Babies and Honey,
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Although microbes and bacteria cannot grow in honey because honey kills them, there are botulism spores present in honey. Please don’t allow this to frighten you because botulism spores are present in every raw food going, it’s just you don’t hear about these.
The problem with infant botulism is that it is a type of poisoning process, or food poisoning and the result could be death.
The physical particles found in honey which have caused these alarms are the so called Botulinium spores that are commonly found all over nature so it isn't just babies and honey we should be wary of.
Botulism is also present in dust and maple and corn syrups, these two sugar substitutes are not recommended by me in any way shape or form, they are sheer poison in my opinion.
Botulism also lives in the soil which is why it is extremely important that all raw foods should be washed thoroughly in clean water before being eaten.
This presence of botulism spores in honey was discovered around 1978 which caused a bit of a panic for mothers who until that time had quite happily fed honey to their babies and children.
These days when you buy your jar of honey of which there are many kinds, types and varieties, you will often read on the label "Do not feed to infants/babies under one year old"
I wholly endorse the benefits of eating honey, however, I have no problem with this label on that jar. If babies and honey just don’t blend well then I would take notice of that label.
Yes,in some countries, even to this very day a baby is said "not to be born" until a little honey has been placed into their mouths.
In 1938, a study on infant feeding by doctors concluded that honey was absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly than any other sugar except straight glucose.
Yet the honey did not flood the bloodstream with an overabundance of sugar that could not be handled by the body.
The authors of this study stated, "In view of the fact that honey is a product ready for use without artificial treatment and that it is composed of the two sugars most acceptable to the body, it is strange that it has not enjoyed wider use, especially in the feeding of infants/babies".
Honey to Their Babies
As a result of this study and by word of mouth, many mothers added or continued to add honey to baby bottles and some paediatricians actually recommended the practice for babies including those less than 12 months old.
The reason for this was the evidence that honey can raise the haemoglobin content of babies’ blood with very beneficial results.
become Unpopular?
During the 12 months it takes for babies immune systems to develop they are very vulnerable to a wide range of diseases and infections.
Prior to antibiotics, infant deaths were considerably higher than they are today. Bacterial infections played a major role in high infant mortality.
Many mothers, sensibly so at that time ceased to include the risk of feeding their babies honey.
we Should be Aware of?
Consider another report from the USA which implicated the bacteria "Helicobacter pylori" in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
This is the very same bacterium that is the major cause of stomach ulcers and one that some consider the most widespread bacterium involved in chronic infections.
Researchers discovered that 28 out of 32 babies who died from (SIDS) had been infected with H.pylori compared to only 1 in 8 non-SIDS babies.
So here we have a bacterium implicated as extremely harmful to babies and yet we now know that one of the best and main benefits of eating honey is that it actually kills this bacterium.
Honey to Babies?
There is an answer to this question where babies and honey is considered to be safe according to Joe Traynor, author of "Honey the Gourmet Medicine". It is to Gamma Irradiate the honey.
Simple yes? If paediatricians do not recommend honey for babies under one year old because their immune systems are still underdeveloped shouldn’t they recommend gamma irradiated honey for babies to stop SIDS from developing?
Think about this seriously: If H. pylori bacteria are indeed the major cause of SIDS would the number of deaths over the past two decades or so caused by not feeding babies honey, have exceeded the number of deaths from botulism if those infants were fed honey?
And notably the incidence of SIDS still increased even after mothers stopped putting honey in their babies’ bottles?
The honey industry is missing a good bet by not placing gamma irradiated honey in the baby sections of supermarkets and stores. However, this must be the real thing and not some
Until this day comes concerned mothers should consider gamma irradiating their own honey. Check out your local clinics and hospitals to see if this is possible for you.
As you can see there is a strong argument for feeding honey to babies but there are also risks to be considered.
Personally, although I wholly endorse the health benefits of honey, I would err on the side of caution and never feed my children or grandchildren any form of honey or raw foods until they reach that magical age of honey consent.
And when they do or did then there is really only one choice. I visit my beekeeping friends and buy their fresh raw honey, there is nothing to compare it with.
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