Blueberries are rightfully considered not only tasty, but also a medicinal berry, because its composition is unique. But it is precisely this fact that gives parents a healthy share of doubts about at what age a child can be given it without the risk of undesirable consequences. In this article, we will tell you when you can introduce the berry into the child's diet, as well as what form it is best to give it to children.
Benefit
Blueberry berries are 90% water, the remaining 10% are vitamins, which are quite abundant in it: this is vitamin C, which is necessary for the child's immunity, and vitamin A, which is necessary for the formation of vision, and B vitamins, without which the nervous the human system cannot function normally.
The beneficial properties of blueberries have long been noticed by physicians; they are widely used in official and folk medicine. A special coloring pigment gives the berry a blue color. A set of fruit acids promotes tissue regeneration, increases the tone of the walls of blood vessels. Blueberry promotes better nutrition of the brain, improves memory, increases learning ability, and normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Contraindications
Blueberries should not be given to children with congenital heart defects or blood disorders. The composition of the berry increases the viscosity of the blood, increases its ability to clot. Therefore, blueberries are not recommended for children with hemostasis problems.
If a child has diseases of the digestive system, in particular gastritis with high acidity, blueberries should also be excluded or severely limited - berries contain a fairly large amount of acids (oxalic, malic, etc.).
The berry is not recommended for children with biliary dyskinesia. Also, blueberries are given with caution to children with kidney pathologies, since oxalic acid is present in its composition, which can provoke the deposition of salts in the urinary system.
Age restrictions
Often, parents can find advice on the possibility of introducing this berry into complementary foods for children from six months. In fact, pediatricians warn against such an early acquaintance of the baby with such a complex berry. It can cause the development of food allergies, as well as disrupt the functioning of the digestive system. A set of necessary vitamins for a baby can be provided by apples and vegetable purees, simpler in composition. The optimal age for starting blueberry feeding is considered to be 1 year.
But even from a year old, a child can be given these berries only when the baby has no tendency to allergies at all. Atopic dermatitis, problems with the tolerance of new products - a good reason to wait with blueberries until 3 years of age.
The best advisor for a mother in this matter is her own common sense, which strongly recommends carefully weighing the possible harm and expected benefits of each product for the baby's body.
Number
Children are given a small amount of blueberries from a year old - by adding a few pieces of mashed berries in mashed fruit, for example, in apple or peach. From 3 years old, a child is recommended at a time no more than a tablespoon of blueberries, and from 5 years old - one handful. Even if the child is not allergic to this berry, do not exceed the recommended amount in order to avoid unpleasant consequences for his health and well-being.
Even in adolescence, eating blueberries often causes intoxication, manifested by dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and impaired stool consistency.
How to give and why?
In complementary foods, the berry is introduced exclusively in a pureed form, mixed with fruit puree. Later, you can add the berry, pureed or whole, to porridge, mousse, cottage cheese, puddings. Children really like homemade blueberry baked goods - the berries are very tasty in muffins.
A child can cook compote from blueberries, make fruit drinks during an illness associated with a high temperature. Sugar-free pureed blueberries are used for compresses for certain skin ailments, such as lichen.
Tea with the addition of dried blueberries helps with diarrhea, bloating, and is also used for cystitis, which is quite common in childhood. It is recommended to gargle with an aqueous infusion of dried blueberries during sore throat and mouth during stomatitis.
When choosing berries for a child, beware of buying them in the market, because no one knows where they were collected and how they were stored. True lovers of blueberries in northern latitudes prefer to pick them themselves.
How to distinguish from blueberries?
Blueberries have been known to mankind for a long time, but they are constantly confused with blueberries. Unlike blueberries, the flesh of the berry is green, and after eating, the mouth, lips and tongue do not turn black or blue, they retain their naturalness.
The taste of blueberries is somewhat inferior to blueberries. Blueberries are known to be sweeter. But the taste of blueberries is more delicate, neutral, and therefore children treat them with great sympathy.
In the next video, you will find 10 feeding rules from Dr. Komarovsky.
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