format_quote Originally Posted by
ranma1/2
Important,
Do not feed Honey to babies not eating solid foods.
If you do they can get botulism since their stomach is not acidic enough to kill the spores in honey.
yep true
"Don't feed honey to babies" is one of those things-you-ought-to-know rules (like "don't mix ammonia with chlorine" and "don't use beach sand when making concrete") that needs more publicity because it is so important.
The word botulism describes a type of poisoning. A strain of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum creates a protein called botulin, and this protein is the cause of botulism. Botulin invades excitatory nerve cells where they meet with muscle fibers and blocks the junction so no signals can get through. The result is paralysis, and in severe cases it totally immobilizes and can kill the patient.
Botulism bacteria are common in nature, but they are killed by oxygen. Therefore, the bacteria form spores that protect them from oxygen, and these spores activate once they get into oxygen-free environments. The most common way to get botulism is from improperly canned food. Once the can is sealed, it creates an oxygen-free environment. The can is then heated, and if heated properly the spores die. If the can is not heated properly, however, the spores activate in the sealed can and fill it with toxin. Because botulin is a protein, heating will destroy it. But if the canned food is eaten cold, botulism occurs.
Babies get botulism from honey in a different way. Bees naturally collect botulism spores as they are collecting nectar and mix them into the honey. Most people can eat these spores without difficulty because we have bacteria in our intestines and robust immune systems that eliminate the spores. Infants do not yet have these defenses. So when a baby eats honey, the spores find themselves in the oxygen-free intestine and come to life. They produce the toxin while inside the baby....
:S
oh wait check this
Honey is a very nutritious substance, it increases body immunity against various viral bacterial and fungal diseases, it keeps the gastrointestinal tract healthy and it is a potent anti-allergic.
The best way to take honey is by dissolving it in water “Honey Drink” without added heat and early in the morning, that’s how Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to drink it.
Allah says in the holy Qur’an:
{And your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build, Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colors, in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who reflect } (An Nahl 16: 68-69)
I am aware that some pediatricians would prefer giving honey after 12 months out of fear of Botulism, but I as a nutritionist, give my children honey after 6th month of age, and I never saw a case of botulism from honey where I live, but in some states and in Canada I know of some cases, so as a rule of thumb for mothers, for a child below one year (which is not your case), if you know of such cases in your area wait after 12 months, if not give it to him after 6 month of age.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...ParentCounselE