At what age can garlic be given to children?

Garlic is known for its beneficial properties and is often used in cooking as a seasoning. However, is it possible to give it to children of the first years of life and how to enter it into the children's menu correctly, so as not to harm the health of the baby?

• It is rich in trace elements, phytoncides, vitamins C, D, B-group, A, phytosterols and many other valuable compounds.
• It is called a natural antibiotic for its bactericidal properties. However, it does not inhibit the intestinal microflora.
• It has the ability to strengthen the immune system, so it is popular for the prevention of SARS.
• Eating stimulates the appetite, so it is advised to add it to dishes for lean children.
• Traditional medicine recommends the use of this vegetable for the treatment of fever, worms, rickets, suppuration, tuberculosis. But most often garlic is treated with runny nose, cough and other manifestations of the common cold.
• Its juice helps to eliminate itchy skin with insect bites, herpetic eruptions and warts.

You can learn more about the properties from the “Live Healthy” program.

• It is quite heavy for the stomach, so it is not given to young children.
• It has the ability to irritate the mucous membranes, which causes its prohibition in gastritis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
• An allergic reaction is possible, manifested by skin itching, rashes on the body, swelling of the face or respiratory tract, a decrease in pressure. Allergy is possible not only to use such a vegetable, but even to inhale its vapors.
• Some children do not like the taste and smell of this vegetable.
• Excessive consumption of such vegetables leads to heartburn and abdominal pain.
• Garlic is contraindicated in high body temperature (above + 38 ° C), kidney disease, overweight and epilepsy.

Heat-treated garlic is acceptable to enter into the children's diet from 8-9 months, and with an acquaintance with fresh vegetables combine to wait at least three years.

Children up to the year it is added to soups and vegetable purees in the amount of up to 1/2 cloves per day, starting with a small piece. It may also be present in meat dishes. It is recommended to include it in the children's menu no more than two times a week.

Fresh garlic for kids older than 3-4 years old is added to salads, meats, cheese or egg snacks. They can also rub bread. At the same time, for children of this age, the daily amount of raw garlic should not exceed 1 tooth, and the optimal frequency of consumption is from 3 to 5 times a week.

With garlic you can cook:

• Cheese snack. Grate 100 g of cheese on a fine grater, add a finely grated clove of garlic and mix with a tablespoon of sour cream. This appetizer is tasty both as a separate dish and in the form of spreading on bread.
• Vegetable Salad. Cut one tomato, bell pepper and cucumber, add diced feta cheese (50-100 g). Squeeze the juice out of one clove of garlic, mix with olive oil and season the salad.
• Toasts. Cut the black bread into slices and fry in a dry frying pan or in a toaster. While bread is hot, rub it with a clove of garlic and sprinkle with hard cheese.
• Butter. Peel and finely rub the garlic, chop the dill or parsley. Mix everything with softened butter. Such butter is spread on bread.

In the next video you can see how else to prepare garlic for the child with the help of the remaining pickle from cucumbers.

The famous pediatrician considers the preventive effect of garlic to be not as pronounced as its psychological influence on the condition of the child’s relatives.

• If the baby has reacted to garlic vapors or the addition of this vegetable to food with a pronounced allergic reaction, call a doctor to prescribe an antihistamine.
• When buying it, choose large heads. They must be clean and dense, and the husks on such heads must be intact and dry.
• For storage, use nets, containers with holes or baskets. The best storage temperature of this vegetable is + 4 + 10 degrees.
• If the child does not like the smell, then before cooking, you can remove the sprouts from the cloves (they are the most fragrant). In addition, the smell will disturb less if you do not rub garlic, and cut into small pieces.