Honey & Kids: Health Benefits & Nutritional value of Natural Honey
Honey is healthy and nutritious for your children. This golden nectar is fully packed with healthy properties for growing kids. Honey is naturally sweet owing to the hard work of the bees. It also has healing powers that are widely recognized for many years. So apart from kids, elders can benefit from it too.
Honey should not be given to children younger than 2 years old. It contains toxic bacteria that causes botulism a serious form of food poisoning that can be harmful to their life.
Also, some kids are allergic to pollen developed from honey. No doubt it is scary, but once your child is at least 2 years old there are plenty of health benefits that can make honey a staple diet.
Opt for organic honey instead of local or commercial honey as it has a risk of pollen allergy. It also has chemicals and pesticides that are harmful to anyone.
Nutritional Value of Honey
The nutritional value of honey is high. It has many amazing values, and some of them are listed below.
This list shows all the highly nutritional elements that are found in 339 gms of honey.
Protein | 1 gm |
Water | 58 gm |
Calcium | 20.3 mg |
Magnesium | 6.8 mg |
Potassium | 176 mg |
Zinc | 0.7 mg |
Dietary Fibre | .7 gm |
Energy | 304 kcal |
Sugar | 278 gms |
Vitamin C | 1.7 mg |
Niacin | 0.4 mg |
Folate | 6.8 mcg |
So, what are the health benefits of honey for your kids?
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Long-lasting energy:
Honey basically contains glucose, sucrose, and fructose. Each of these sugars is utilized by our bodies differently. Sucrose and glucose get digested fast and cause a spike in blood sugar.
Fructose remains longer in our bodies and gives steady energy to kids. Thus, your kid will be alert and it doesn’t make them your child full of nervous excitement or agitated like other sweet snacks make them.
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Heals wounds faster:
As unusual as that sounds, applying honey to your kid’s scrapes and cuts will help them heal faster. Recent findings have shown notable healing effects of honey in comparison to wounds not treated. Honey speeds up the healing process and can help to soothe irritated skin.
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Contains vitamins and minerals:
A bottle of honey has fewer ingredients, but it is packed with vitamins and minerals that benefit growing kids. Honey has amino acids as well that help the growth and development of growing kids.
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Heals Toothache:
Honey, along with a little cinnamon, is good medicine to heal a toothache. You can make a paste with one tsp. cinnamon and 5 tsp. Honey, and apply the paste directly to the aching teeth. This is a great pain relief when you have a bad toothache.
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Helps Heal Dry Skin:
Honey is one of the best moisturizers for the skin. You can make your own moisturizer with honey and lemon, or honey and Aloe Vera or just little-diluted honey and apply it on your child’s skin. You will notice how the dry skin is transforming faster than any ever.
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Helps in Digestion:
Honey is said to be a natural medicine that helps indigestion. You can make tea with honey when you have indigestion. This will help you instantly, and you will feel a lot more relaxed.
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Heals 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.
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Helps Treat 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 to suppress congestion and provides a way for easier breathing.
- Useful During Chronic Inflammation:
Honey has the ability to heal inflammation as well. In fact, it has been used as an anti-inflammatory for many years now.
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Calms down cough:
Mothers often add honey and lemon to tea when kids suffer from cough. There is a reason why this is practiced for ages. Honey acts as a soothing agent on a child’s sore, irritated throat and silences cough. A spoonful of honey helps your child while facing difficulty in swallowing due to sore throat.
- Protects the liver from damage:
Honey shields your liver from certain diseases and damage. It decreases the side effects of paracetamol doses, which can lead to liver damage. Paracetamol is one of the most common pain relievers. If your child is sick you can give a spoonful of honey that will help the medicine dosages go down and protect your kid from any harm.
Honey is known mostly as a sweetener, but in reality, it is an energy and health booster. When you include honey in your child’s diet it can make them healthier and also feel better. Recipes that include honey.
Despite its sweet nature, honey is a pack of a healthy punch! Including a serving of honey into your child’s diet can make them healthier. With recipes that include honey, your family will never be disappointed.
Ways to Use Honey for Cough and Cold 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 really worked and is the most common way of using it is to add honey to warm water and a little tulsi. 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 mostly 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 of the latter category, you could use honey in different food items like cookies or tea, or you can even add it in milk. By adding honey to different food items, you can reduce the sweetness in it. This way, your child will eat honey easily.
Precautions to Take While Giving Honey to Your Child
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Not for Infants
Keep it away from children less than one-year-old, as honey is a toxic food item for babies.
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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.
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Avoid keeping 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.
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Avoid Food With Honey for Babies Under a Year Old
Sometimes parents forget to identify food that contains honey, and accidentally feed it to their infants. Always be aware of cookies and other items that contain honey when you have an infant around you.
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Breathing Problems
Honey can cause breathing difficulty 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.
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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 to it. 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 healthy.
Visit Navmi website www.navmi.co.in to buy organic honey as the focus of Navmi, since its inception has always been serving customers with natural and organic foods of the best quality. All our products like coconut oil, flaxseed oil, ghee, A2 milk, different types of natural honey, jaggery, turmeric, etc are all chemical-free. Unprocessed foods contain higher amounts of antioxidants, they reduce the risk of heart disease, cancers, and other health issues.
Visit our site (Nirlesh Foods Private Limited or Navmi) www.navmi.co.in to know more about nutritionally pure and unprocessed food. Make a conscious and healthy choice of foods.
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