In cold weather, should children with coughs avoid beef?

Some believe that when children have a cough, they need to avoid many foods, including familiar foods like beef, oranges, tangerines, and bananas.

Coughing and runny noses in children when the weather turns cold are a constant worry for parents. Besides taking their children to the doctor for medication, mothers are often advised to avoid many foods such as shrimp, crab, fish, beef, other nutritious foods, and fruits like oranges, tangerines, and bananas.

However, parents need to be aware of the accuracy of this information. If not careful, excessive dietary restrictions can lead to other health problems for children. Many illnesses arise from a prolonged deficiency of essential micronutrients.

According to Dr. Le Quang Hao from the National Institute of Nutrition, in reality, there's no need to restrict so many foods. If children restrict too many foods, they won't get enough nutrients, weakening their immune system and making illnesses worse.

Health experts suggest that ideal foods for children with coughs are those that are high in water content, easy to digest, but also nutritious, such as light soups, porridge, and milk.

Children with coughs do not need to avoid beef. (Illustrative image)

To make it easier to understand, parents should note the following food groups that are recommended when children have a cough:

- Foods rich in vitamin A, zinc, and iron, such as beef, pork, and green and red vegetables, are very good for children when they have a cough. The claim that eating beef will worsen a cough is unverified and unreliable.

- Some articles also suggest that children with coughs should avoid eating oranges, tangerines, bananas, etc., which is incorrect. In fact, foods rich in vitamin C (oranges, lemons, grapefruits, guavas, apples, mangoes, pineapples, etc.) increase the body's ability to detoxify, eliminate substances that cause coughing, and boost immunity to fight off illness. Natural vitamin C is better than pharmaceutical or dietary supplement vitamin C.

Although there's no need to avoid citrus fruits, mothers should note that children shouldn't drink orange juice within an hour of a milk feeding. These two foods are incompatible, and drinking them together or too close together can cause children to vomit.

- Zinc (found in oysters, clams, and white radishes) boosts immune system health.

- Honey is very good for people with coughs and sore throats. Eating a small spoonful of pure honey every morning or drinking a glass of honey and lemon juice is very good for fighting bacteria, preventing coughs, and relieving sore throats.

- Peppermint candy helps clear congested mucous membranes during coughing, phlegmy coughs, sore throats with itching, and runny noses (not suitable for people with severe, red, and painful sore throats).

- Apple cider vinegar is very good for people with coughs and sore throats because it kills bacteria, stimulates immune system growth, and prevents secondary infections.

- Papaya juice is effective in treating coughs: 15g of male papaya flowers, 10g of lime leaves, 30g of rock sugar. Wash and finely chop the male papaya flowers and lime leaves, then put them in a bowl with the rock sugar and steam them in a double boiler. When the flowers and lime leaves are cooked, strain the liquid through a thin cloth, discarding the solids. Drink 4 teaspoons at a time, every 2 hours, for 4-5 consecutive days.

- For children with coughs, treat with guava leaf decoction: 20g of guava leaves, 10g of fresh tangerine peel, 1 teaspoon of honey. Wash the guava leaves thoroughly, crush them together with the tangerine peel, filter with cooled boiled water to obtain 200ml of the decoction, add honey and stir well. Divide into 3 doses to drink throughout the day. Continue this treatment for 3-5 days.

- Marigold flower tea for treating coughs in children: 20g marigold flowers, 5g dried tangerine peel, 20g rock sugar. Chop the dried tangerine peel finely and put it in a bowl with the marigold flowers and rock sugar. Steam the mixture over a water bath. When the sugar has dissolved and the flowers are cooked, squeeze out the liquid through a cloth, discarding the solids. Drink one teaspoonful at a time, 4-5 times a day, away from meals. Continue this treatment for 3-5 days.

- For children with coughs, steamed duck eggs are recommended: 3 duck eggs, 10g chives, 20g rock sugar. Wash and finely chop the chives, put them in a large bowl with the rock sugar, add the eggs and stir well, then steam until cooked. Eat once a day on an empty stomach in the morning. Continue for 3-5 days.

- Perilla leaf porridge also helps treat coughs: 20g fresh perilla leaves, 2g fresh ginger, 20g rock sugar, 50g rice. Wash and finely chop the perilla leaves, wash and finely crush the ginger. Wash the rice and cook it into porridge. Once the porridge is cooked, add the perilla leaves, ginger, and rock sugar, stir well, and bring to a boil again. Divide into two portions and eat twice a day on an empty stomach for 3-5 consecutive days.

- Children who cough a lot may vomit up recently eaten food along with a lot of mucus. Therefore, before feeding the child, give them a few spoonfuls of water, then lay them on their stomach and gently pat their back to help clear the mucus from their throat. This helps reduce coughing and vomiting. Normally, children can eat 6 times a day (including porridge and milk), but when they cough, this can increase to 8-10 times a day, with small amounts each time, so feeding them every 2 hours is possible.

- Never force children to eat or drink, as this can lead to them inhaling food or drink into their bronchi, causing choking or aspiration of foreign objects, and potentially death if not given timely emergency treatment.

According to Family.net