Can babies have garlic in their food

Can Babies Have Garlic? - Netmums

BABY

First published on Tuesday 21 June 2022

Find out if babies can have garlic, when it's safe to start including garlic and onion in their diet, plus get tips on preparing garlic for your baby and info on health benefits.

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The official advice on when babies can have garlic

It's safe to include small amounts of cooked garlic to your baby's meals when they start to eat solid foods from about six months old. Garlic is part of the onion family, and so the same goes for red, white and spring onions.

According to the NHS, it's better to wait until at least six months before beginning to introduce your baby to solid food. At this stage they are strong enough to sit up and support themselves, and swallow food safely.

Some parents have different ideas about when to start weaning their baby onto solids, and that is fine, but always talk to your health visitor first as they can answer any questions.

How to introduce garlic to your baby

Your baby's tastebuds are super sensitive to all the interesting new flavours at the start of weaning, and we all know a little bit of garlic goes a long way! There's plenty of time for discovery, so let's start off slow.

This is especially true for garlic as it can be so potent, and you don't want to put your baby off trying new flavours. At the very beginning of your baby's weaning journey, you may prefer to start with milder flavours, working up to adding ingredients like garlic and onion to your home-cooking as your baby gets used to the idea of eating and begins to explore different tastes.

This is an exciting stage of discovery for your baby, and introducing them to a wide variety of different foods and strong flavours like garlic as they grow is important for their development.

Giving your growing child a wide variety of foods not only gives them the opportunity to get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients they need, it will also set them up to accept and enjoy a varied and balanced diet later on in life.

It's worth noting that it may be better to avoid giving your baby garlic if they suffer from reflux. According to Healthline, garlic can make the symptoms of acid reflux worse.

Top tips for preparing and cooking garlic

Garlic has a spicy kick to it when eaten raw, so we definitely suggest gently cooking garlic when including it in recipes for your little one. This will help to mellow out that sharp punch.

Follow these steps to prepare garlic like a pro:

Choose a nice fresh piece of garlic. It should be clear and white. If it is a big piece you might only want to use half, or start off with even less than that until your baby gets used to the flavour.
Crush or chop the garlic finely. It will soften anyway when it is cooked, but crushing will ensure that there are no large bits to put your baby off their meal.
Add the garlic to your baby's food while cooking in order to avoid burning the garlic.
Gently simmer until all of the ingredients are ready.

Tip: Some parents like to add a tiny pinch of sugar to balance out the flavour when first introducing garlic to babies. The NHS advises against giving sugar to babies, so we don't recommend this, but if you do want to try it, don't make a habit of it. It's better for your baby to get used to the taste without the added sweetness.

Ideas for including garlic in your baby's meals

Garlic is a really easy ingredient to incorporate into meals for your baby, because you don't need much, and the flavour absorbs into pretty much anything you want to serve up.

Here are some ideas for baby-friendly foods that go brilliantly with garlic:

lentils
rice
mashed potato
beans
pureed vegetables
thick soups

What are the health benefits of garlic for babies?

Garlic is known for its powerful health benefits. According to Healthline, garlic contains compounds that contain potent medicinal properties. They state that 'Scientists now know that most of garlic’s health benefits are caused by sulfur compounds formed when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed, or chewed.'.

It's no wonder you are eager to let your baby benefit from them. Let's explore what this ingredient can do to help your little one's healthy growth and development...

1. Garlic strengthens the immune system

We want our loved ones to develop healthy immune systems so that they can fight off diseases and infections more easily. Garlic provides an important boost to the immune system by stimulating the body's cells.

2. Garlic improves the metabolism

Chubby babies are adorable, but no parent wants their child to struggle with weight issues later on in life. Feeding your baby small amounts of garlic in their food will stimulate the release of cytokine, which improves the metabolism. So your baby's body will grow to function well and manage weight normally.

3. Garlic helps to fight the common cold

We hate seeing our little ones struggle with sniffles and colds. Garlic is renowned for being a great natural medicine that helps to reduce symptoms so that your baby can get better more comfortably. The natural oils in garlic are what help to clear the respiratory passage so that your baby can breathe better.

4. More health benefits of garlic for babies...

We can go on about how great garlic is for your baby, but here are just a few more plus points:

it will help to keep your baby's heart healthy
it reduces the risk of infections
it promotes healing
it may help to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer

Could my baby be allergic to garlic?

In comparison to other food, allergies to garlic in babies are rare. When adding any new food into your baby's diet though, it is a good idea to practice caution.

The first time you give your baby garlic (or any other new ingredient), we recommend adding it to food that you already know your baby can tolerate. This way, if they do have a reaction, you'll know the new ingredient is the problem.

Allergy symptoms in babies

If you're feeding garlic to your baby for the first time and you are worried about allergies look out for these signs:

vomiting and diarrhoea
hives and rash
itchy skin or eyes
blocked or runny nose
swelling around the mouth or throat
difficulty breathing
loss of consciousness

Even mild symptoms can be a cause for concern, so always call your GP or seek advice from your health visitor. More serious symptoms like difficulty breathing or loss of consciousness require immediate medical help. Call 999 for an ambulance and tell them you think your baby is experiencing anaphylaxis

Garlic recipes for babies

Once your baby is used to the taste of garlic in their food and they have gained some experience eating solids, here are some yummy garlic recipes for you to try:

Quick garlic and veg pasta
Easy cheese and potato pie
Butternut squash soup
Spaghetti bolognese for kids
Dhal for babies

Looking for more info about weaning your baby? Check out our articles below, or get free advice from our expert Parent Supporters in the Weaning drop-in clinic in our forum:

Is It Safe for My Baby to Eat Garlic?

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 admin Care, Diet, Feeding, Nutrition

Perhaps you’re a parent who’s hip to the many health-promoting benefits of eating whole natural foods and nutritious home-cooked meals. And maybe you know what a marvelously healthy and nutrient-packed food garlic is. So, you’re anxious to introduce garlic to your baby. But how long should you wait?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends waiting until your baby is at least six months old, before starting solid foods. The purpose of that is to help prevent the development of food allergies in your child. So, you want to wait until your infant is at least six months to give them garlic.

Beyond that, it’s also best to keep foods sort of boring and bland for a while, once your infant starts eating solid foods. This is to help him or her get used to the vastly different taste and texture of foods, compared to milk. That then means that it may be best to wait at least a couple of months or so after your baby starts on solids, before introducing such a flavorful and pungent spice as garlic.

You should also bear in mind that a few people are allergic to garlic. As such, you need to treat garlic as a “new food” — meaning that you want to introduce it for the first time only in foods that your baby is already eating, and which are not producing any allergic or sensitivity symptoms. That way, if your baby turns out to be allergic to garlic, you’ll be able to pinpoint it as the likely culprit of symptoms that develop.

To introduce a new food safely, doctors advise parents to wait at least three days before introducing another new food. That gives the previous new food time to be assimilated into the system; allergic or sensitivity symptoms generally arise within moments, a few hours or a couple of days after eating the food in question.

Symptoms of a garlic sensitivity can include: stomach gas, cramping and nausea. Symptoms of a garlic allergy include: diarrhea, blood in the stool, eczema, hives, rashes on the cheeks, vomiting, or swelling of the mouth, tongue or lips. If your baby experiences any of these allergic symptoms, call your pediatrician right away. In rare cases, allergic reaction to garlic can involve anaphylaxis, where the person’s tongue or throat can swell to the point that breathing becomes impossible. This is a life-threatening condition and requires immediate medical attention (in such an event, call 911 or take your baby to an emergency room immediately).

The best precaution to take, to avoid an allergic or sensitive reaction to garlic, is to give this herb to your baby in small amounts in the beginning. And start out giving the infant cooked garlic, instead of raw, as cooked garlic is less likely to produce allergic symptoms. (But don’t overcook it, as that decreases its potency.) In addition, you don’t want to give your baby minced or chopped raw garlic until they’re older and are able to chew foods; otherwise, fresh chopped garlic could be a choking hazard.

At about 9 months, once your baby has been eating cooked garlic with no problems for a little while, you can start crushing garlic cloves and adding a tiny bit (about 1/8 of a large clove or 1/4 of a small clove per serving) to the vegetable or meat dishes that you give your little one. Some parents report online that their babies are so fond of garlic, that it actually makes the babies love a food that they otherwise wouldn’t eat!

A cousin of onions, garlic is easy to grow and can be harvested year-round, meaning that if your family and your little ones enjoy this wonderful health-giving food, you might consider growing it in your home, and you never have to be without it!

The many nutrients in garlic include:

Vitamin C
Vitamin B6
Calcium
Iron
Potassium
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Manganese
Selenium
Zinc

As for the health properties of garlic, natural-health enthusiasts have known about them for thousands of years. We know that garlic has strong antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties, which is why it’s used to fight everything from the common cold to infections to cancers. Garlic also has anti-inflammatory properties that help prevent and improve conditions like asthma, eczema, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and arthritis. When there are no sensitivity or allergy issues, garlic is also great for promoting good digestion; therefore, it will help your baby digest other foods.

Fresh garlic is much more powerful than powdered garlic or garlic salt; but that’s not to say the powdered varieties are slouches. Whether fresh, cooked or powdered, garlic enhances the taste and health-promoting benefits of the foods it’s in. As such, powdered garlic can be an excellent way to start your baby eating garlic at about 8 months, adding a couple of light shakes to the baby’s vegetable dishes you prepare. If you buy powdered garlic, get the kind with no additives; avoid silicon dioxide, an anti-caking non-nutritive substance. And be sure to talk to your pediatrician before you introduce garlic in any form into your baby’s diet.

By Lisa Pecos

Is it possible for children to have garlic, from what age

Contents

This spicy root vegetable is useful for children from an early age, but in small quantities. It is required to include it in the diet carefully, in combination with other products. And only on condition that the baby does not suffer from inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract.

Properties of garlic

Many people remember eating spicy cloves with rye bread in kindergarten. Fresh garlic was offered to children not by chance. The caustic "delicacy" contains a complex of organic acids, microelements, essential oils and other health enhancing substances. Allicin, to which the fruit owes a spicy taste, stimulates the release of antibodies to harmful microbes.

Fresh garlic juice accelerates bile secretion, increases appetite, prevents fermentation in the intestines and the development of diarrhea. Volatile compounds tone blood vessels, improve heart function. Regular consumption of dishes with the addition of garlic helps protect the body from chemical and biological toxins, infections, normalizes the secretion of insulin, stimulates the synthesis of cartilage tissue, and overall metabolism.

But it is important to remember that garlic is not an independent product, but a burning seasoning for food. It should not be abused by healthy people either, and with pathologies of the urinary system of the stomach, pancreas, liver or intestines, this fruit causes serious harm. Irritating the mucous membranes, garlic compounds increase the release of digestive enzymes, and can provoke heartburn or colic.

Garlic for children: from what age and how much

Raw root vegetables should not be offered to babies under 3 years old. Even in the absence of a tendency to allergies, it can cause redness of the oral mucosa, a burn of the esophagus. Not to mention the fact that babies are not able to fully appreciate the pungent smell and burning taste.

For healthy babies, grated garlic or its juice is allowed to be added to hot dishes during their preparation. Toddlers 1-2 years old: no more than 1 medium clove per day, no more than 2 times a week. The crushed fruit should be added to meat, fish dishes, soups, vegetable stews, having previously peeled completely from the peel and films.

From the age of 3 it is allowed to give up to 2 cloves once. At will, grown-up children can be given to gnaw garlic with bread, sprinkle sandwiches, put in fresh vegetable salads: with cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes.

Children under 5 years of age should not add any other hot spices such as onion, pepper or vinegar to dishes with garlic. This increases the risk of indigestion and allergies. It is recommended to combine the root crop with starchy foods and neutral-tasting vegetables. Including: with potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, cereals on the water, meat and vegetarian broths, non-acidic sauces. Dishes with garlic are useful in the morning and lunch hours. In the evening, this fruit is better not to eat because of the tonic effect.

Caution in use

Do not consume more than 2 cloves of garlic at once, even if the child strongly desires. A loading dose of essential compounds can negatively affect your well-being, blood pressure, provoke insomnia, and headaches.

Do not insist if the baby categorically refuses this seasoning or spits it out.

Can a child have garlic or not, it can be difficult to determine immediately. And disgust is one of the frequent signs of his intolerance. A symptom of hypersensitivity to active substances or intolerance may be facial flushing, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, dizziness. In such cases, it is necessary to wash the stomach. With the appearance of pain in the abdomen - give to eat 1 tsp. vegetable or butter. Fats neutralize the action of burning substances, enveloping the mucous membranes.

Garlic is a long-term product. You can eat it at any time of the year. The main thing is that the bulbs are fresh, elastic, with juicy white cloves (as in the photo above), and retain a spicy aroma. Sprouting, shriveled, soft are not suitable for food. Like the dark ones. Mold spots on the surface of even strong bulbs are also a sign of a spoiled product.

how to give, benefits for children

Published 04.12.2021 author Elena Volodina

Reading time: 4 minutes

Garlic is an aromatic flavoring seasoning that is widely used in cooking to give food a piquant, spicy taste. Everyone knows about the benefits of garlic. This natural remedy is especially appreciated during epidemics of influenza and SARS - it effectively strengthens the immune system, increasing the body's resistance to viruses and infections.

1 When to give garlic to children

1.1 Benefits of garlic for children

1. 2 Why garlic should not be given to young children

1.3 When can you start giving garlic to your child

1.4 Rules for choosing and storing

1.4.1 Similar entries:

When properly introduced into baby food, this fragrant product is indispensable for a child. But in order not to harm the baby's body, it is necessary to take into account at what age garlic can be given to children, in what quantity and form it must be introduced into the menu.

The benefits of garlic for children

Garlic is a plant that contains a huge amount of useful substances necessary for the body of an adult and a child.

It contains vitamins A, B, C, D, micro and macro elements, phytoncides and phytosterols. It is called a natural antibiotic with bactericidal and antiseptic properties. At the same time, the vegetable does not destroy beneficial bacteria and does not harm the intestinal microflora.

Vegetable benefits for children:

strengthens the immune system and prevents the development of colds;
increases appetite, so it is added to meals for children with poor weight gain;
garlic cloves with milk help to reduce cough, runny nose and other cold symptoms;
fights against helminthiasis;
stimulates metabolism;
prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis;
normalizes blood pressure;
promotes blood thinning and improves the functioning of the digestive tract.

The benefits of garlic cloves are manifested not only when consumed, but also when applied externally. Garlic juice is used to relieve itching after insect bites, treat fungal infections, warts, herpes, psoriasis, lichen and other skin problems.

Why young children shouldn't eat garlic

When answering whether children can eat garlic, doctors focus not only on the many beneficial qualities, but also on the harm that this vegetable can cause.

Harmful properties of the product:

fresh cloves are a rather heavy food that puts a heavy load on the organs of the digestive system;
cloves of the spicy vegetable cause irritation of the stomach and intestinal mucosa, so it is forbidden to feed garlic to babies suffering from gastritis, colitis, gastric or duodenal ulcers;
many children may be put off by the pronounced aroma and spicy taste of the vegetable;
eating garlic cloves in very large quantities leads to painful abdominal cramps, heartburn and indigestion;
the vegetable is not allowed to be given to children suffering from epilepsy, kidney disease and fever.

When introducing this product into a child's diet, the risk of allergy cannot be ruled out. It is accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure, skin rashes and redness, itching, swelling.

Dr. Komarovsky's opinion about garlic for children:

Watch this video on YouTube

In the most severe cases, after eating the vegetable, such dangerous complications develop as Quincke's edema or anaphylactic shock. With the manifestation of edema of the larynx, the child needs emergency medical care.

When to start giving garlic to a child

At what age garlic can be introduced into a child's diet depends on its type. Boiled, stewed or steamed vegetables can be added to the children's menu from 9-10 months. The introduction of a fresh clove of garlic is best delayed until 3 years of age.

Rules for the introduction of the product into baby food:

At the first meeting, children are allowed to give no more than ½ slices per day, starting with a small piece.
Until the age of 1 year garlic cloves can be added to vegetable purees, soups and meat dishes. Vegetables must be heat treated.
Garlic should be present in the children's diet no more than 1-2 times a week.
For children over 3 years of age, it is useful to add the spicy vegetable to meat dishes, salads and snacks, to use as an addition to eggs and cheese, or as a spread for sandwiches.
For children over 3-4 years of age, the allowable intake of garlic is 1 clove up to 3-5 times per week. After reaching 10 years, the daily rate increases to 2-4 cloves.

If the child has an allergic reaction to any food, the introduction of garlic into the diet should be postponed until the age of 3-5 years. To clarify the exact data on the correct feeding of an allergic baby with a spicy vegetable, you need to consult a pediatrician.

If the child absolutely does not like the sharp taste and aroma of garlic cloves, it is necessary to remove the sprouts in the cloves. It is in them that the largest amount of essential oils is concentrated, emitting a specific garlic aroma.