Mushrooms - for children - at what age can they be introduced into the diet? What mushrooms can be given to children? Is it possible to give mushrooms to children 3 years old?

Mushrooms are a tasty product that many people love, but, nevertheless, it is fraught with danger. Parents who love to eat mushrooms are interested in the question of how it is with their children eating mushrooms.

Can children eat mushrooms? The clear answer is no. It should be remembered that this product should not be given to a child under five years old. Even if it’s just a harmless pie with mushroom filling, mushroom pizza or soup. The child's body is designed in such a way that it does not have enough enzymes that can digest this product.

Many people believe that children can eat mushrooms. This is a big misconception. It is strictly forbidden to give your child salted and pickled mushrooms. This type of mushroom contains a lot of vinegar, which should not be given to children. Based on these factors, when asked if children can eat mushrooms - absolutely not.

White mushroom

It is not recommended to give porcini mushrooms to children, just like other mushrooms. They contain many harmful substances that accumulate over a long time. A child’s body is not able to cope with such toxins, so children are not allowed to consume porcini mushroom, much less include it in their diet. Even when a child reaches school age, doctors do not recommend eating mushroom dishes.

Eating porcini mushrooms for children can have a negative impact on the functioning and health of not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also the entire body as a whole.

Mushrooms for children, from what age?

In principle, they should not be eaten at any childhood age. It’s better when the child, already in adulthood, wants to try them himself. By refusing this product, children will not lose anything. In cases of poisoning, immediately call an ambulance.

Mushrooms for children, at what age is it best to refrain from taking them. But if it so happens that parents are going to give this dish to their child, then it is worth knowing how to prepare them correctly. Mushrooms cook for a long time, after which they can be stewed.

If they are given to a child, then they should not be fried. If you come across a mushroom that is not edible, then no amount of heat treatment can remove the toxins. Mushrooms for children, from what age - at any age it is harmful for a child.

There are a large number of varied and healthy products that can replace mushrooms for a child. Moreover, there is no benefit as such for the child’s body in porcini and ordinary mushrooms. Therefore, it is worth thinking several times about including this product in your diet. The best solution would be to give up mushrooms in any form, since the potential threat to the child’s health is much higher than the selfish benefits.

It is rare that anyone is able to refuse deliciously prepared aromatic mushrooms: boletus, porcini, chanterelles or saffron milk caps. This is one of the most pleasant seasonings that can save any dish. When is a child’s first “meeting” with mushrooms acceptable? Are they dangerous or not? How often is it acceptable to add them to the diet? All this is the topic of this article.

Composition and benefits of mushrooms

Mushrooms are a specific product; there are people who do not eat them because they consider them harmful and even dangerous to health. This is partly true, but with proper use of this product it will bring a lot of benefits. Let's consider the composition of mushrooms and the effect of these substances on the body:

• Protein, as much as in meat. True, it is less digestible than beef or chicken - this is due to the significant amount of fiber.
• Carbohydrates are another important component and source of energy. Due to their special structure, they (like protein) are poorly absorbed.
• Fats - even a child’s body accepts them well, the largest amount is in everyone’s favorite porcini mushrooms, saffron milk caps and, perhaps, the safest and most common champignons.
• Resins are the reason why some types of mushrooms have an interesting, slightly pungent taste. Resinous substances are harmful for children, so milk mushrooms and mushrooms should not be given to children and even teenagers. Add saffron milk caps to this “duet”.
• Minerals, especially potassium and phosphorus. Useful for the skeletal system.
• Organic acids, including lactic, acetic and others. They are the body’s defenders from infections; bacteria, when encountering them, weaken or even die. A “side” effect is strengthening the immune system. Thus, the “enemies’” chances of survival are significantly reduced.
• Enzymes - champignons especially have a lot of them. These substances activate the processing of proteins and fats with carbohydrates.
• Essential oils. They give the mushrooms a truly “magical” aroma. The wonderful smell is one of the main reasons for everyone's love for this product.
• Vitamins. We will not list everything, but we will mention the most important ones: retinol, riboflavin, thiamine, pyridoxine, cholecalciferol, ascorbic acid and many others. There are even more B vitamins in mushrooms than in cereals!

Cute butterflies, white mushrooms, honey mushrooms, boletus mushrooms - all these are sources of amino acids; when they enter the body, they use the circulatory system to reach muscle cells and... promote their growth. Something like building material for muscles.

Attention! The caps contain more useful substances than the stems. We hope you understood the hint.

At what age can children eat mushrooms?

This is a question every responsible parent asks at some point. Opinions vary regarding the optimal age for adding mushrooms to children's diets. So, some extreme parents (yes, that’s right) add them to the food of babies who have not yet reached one year old - we suggest not even considering this option, because a child is not a testing ground, risking his health is a crime.

According to pediatricians, the main harm to mushrooms is caused by the chitin they contain, concentrated mainly in the stems. This is a difficult-to-digest substance that not even all adults are able to digest, let alone children with their not fully developed digestive systems. If you don’t know what chitin is, let us explain - the element that makes up the shell of turtles and some other animals. Do you think it’s worth offering your baby “armor” as food?

Another reason why you should not eat mushrooms at an early age is their susceptibility to harmful substances. They absorb them from the air, soil, and water. In its structure, the pulp of the product is similar to a sponge, in which toxins, radionuclides and other “pests” accumulate.

Mushrooms collected near highways and industrial enterprises, including chemical plants, are especially dangerous. This is an explanation of why children used to eat white mushrooms, boletus and honey mushrooms from an early age, and nothing bad happened to their bodies. Centuries have passed since then, everything has changed, the environmental situation is much worse, so many products have to be handled more carefully.

Introducing mushrooms into a baby's diet

Actually, it would be more correct to say not a child, but a schoolchild, because eating mushrooms from the age of 7 is considered absolutely safe. By this period, the formation of the child’s digestive system is completely completed. Of course, many parents offer mushrooms much earlier. Well, all that remains is to remind them of the possible risks. Rules for introducing mushrooms into the diet of children:

• for the first time, it is enough for the child to try literally 1-2 g of the product; it is safest to offer the child champignons or wild mushrooms not from the market;
• during the period of adaptation, mushrooms are not cooked separately, they are added to sauces - even a minimal amount is enough to give the mass an aroma and a characteristic taste;
• you should especially carefully monitor the reaction of your daughter or son; at the slightest suspicious symptoms (we will write about this later), call an ambulance; in no case should you self-medicate or act on the principle “maybe it will go away on its own”;
• Children can be offered mushrooms no more than 1-2 times a week.

Important! Regardless of the child’s health status, salted and pickled mushrooms are contraindicated. They are often offered during holiday feasts; at such moments, parents are usually in a good mood and lose their vigilance.

When to sound the alarm?

Several symptoms may be cause for concern. Let's look at their groups:

• with mild poisoning, the child may feel dizzy, become lethargic and weak, refuse active games, may experience pain in the stomach, but the pain is not so severe that he screams;
• moderate severity - to the symptoms listed above is added copious secretion of saliva, a change in the shape of the pupils - they become smaller, the baby screams from piercing pain in the abdomen;
• Severe poisoning. It is characterized by vomiting, a painful headache, sometimes yellowing of the skin, a sudden onset of spasms is also possible, up to convulsions, hallucinations and delirium (especially after eating fly agarics), vomiting does not stop, it is continuous.

What to do? Most often, a sharp deterioration in a child’s health after eating mushrooms causes panic. Try to behave calmly, call an ambulance. It is advisable to stimulate vomiting so that toxins come out along with the masses - for this you need to give the baby plenty of water, and also press on the tongue with a teaspoon (on the root). An additional measure is activated charcoal and an enema.

A wide variety of delicious dishes are prepared from mushrooms. Many people like to collect them themselves, salt them, pickle them, fry them, and make mushroom pies. But this is not the easiest food for the stomach. In addition, they can cause severe poisoning. Is it possible to cook mushroom dishes for a child? Most experts believe that the later the kids get to know them, the better. In any case, including them in the diet of children under 2 years of age is strictly prohibited. Mushrooms can only be given to an older child in the form of soup. When salted or fried, they are harmful.

Content:

What are the benefits of mushrooms?

Mushrooms are sources of vitamins A, C, PP of group B. They contain many valuable microelements: calcium, sodium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and others. They are rich in proteins, fats, carbohydrates, amino acids. There are substances necessary to enhance immunity and improve metabolism. Most of the nutrients are in the caps. The legs have virtually no nutritional value. In addition, they contain chitin, a rough fiber that is not digested in the human stomach.

Note: Chicken egg protein is absorbed in the body by 99%, the protein contained in beef is 75%, and mushroom protein is only 3%. Therefore, in order to get enough protein, you need to eat so many of them that it can lead to poisoning.

What are the harms of mushrooms?

Parents have the right to decide for themselves at what age to give mushrooms to their child. Only in this case should one take into account their harmful effects on the baby’s body:

1. Chitin interferes with the absorption of nutrients. In addition, it may enhance the allergic effects of other products.
2. It's easy to get poisoned by mushrooms. Many of them have extremely poisonous counterparts: false honey mushrooms, false white (the so-called satanic). Therefore, feeding a child mushrooms that you have collected yourself is especially dangerous.
3. The body of mushrooms has a porous structure, so they, like a sponge, absorb harmful substances from soil and dust, which significantly increases their toxicity.

Before preparing dishes, it is recommended to boil wild mushrooms 3 times for 15 minutes, draining the water. This helps get rid of the chemicals they have absorbed. But poisons are not destroyed by heat treatment. But the nutritional value after such boiling is significantly reduced.

Rules for preparation and consumption

• You cannot use mushrooms purchased at the market, since there is no certainty that they were collected in an ecologically clean area;
• large mushrooms need to be finely chopped, and the child should be taught to chew them thoroughly: this way they will be digested faster in the stomach;
• It is not recommended to give your child salted, pickled mushrooms, as they contain salt and vinegar;
• frying produces a large amount of carcinogens, so fried mushrooms are not given to children;
• They can be introduced into the diet no more than 1-2 times a week, in small portions in the form of soup or sauce, which can be eaten with buckwheat porridge, mashed potatoes without adding oil.

Is it possible to use mushrooms in baby food (expert opinion)

There is no consensus on the issue of using mushrooms in baby food, even among experts. The rich content of nutrients, taste, as well as the tradition of their widespread consumption in food are advantages. But there are also many disadvantages. The main one is the increased likelihood of poisoning.

Pediatrician E. Komarovsky

Dr. E. Komarovsky believes that mushrooms can be included in the diet of children over 2 years old, but not more than once a week (with potatoes or in the form of soup). It should be champignons or oyster mushrooms. He notes that many parents doubt that they can harm their child. At the same time, they refer to their grandmothers, who fed their children wild mushrooms, nothing bad happened. He reminds such parents that the environmental situation has changed greatly for the worse in recent decades. In addition, no one kept records of infant mortality associated with mushroom consumption.

Video: Doctor Komarovsky about whether it is possible to give mushrooms to children

Gastroenterologist Dmitryakova G. N. (Department of Childhood Diseases, Federal Postgraduate Education, Western State Medical University)

At the age of up to 3 years, the digestive organs of children are not developed enough to digest the hard-to-digest substances contained in mushrooms: “The child has imperfect production of the enzyme trehalase, which breaks down the carbohydrates of mushrooms,” Dmitryakova emphasizes. Therefore, she does not recommend giving them at the age of less than 7 -8 years This means healthy children who do not have diseases of the heart, respiratory tract, or gastrointestinal tract.

Deputy Head of the Sanitary Supervision Department of the Rospotrebnadzor Office for the Lipetsk Region E. Khvenchuk

He says that children under 12 years old should not add mushrooms to salads, pizza, or make soup from them. Toxicity persists even after cooking.

Doctor E. Malysheva, host of the TV show “Live Healthy”

She considers mushrooms, regardless of where they are collected, to be one of the most dangerous foods for children. The toxin content is too high, even if they are grown in your own garden. They should not be given to children under 12 years of age.

Video: Products hazardous to children

Mushroom poisoning

There is always a risk of mushroom poisoning for a child, especially a small one. The danger exists both when consuming fresh and canned foods. Even completely harmless for an adult, they can be poisonous for a baby, whose body is hypersensitive to toxins. Some products enhance their toxic effect. For example, it is not recommended to drink sour juice, as acid increases toxicity.

The first signs of mushroom poisoning are a metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, severe vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. In severe poisoning, convulsions, hallucinations appear, and constriction of the pupils occurs. If you suspect poisoning, you must call an ambulance.

Before the ambulance arrives, the child is given gastric lavage, an enema, and given activated charcoal to drink. Emergency doctors need to accurately explain the cause of poisoning so that assistance can be provided most effectively.

Video: Forest mushroom poisoning

Advice: The systematic inclusion of mushrooms in a child’s food can lead to gastritis. Children are unlikely to appreciate the taste characteristics of mushroom dishes, and it is much easier to get nutrients from other foods (meat, fish, vegetables and fruits). At least until the age of 7 (by this age the formation of the digestive system ends), and even better, it is advisable not to give mushrooms until the age of 10.

Can children be given mushrooms and at what age?

Mushrooms, provided they have grown in an environmentally friendly place, are considered a healthy product. They are a source of protein, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, as well as vitamins A and B. In addition, this natural product has very good taste, which allows it to be used for preparing completely different dishes. But still, despite all this, one must approach the consumption of mushrooms quite carefully.

Since they are a very heavy product, they can cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract. They need to be introduced especially carefully into the diet of children. As practice shows, up to a certain age, the gastrointestinal tract of children cannot cope with this product, which leads to serious poisoning. In view of this, let's figure out when you can give mushrooms to children and how to do it correctly.

At what age can children eat mushrooms?

Mushrooms should be introduced into a child’s diet as late as possible.

Some parents feel so good about mushrooms that they are quite comfortable giving them to their children. But in doing this, they don’t even think about the fact that forest meat can cause very serious harm to the body of a small person. The most unpleasant thing is that when a child has health problems, adults attribute them to the fact that the mushrooms were not prepared correctly or that the child simply ate too much of them.

In fact, the baby’s body reacts to mushrooms in this way only because his digestive system cannot yet cope with such a large amount of heavy protein. That is why most pediatricians advise introducing this product into your child’s diet as late as possible. In view of all this, if you do not want your daughter or son to get poisoned, then at least until they are 2 years old, do not cook dishes with mushrooms for them.

So:

• 2 years. Without harm to his health, the baby can only eat so-called cultivated mushrooms grown in the most sterile conditions, without treatment with chemicals. These could be, for example, champignons or oyster mushrooms.
• 5 years. You can afford to add small amounts of mushrooms to sauces or gravies. It’s true that in this case, you should give preference to healthier mushrooms – porcini mushrooms, aspen mushrooms or boletus mushrooms.
• 7 years. Starting at this age, you can try adding mushrooms to pies, casseroles or meat dishes. But still remember that you are preparing food for a small person, so the amount of forest meat in it should be minimal.
• 10 years. At this age, the child’s digestive system is already fully formed, so mushrooms can be an independent dish. But know that only fresh and environmentally friendly mushrooms can be present in a child’s diet. Under no circumstances can they be pickled or dried.

Can children be given porcini mushrooms, champignons, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, and morels to eat?

Children can only be given well-cooked mushrooms.

As you probably already understood from what was written above, it is best to give mushrooms to children from the age of 10. As practice shows, at this age children can already eat food suitable for older people, provided that it will not be too spicy and salty. But still, in addition to the age of the child, it is also extremely important to take into account the variety of mushrooms.

After all, no matter how sad it is to admit it, all mushrooms contain different amounts of useful substances. In view of this, if you have already decided to feed your child forest meat, then give preference to the most healthy one.

So:

• The best options for children are milk mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, morels, boletus and champignons. They contain a minimal amount of heavy proteins, which means that they definitely will not overload the digestive system of a small person.
• The second position is occupied by porcini mushrooms, aspen mushrooms and boletus mushrooms. They also contain quite a lot of vitamins and microelements and, most importantly, they are very quickly absorbed by the body.
• But chanterelles, russula and saffron milk caps contain a minimal amount of useful substances. For this reason, they are best used as a flavoring agent in a sauce.

Can a one-year-old and a 2-year-old child have champignons?

Absolutely all mushrooms should not be given to one-year-old children.

We can definitely say that even the highest quality champignons should not be given to a one-year-old baby. As you know, the child’s body continues to develop intensively during the first year of life. For this reason, until 12 months of age, his digestive system can easily cope with only low-fat diet foods.

There is still a terrible debate about whether it is possible to give mushrooms to a child when he is 2 years old. Some experts argue that this cannot be done, others assure that if the child does not have any individual characteristics or serious gastrointestinal pathologies, then champignons can be given to him quite calmly. True, this must be done following some rules.

So:

• Start introducing champignons into your child’s diet from the very minimum amount
• At first, add them exclusively to soups and sauces.
• When the child gets used to the new product, you can start adding champignons to side dishes
• As soon as you make sure that your child’s body accepts mushrooms well, you can start preparing full meals from them.
• Give your baby champignons no more than once a week

Can children have fried mushrooms?

It is better not to give fried mushrooms to children

If you carefully read our article, you probably realized that mushrooms are a very difficult product for a child’s body that is not yet fully formed. And if you fry them, you will make them even less healthy and even harmful. What's the matter? Firstly, when frying, you will definitely have to use vegetable oil, which will significantly increase the calorie content of the finished dish. And if the baby eats a lot of it, then heaviness in the stomach and bloating will be guaranteed.

Secondly, we must remember that during the frying process, carcinogenic and toxic substances inevitably appear that can have a negative effect on the entire body of a small person. As a result, he may have problems not only with the stomach and intestines, but also with the heart and blood vessels.

And, of course, do not forget that any heat treatment reduces the amount of nutrients in products. And if you take into account that you will first boil the mushrooms and then fry them, then we can say with confidence that the very minimum amount of vitamins and minerals will remain in them.

Why shouldn't children eat mushrooms?

Harm of mushrooms to children's bodies

We have already mentioned above that forest meat contains heavy proteins that a child’s body simply cannot cope with. Therefore, if you regularly give this product to your baby, it may cause pathological changes in his digestive system. You should also remember that a mushroom is a kind of natural sponge that every day absorbs not only useful, but also very harmful substances.

And if such a mushroom grows close to a busy highway, then it will be oversaturated with all kinds of toxins. If your child eats this product, he will definitely be poisoned. In view of this, if you have already decided to prepare a forest meat dish for your son or daughter, then, if possible, cook it from champignons or oyster mushrooms, or collect the mushrooms yourself.

Another reason why this product should not be given to children is the presence of chitin in it. This substance is not absorbed even by an adult, not to mention the not yet fully formed digestive system of a child. Once in the baby’s stomach, it begins to interfere with the absorption of other beneficial substances, and also reduces the production of gastric juice and digestive enzymes. As a result, a small person may experience diarrhea and severe vomiting.

Video: Can small children be given mushrooms? — Dr. Komarovsky

As the baby grows, his diet needs to be diversified with new healthy foods. Are you going to give mushroom dishes to your children? And if so, what type of mushrooms should they be and how should they be prepared?

At what age can mushrooms be given to children?

Let's figure out why and at what age you can give mushrooms to children:

• In children under 7-10 years of age, the enzymatic system is still immature. This is manifested in a lack of enzymes that break down complex protein and carbohydrate combinations. There are quite a lot of such combinations in mushroom dishes. This is why food that contains mushrooms is considered heavy (by the way, not only for kids).

Pediatricians say: mushrooms for children under 10 years of age, even occasionally, are strictly not recommended.

• Children over 10 years old can eat mushrooms not in their pure form, but as part of dishes (for example, dumplings with potatoes and mushrooms or with the addition of mushrooms) no more than 2-3 times a month.

Mushrooms that children can and cannot eat

“+” - Champignons or oyster mushrooms, the quality of which you can be sure of. In the future, you can add honey mushrooms, boletus mushrooms and porcini mushrooms. These are the mushrooms that can be given to children.

“-” - Mushrooms bought secondhand, collected along the road, raising doubts about safety. Mushrooms not recommended for children's nutrition are milk mushrooms, volushka and saffron milk cap.

Mushrooms in children's nutrition

• Do not give your child a dish consisting only of mushrooms. This product can be used in children's nutrition as a flavoring additive. For example, a few champignons added to chicken soup or pilaf will add flavor to the dishes, but will not put a serious strain on the gastrointestinal tract.
• Pickled and salty foods are strictly limited in children's diets, so there should be no canned mushrooms in a child's diet.
• Avoid combining mushrooms with dairy products - this combination can lead to digestive upset.

Mushroom dishes are preferable in the first half of the day so that the body has enough time to digest complex food.

Recipes for children: dishes with mushrooms

Buckwheat with mushrooms

Rinse the buckwheat and soak for several hours in cold water, then bring to a boil on the stove, add salt and cook for no more than five minutes. Wash the champignons, cut and sauté with onions and carrots in olive oil. Then mix with buckwheat. When serving, the dish can be sprinkled with. This is a fairly simple recipe for kids that uses mushrooms. And kids usually like the combination of buckwheat and mushrooms.

Mushroom soup

This recipe for kids uses chicken broth. Just before cooking, add pre-boiled and chopped champignons into the broth along with the herbs. Let it simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, and then leave it to brew for 10 minutes under the lid - aroma, taste and benefits are guaranteed!