "adult" food, many mothers decide to experiment. The benefits of a burning couple are difficult to overestimate, but it is worth remembering that these products can cause irritation of the gastric mucosa and an allergic reaction, therefore, children under one year old are given onions and garlic in boiled form as part of vegetable purees and, of course, in small quantities. After heat treatment, these products lose most of their useful properties, but they become harmless to the digestive tract.

For toddlers over a year old, you can add raw garlic (start with a quarter of a clove) and onions (also quite a bit) in salads, vegetable or meat dishes. If the kid is not happy with such a dish, rub the crust of bread with garlic - it will turn out appetizing and not spicy at all.

When you reach the age of three, offering your baby onions and garlic is not only possible, but also necessary. A creeper of garlic, a feather of a green onion, or a couple of grams of onion will increase your appetite and help fight off seasonal viruses. School-age children are not forbidden to eat 1 clove of garlic 3 times a day, of course, if there are no problems with the digestive system.

Protective necklace

If for some reason a child cannot use garlic, use the volatile properties of phytoncides. To do this, make an antiviral pendant - just pierce the peeled clove of garlic with a needle and thread. A few teeth will make a necklace that can be hung on the back of a crib. You can also chop onions and garlic, place them in a small saucer or plastic jar lid, pour a little water and place them in the baby's room.

Garlic milk for cough

Add 3 cloves of chopped garlic to a glass of milk, simmer for 3-5 minutes, then strain. For babies over 1 year old, take 1 tsp. before meals once a day, for children over 3 years old - 3-4 times a day.

As an option

Of course, there are very few lovers of onions and garlic among children, if the child categorically refuses folk prophylaxis, use an alternative - ginger root. In terms of its properties, it is not inferior to garlic. Being a powerful immune stimulant, ginger helps fight viral diseases, but at the same time has a very pleasant citrus aroma. If everyone is sneezing and coughing around, ginger tea will help not to take over. Just cut off the thin plastic of the root, pour boiling water over it, and when the drink cools down a little, add honey and lemon. True, you should not use ginger at night: it invigorates and tones up and can interfere with falling asleep. Children can use ginger from the age of 2.

Reading time for this article: 12 minutes.

Garlic is one of the most popular spices for many dishes. It is added to soups and main courses; many do not mind eating a raw clove of garlic. But is it okay to give garlic to young children?

The pungent root vegetable has a very rich composition. It contains the following beneficial substances:

• vitamins of group B, A, C, D;
• phosphoric acid;
• phytosterols and phytoncides;
• fiber;
• potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, chlorine and other trace elements;
• alicine.

The benefits of garlic

Thanks to this composition, garlic has great benefits for the body:

Do not overestimate the possibilities of treating and preventing diseases with the help of garlic, because the concentration of nutrients in a pair of cloves is not so high, and its use in large quantities will not only not be beneficial, but can even be dangerous.

Contraindications

Not everyone can add garlic to food. Contraindications to its use are:

• gastritis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, since the root crop irritates the gastric mucosa;
• individual intolerance, or allergies. Itchy skin, rashes on the body, swelling of the face or airways, and decreased pressure are some of the signs of an allergic reaction. If they are found, it is no longer worth using the product.
• excess weight. As we mentioned earlier, garlic increases appetite.
• increased body temperature, since a burning product will lead to an even greater increase in it;
• epilepsy. Garlic can provoke an attack.
• pregnancy. The root crop increases uterine activity and is able to provoke the onset of labor.
• lactation. Vegetable culture makes breast milk bitter, a taste that the baby is unlikely to like.

First meeting

Young parents are often worried about the question: "Is it possible for children to have garlic at the age of 1?" It is possible, but only with heat treatment. Acquaintance with a root crop in this form can take place when the child turns 8 months old.
Garlic is a very heavy product and the digestive system of babies under one year old is simply not able to accept it. Moreover, the scalding taste of a fresh root vegetable will cause discomfort and painful sensations even while chewing, because the mucous membranes in young children are very sensitive, so fresh garlic should not be offered to children under three years of age.

How and how much to give children garlic

The following tips are about a safe “dose” for children.
For an 8-11 month old baby, half an average vegetable slice is enough. It is pounded in boiled form into gruel and added to soup or puree no more than twice a week.
A one-year-old baby can eat a whole slice in the same form.
We have already noted that the optimal age to start eating fresh garlic is 3-4 years. A root vegetable clove can be added to a salad or meat, an egg or cheese appetizer with garlic added. You don't need to give your child garlic every day, 2-3 times a week is enough.
Children over 10 years old are allowed to consume up to 4 cloves of garlic per day.
You can not give your child raw garlic separately from other food, as well as in the morning and on an empty stomach. This can lead to the most unpleasant consequences: burns of mucous membranes, gastritis and ulceration.

Garlic is a specific product, not all children love it. So that the first experience of eating a root vegetable does not become your child's last, listen to the following recommendations:

• forcefully stuffing garlic into a child's mouth will not do any good. On the contrary, it can provoke stress or even cause nausea and vomiting;
• if you are worried about the condition of the baby's stomach, then offer him garlic grated on a bread crust;
• if the child does not like the smell, remove its sprouts before serving the root, it is they who give it its aroma. Correct grinding of the root crop will also help to avoid the smell: it is better to chop it finely, and not rub it.

Alternative option

If a child is allergic to garlic, then alternatively, you can pick up other foods with similar properties:

• green apples, fruit juice, cucumbers will help increase appetite;
• you can strengthen the immune system with any fresh fruits and vegetables;
• bactericidal properties are possessed by celery, beets, cabbage, carrots, plums, apples, bananas, olive oil.

How to choose and store garlic

The main criterion when choosing products for children is quality.
It is ideal if you have grown the garlic yourself: you have been looking after it all summer, and in the fall you have collected beautiful, neat heads from the garden. However, then you should attend to the issue of preserving the harvest.
Garlic stays fresh if:

• dry it thoroughly after collecting it from the garden;
• store it hanging in a cool dry place;
• it is permissible to store the root crop in a box, in several layers, sprinkle each layer with salt to absorb excess moisture.

Many people prefer to buy garlic as needed, then a natural question arises: "Is it possible to give garlic from the store to children?" Of course you can, provided that you buy a really high-quality product. This will be indicated by the following signs:

• heads are clean, large enough and dense;
• the husk is whole and dry;
• there are no seedlings;
• the denticles are clearly palpable.

For short-term storage of purchased root crops, a refrigerator is ideal.

When offering garlic to your child, weigh the pros and cons, and better consult with a specialist. In the absence of any contraindications, feel free to start introducing a useful product into the baby's diet.

Many mothers are interested in the question: When can you give your child garlic? And is it really worth doing?

Is garlic good or bad for children?

Since childhood, grandmothers have tried to feed each of us with garlic at the slightest suspicion of a cold. But the benefits of this product are really undeniable.

When can you give garlic to your child?

When asked at what age a child can be given garlic, pediatricians answer - not earlier than 1 year.
Garlic is a "heavy" food for an immature baby's ventricle. A baby should not be given it fresh, but it is advisable to add it to soups or main courses. You can also give a crust of bread grated with a clove of garlic to the crumbs.

! You need to know that garlic or preparations from it are contraindicated for gastritis and gastric ulcer, with kidney disease, epilepsy. Garlic juice can cause dermatitis!

How much garlic can you give to a child

A child from 1 to 4 years old can eat no more than 1/2 a day and no more than 3 times a week. Also, parents should be aware that an overdose of this product negatively affects the work of the heart.

But it is possible and necessary to use garlic to prevent viruses. In the midst of flu and colds, you can make beads from garlic cloves for your baby or put a finely chopped product in a kinder surprise box and hang it around your neck.

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