From the first days of life, a child’s nutrition should be filled with vitamins and useful minerals for proper growth and development.
And if a newborn receives all the necessary substances from mother’s milk, then as he grows up he needs additional food and drinks.
Providing a child’s diet, many mothers are interested in whether children can be given birch sap.
This nectar stands apart from all other fruit and vegetable drinks, which is due to the method of its production.
Can children be given birch sap: at what age?
Trying to find the answer to the question whether children can be given birch sap, many mothers come to the conclusion that it is possible. However, it is important to understand at what age it is permissible to consume this drink. Pediatricians believe that the main source of fluid, after breast milk, for the baby should be clean water. But after a year you can include in the diet peanuts and other drinks.
One of the juices that are useful and recommended by specialists for children aged 1 year is considered to be birch. It is important to choose a high-quality and natural product that will benefit the children's body. For the first test, the child will need only 50 ml of birch sap, and if he likes, the volume can be doubled. If the birch sap is not diluted, drinking more of it will be difficult.
For children after 3 years, the optimal amount of birch sap is one glass 2-3 times a week. In some kindergartens, there is still a rule - to give children fresh juices, especially in spring and summer, when the body needs extra moisture.
Is it possible to give children birch sap: what are its benefits
The properties and useful qualities of birch sap have been known for a long time, which is why in early spring so many people with designs for collecting this unique nectar can be seen in birch groves and plantings. The birch sap has an invaluable effect on the children's growing body, filling it with vitamins and energy. This is especially important in the spring, when children after the winter are weakened and need additional fortification.
The usefulness of birch sap provides its unique composition, which includes:
• mineral and tannins;
• organic acids;
• glucose and fructose;
• calcium, iron and potassium.
This amount of nutrients provides a positive effect on the children's body, which is expressed in the following:
• normalization and prevention of disorders of the genitourinary system;
• blood purification and a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system;
• acceleration of metabolism in the body;
• prevention of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
• support in the treatment of bronchitis and tuberculosis.
Understanding the importance of such an effect on the children's body, each mother makes sure that children can be given birch sap. Of course, to maintain the health of the baby - you need to do this.
Is it possible to give children birch sap purchased in a store
Before giving your child birch sap, it’s important to understand the differences between the store product and the just squeezed drink. The most useful birch sap is for 4 hours after its collection from a tree. At the same time, it is important that the birch grows away from the road or the highway, the best place for collecting juice is a grove in the depths of the forest.
To obtain birch sap, special devices are used that allow you to get a drink and not injure the tree. On an industrial scale, it is collected in a slightly different way. In addition, for sale, juice undergoes multi-level processing and as a result is a different drink from natural fresh birch juice.
Of course, you can also use a product purchased in a store, including giving it to children to drink. But it must be understood that its composition is significantly different from the initial state of the natural drink. And accordingly, the benefits for the child's body will be different. To prevent a store product from harming children, it is important to carefully monitor the production date and expiration date of birch sap.
Is it possible to give children birch sap, which has been stored for a long time after collection
The period of collecting natural juice from birches is quite short. Therefore, it is important to understand how you can store the collected drink from the tree so that it can stand for some time, remain fit for drinking and not lose its qualities. When parents want to offer this drink to their child, they think about whether it is possible to give children birch sap, which has stood in any container for a certain period of time.
To preserve the beneficial properties of birch sap during storage, you need to follow a few rules. Firstly, the temperature at which you can leave the container with the drink should not exceed 5 degrees. Therefore, an ideal place would be a refrigerator or a basement.
Secondly, in the juice you need to add several ingredients that will prevent it from souring. These include: cloves, raisins and blackcurrant leaves. These components will slightly change the aroma and taste of birch sap, but the drink will remain tasty and rich.
Even with these rules, birch sap can be stored at home for no longer than 2-3 weeks. A longer shelf life is ensured under industrial conditions by the addition of special preservatives. However, the quality of such a drink will be completely different.
Thus, parents who are interested in the question whether children can be given birch sap can be calm and confident in their actions. Natural fresh drink is good for the child’s body and tastes good, so it can be safely included in the baby’s diet.
