Raw Honey? When did you feel safe giving it on a spoon to your child?

[1organicmomma]

Since RAW Honey has such wonderful healing powers and is like its own multivitamin and suppose to aid in digestion I want to eventually give it to my DD who is currently 15 months, I know they say they can have it after 1 year but I find it hard to beleive that on the day of their birthday they are suddenly able to tolerate any botulism bacteria that might be hiding in the stuff.  Do you think 15 month is plenty mature to handle some honey?  I really think DD would LOVE it in the mornings.

[Llyra]

I am guessing that the 12-month recommendation has a margin of safety built into it. So yeah, I would feel okay with it at 15 months.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Yep - if it's like the other recommentdations, they play it safe. DS is 12 months now, and we've given honey (he loved it of course) and a touch of maple syrup.

[1organicmomma]

ok good to know.  I have already given her maple syrup for pancakes....which she LOVED so I am sure she will love honey.  Ive read it can even aid in constipation!  I take the stuff whenever I feel like I might be getting sick and it always helps!  Love me some RAW organic honey!

[luckylilmama]

My ped, who is normally very relaxed about everything, said wait until age 2 as he has seen 3 cases of botulism in his career. I figured I'd wait, just to be safe.

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by luckylilmama 

My ped, who is normally very relaxed about everything, said wait until age 2 as he has seen 3 cases of botulism in his career. I figured I'd wait, just to be safe.

I posted about this in another honey thread.

I spoke to a woman at a farmer's market who was selling honey and honey products. She said the American honey association or something like that (can't remember the exact name) specifically states to NEVER give your child honey until at least 2. Apparently the 12 month thing is not accurate at all. It has nothing to do with the child's stomach being strong enough to destroy the botulism toxin but the actual physical length of the intestines. Before 2 the intestines just aren't long enough. Soooo take it with a grain of salt but I personally trust someone who has been handling and selling honey basically since she was 20 (this woman was in her 60s)...I have not independently verified the info she gave me but it doesn't surprise me to hear a ped saying the same thing. I don't see why she would lie about it.

[Lula's Mom]

The intestines aren't long enough for what, exactly? Did she say?  I am just wondering, I have never heard that reason!

OP- I have given my ds honey a couple of times, I think. He is 17 months.  I have always read that babies under a year don't have enough good intestinal flora to fend off the botulism spores.  I didn't test that out myself, but I do wonder if it's true. Or rather, if it is true for babies who are breastfed.  I find it hard to believe that my own personal babies, exclusively breastfed til 6 months or later, wouldn't have a whole lot of good bacteria to work with.  I am NOT suggesting that anyone should disregard current recommendations, but I do wonder if there's any research on that.

[Llyra]

http://www.drgreene.com/qa/honey-and-infant-botulism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism

[Infants are susceptible to infant botulism in the first year of life, with more than 90% of cases occurring in infants younger than six months.[3] Infant botulism results from the ingestion of the C. botulinum spores, and subsequent colonization of the small intestine. The infant gut may be colonized when the composition of the intestinal microflora (normal flora) is insufficient to competitively inhibit the growth of C. botulinum.

http://www.infantbotulism.org/readings/medical.php

I found a lot of information about this. And yeah, it mostly does seem like it's an issue of the infant's intestinal flora not being varied and mature enough to override the colonization with C. botulinum.

There was nothing in any of the literature I've seen that recommended avoiding honey after 12 months. Nor did I find anything recommending against the use of maple syrup with infants, and I found nothing about length of the intestine being a factor.

Interestingly, exclusive breastfeeding, and the pristine gut that results, seems to be a RISK FACTOR in infant botulism. I found this:

Breastfeeding may protect infants from lethal fulminant infant botulism, but exclusive breastfeeding is a risk factor for the disease, presumably because the relatively pristine bowel flora of the exclusively breastfed infant is more permissive for spore germination and toxin production.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/961833-overview

So we shouldn't assume that an exclusively breastfed baby is protected.

[Lula's Mom]

Interesting!  Thanks, Llyra!

[1organicmomma]

very interesting information....thanks!!

[Ldavis24]

I wish I could tell you why this bee keeper said the length of the intestine's mattered but she didn't. 

I myself didn't do any additional research because at the point of the said conversation I had already allowed DD to try honey a few times.

DD doesn't actually like it at all so it is really a non issue but a topic I find thoroughly interesting anyway. Thank you PP for doing some research I was too lazy to do myself!