At what age can children drink ginger: ginger tea for immunity

Composition of ginger

Speaking about the beneficial properties of ginger, it is necessary to talk about its composition. Ginger root contains all known vitamins. It is also rich in chemical elements: iron, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, zinc, selenium. Ginger is valued for its Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. The healing properties of this plant contain glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, and a large amount of essential oils. The most active biochemical compounds contained in the root include:

terpene acids;
ferulic acid;
quercetin;
borneol;
myrcene;
gingerol;
chlorogenic acid.

Beneficial properties for children's bodies

Many of these compounds help the child's body fight viruses and bacteria. The substances that make up ginger have antipyretic properties. Ginger drinks can be used to treat the upper respiratory tract. This is facilitated by camphene and cineole; they have an expectorant effect.

Gingerol, quercetin, myrcene, chlorogenic acid can stop inflammatory processes and promote healing of sore throat. You can drink tea with ginger for coughs and tonsillitis. Ginger for children during a runny nose can be used as a component for an inhalation solution. To do this, you need to prepare a decoction of ginger root.

Ginger is used as an antihistamine, hepatoprotective, antidiarrheal, carminative and antiasthmatic agent. Thanks to cineole and gamma-aminobutyric acid included in the composition, children's immunity can be increased.

Ginger for children: expert opinion

For many mothers, Dr. Komarovsky is an undoubted authority. What does he think about ginger for children? The doctor believes that a child should develop based on natural needs, so the child should be active, move a lot, eat when he wants. His diet should contain only natural products.

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Regarding treatment, the doctor follows the same method. He says that there is no need to stuff your baby with pills for any reason. It is better to help the child increase immunity so that the body itself fights infections. A simple way to boost your immunity is ginger tea.

Admission rules

Initially, you can offer your little child some warm ginger tea. Some experts compare the effects of ginger with the effects of garlic. Only the root is superior to garlic. Children enjoy drinking ginger tea because it has a good taste. The powder has a burning taste; it is better not to use it to prepare a drink for a child. Ginger for children should be taken in the form of fresh root.

At what age is a child allowed to drink ginger tea and how to drink it? Children are given the drink warm with a dosage according to age, several times a day. Lemon and honey will help enhance the beneficial qualities of ginger. Just remember that these are allergens; you should consult your pediatrician before use.

The anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating properties of ginger root are widely used in the treatment of colds in children. The vitamin composition in combination with essential oils and trace elements makes this plant a unique medicine. How can ginger help children whose bodies are not yet subject to age-related changes?

The esters contained in the plant are used to prevent and treat colds, flu and bronchitis. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to take ginger infusions and mixtures. Ginger root is also effective as a component of an inhalation mixture.
The beneficial effect on digestion allows the spice to eliminate unpleasant symptoms such as nausea, colic, and vomiting. Ginger root will help with poisoning, promptly removing toxic and poisonous substances from the body.
Ginger root is also successfully used as an anthelmintic, allowing you to get rid of intestinal parasites in a gentle way.
The root restores strength after illness, strengthens and supports the immune system.
The properties of the essential oil of the root are used to relieve unpleasant symptoms of motion sickness in vehicles. To do this, it is enough to have a small piece of fresh ginger with you on the road and give it to your baby to smell during bouts of lightheadedness.

Despite the fact that the benefits of ginger for children are beyond doubt among medical specialists, one must understand that there are a number of contraindications in which this spice should not be given to children as food.

It is not at all necessary to give your child only ginger tea. To improve health and support immunity, you can prepare various tasty and healthy dishes based on this spice.

Candied ginger

pumpkin – 800 grams;
eggs – 4 pieces;
granulated sugar – 100 grams;
grated ginger root - 1 tablespoon;
gelatin – 1 tablespoon;
a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg;
cream – 1 glass.

The pumpkin is peeled and cut into small pieces. Place it on a baking sheet, cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes in the oven at 220 degrees. When the pumpkin is baked, grind it in a blender.

In a separate container, beat eggs with sugar until foamy. Add crushed ginger, gelatin, cinnamon and nutmeg, and beaten eggs to the pumpkin mass. The resulting mass is whipped and placed in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

The resulting mousse is placed in small cups and decorated with whipped cream, after which the dessert is placed in the refrigerator for another 5 hours. The beneficial properties of ginger will be fully preserved in this dessert.

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Ginger decoction

Take a piece of fresh ginger, peel and finely chop, place in a glass or enamel container and place on low heat. Bring to a boil for 10-20 minutes and leave to cool completely. This decoction perfectly eliminates stomach pain, improves digestion and stimulates appetite.

It is best to take fresh ginger for a drink intended for a child, since the powder will have a more pungent taste. If you decide to make tea from powder, then the dosage should be less.
When peeling the root, try to remove the peel as thinly as possible. If the skin is very thin, then you don’t have to remove it at all to make tea.
After peeling, the root should either be grated or cut into small pieces. Please note that due to the fibrous structure, grating may be difficult. Use a garlic crusher and you will crush the ginger root very quickly.
The benefits of ginger are not lost if the root is crushed, dried or treated with heat, but low temperatures reduce the usefulness of the product, so you should not freeze the root.
Drinks with ginger can be given warm to your child several times during the day. To enhance the taste, you can add lemon or honey to the drink, but remember that both of these ingredients are potential allergens.

Due to the presence of essential oils, ginger is an allergenic product, so a fragile child’s body can react to it with a protective reaction. And this is the main reason why the root is forbidden to be given to children.

Rules for taking ginger by children

At what age can children be given ginger? Most competent experts are inclined to believe that ginger can be offered to a child over two years of age. Ginger drinks or foods should not be given at an earlier age. This will cause an irritating effect on the fragile gastrointestinal tract. When introducing ginger into your baby’s diet, it is worth remembering that it is a spice. It is necessary to obtain the consent of a family doctor or pediatrician; it is possible that the child has other contraindications to taking this spice.

Initially, you can offer your little child some warm ginger tea. Some experts compare the effects of ginger with the effects of garlic. Only the root is superior to garlic. Children enjoy drinking ginger tea because it has a good taste. The powder has a burning taste; it is better not to use it to prepare a drink for a child. Ginger for children should be taken in the form of fresh root.

Before use, the ginger root is peeled and a thin layer of skin is carefully removed with a ceramic knife. Grate the root or cut into small pieces. You can use the freezer to store ginger for future use. Frozen ginger is easier to chop and juice is easier to squeeze out of it.

Harm of ginger

Ginger root is not only a culinary seasoning, but also a medicinal plant, which implies careful and attentive attitude to the dosage and advisability of using ginger by children. In what cases is it undesirable to drink drinks with ginger and add it to children's diets?

Contraindications:

predisposition to food allergies;
diseases associated with the risk of internal bleeding;
elevated temperature due to colds and infectious diseases;
gastritis, ulcers, kidney failure.

For complete peace of mind, before deciding to improve your child’s health with ginger, you should visit a pediatrician, who will either recommend or prohibit your child from taking ginger.

Ginger should not be consumed if you have an allergy or a tendency to food allergies, with gastritis and ulcers, with kidney failure and gallstones, with internal bleeding. The product is contraindicated for colitis and esophageal reflux. Reflux occurs in some newborns. In this case, increased gas formation, excessive regurgitation and regular constipation are observed, and intestinal dysfunction may occur.

If you have digestive reflux, you should not eat many foods, including ginger. In this case, a special therapeutic diet is selected for the child in order to improve motor skills and intestinal microflora. Read more about this in the article on anti-reflux formulas for children. In addition, it is not recommended to give ginger drinks at high temperatures above 38 degrees during a cold. Small children, pregnant women and nursing mothers are not recommended to take pickled ginger.

The benefits of ginger cannot be overestimated, because in addition to strengthening the immune system, it has a positive effect on the general condition of the body. The root has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, and antiviral properties. It cleanses the body of parasites and prevents their appearance, and helps improve memory. Ginger normalizes appetite, which will be useful for small children.

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Children should not be given the root:

for diseases of the cardiovascular system;
severe anemia;
pathologies of the kidneys and liver;
poor blood clotting;
diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
temperature.

This is a natural remedy for colds. If there is no fever, warm tea made from it can be given to children to relieve cough and easy discharge of sputum. The healing drink is prepared as follows:

Pour a couple of large spoons of ground root into 2 liters of water and put on fire.
After boiling, reduce the temperature to low and continue cooking the mixture for another 20 minutes.
Cool and strain the tea, then add honey and lemon to taste. If desired, you can add a mint leaf.

If the product is correctly introduced into the diet of children, ginger will not cause harm. The main thing is not to exceed the prescribed dosage, and if unpleasant symptoms appear, stop taking it and consult a pediatrician.

Although quite rare, ginger can cause an allergic reaction and intolerance if the child has an individual sensitivity to this product. So you need to be very careful when trying ginger for the first time.

Ginger contraindications

Speaking about the beneficial properties of ginger for a child, it should be noted that the plant also has contraindications:

Allergic reactions are possible, which are manifested by gastrointestinal upset, skin rashes, and abdominal pain. It is worth carefully monitoring the baby’s health when taking the spice for the first time. The allergens it contains can lead to a malfunction of the immune system.
Ginger for children is contraindicated for diseases of the stomach and cardiovascular system. These diseases are rare in childhood, but this should be taken into account.
If you have thrombocytopenia, you should not use ginger in any form.
Ginger contains kaempferol. The flavonoid has an adverse effect on the body's absorption of iron. It will be very difficult to stop the bleeding, since the blood is very thin.
Ginger contains substances that reduce the motor activity of the esophagus. This is dangerous for small children.

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Classic tea with ginger

You can prepare classic tea with ginger, which will taste pleasant and will not disgust your child.

Cut a 2-centimeter piece from the ginger root and peel it. Grind, pour 2 cups of boiling water, boil for 15 minutes. The broth should cool to room temperature. You can add 2 teaspoons of honey and a slice of lemon. You can drink this drink in 100 ml. You are allowed to drink no more than 300 ml of ginger tea per day.

This is a basic recipe for making tea, you can experiment with taste. For example, when boiling, you can add a spoonful of green tea and replace the lemon with freshly squeezed orange juice. You can enjoy new tea every time.

Recipes with ginger to boost immunity

Of course, tea with ginger is the most popular remedy not only for helping the body fight a cough, but also for boosting immunity. But not only this tea can help a child.

GINGER JUICE

Peel the root from the skin and grind it on a grater
Using gauze, squeeze out the juice

You need to take 3-5 ml of this juice once a day. Depending on the age of the child, the dosage can be increased.

PUMPKIN-GINGER MOUSSE

Children love sweet mousses very much. You can prepare such a product from ginger. To enhance the taste, it is better to cook it with pumpkin.

Cut the pumpkin pulp (800 g) into squares and place on a baking sheet
Cover with foil and bake in the oven (220 degrees) for about 10 minutes.
Puree baked pumpkin using a blender
Beat eggs (4 pcs.) with sugar (100 g) until stiff foam
Grate ginger root (1 tbsp) and add it to pumpkin puree
Add gelatin powder (1 tablespoon), egg mixture, nutmeg and cinnamon (a pinch each) there.
Mix with up-and-down movements
Leave in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes
Whip the cream (200 ml) and add it to the chilled mousse
Place in bowls and put them in the refrigerator for 5 hours

GINGER DRINK

Ginger goes well with the taste of citrus fruits. That is why, based on it, you can prepare not only a healthy, but also a tasty drink that children will really like.

Grind ginger (1 teaspoon) and pour it into a mug
Add lemon and orange juice to it
Stir and add sugar or honey
Fill with warm water (1/2 mug) and boiling water (1/3 mug)
We insist, strain and give to the child

GINGER CANDLES

A positive effect can also be achieved using ginger lozenges. In addition, they will not need to force the child to eat. He himself will be delighted with them and will periodically remind you of them.

Peel the ginger root and make juice from it
Melt sugar (1 kg) and pour ginger juice into it
Add a little lemon juice and simmer until thickened
Pour into lollipop molds

GINGER WITH HONEY

Another recipe for boosting children's immunity. The mixture prepared according to this recipe is best added to green tea.

Peel and chop ginger root (1 pc.)
Place it in a saucepan and fill it with liquid honey (100 g)
Let it brew for a day
Transfer to a jar with a tight lid
Add half a teaspoon of this product to tea.

GINGER COOKIES

Cookies with ginger, of course, cannot be considered a medicine.
But, with its help, you can also improve your immunity.

Finely chop the candied ginger (1/2 cup) and place in a blender bowl
Add sugar (1/3 cup) and beat
Pour the resulting mixture into a bowl
Pour sugar (1/3 cup) and butter (6 tablespoons) into a blender bowl.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Mix brown sugar (5 tablespoons) and honey (1 tablespoon)
Heat brown sugar and honey in a water bath until the sugar dissolves
Add the egg and honey-sugar mixture to the ginger mixture.
Beat until smooth
In a blender, mix flour (2 cups), baking soda (2 teaspoons), ginger mass, nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon) and cinnamon (3/4 teaspoon)
Knead the dough to the desired consistency and cover it with cling film
Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour
Then we make balls with a diameter of 2.5 cm from the dough.
Sprinkle each one with powdered sugar.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the dough balls on it
Ginger cookies are baked in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 12-15 minutes.