There can be nothing better than a plant that grants wishes when you puff its fluff. A plant with health benefits! Dandelion is an excellent food and medicine. It is most often considered as a pesky weed that likes to take over gardens and lawns. Generally, dandelions overwhelm meadows, soccer fields, and are also the bane of golf courses. Adding further, you will also notice them popping up in cracked sidewalks and pavement.
Dandelion is pervasive as well as invasive. Luckily, it is also one of the excellent sources of food and herbal medicine that you can easily find, grow and put to use. If you are collecting them wild, it is wise to choose ones that you are sure have not been subjected to fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals. It is not necessary for the ones in your lawn to be the best. You can buy seeds while the leaves can be obtained from any health food market or as a freeze dried herb.
9 Health Benefits of Dandelion for Children
Some of the best health benefits associated with dandelion, for children, are listed ahead.
Digestive Aid : Dandelion works as a mild laxative and helps promote digestion, while stimulating appetite and balancing the natural and beneficial bacteria in the intestines. It increases the release of stomach acid and bile to improve digestion, specifically of fats.
Improves Immune Health : The whole dandelion plant, including the flowers, leaves, and the stem are edible. Although they have a slightly bitter taste, you can minimize it by harvesting in spring or fall. It has been revealed through studies that dandelion boosts immune function and fights off fungi and microbes.
Improves Bone Health : Dandelions are loaded with calcium, which is crucial for the strength and growth of bones. Also, they are rich in antioxidants like Luteolin and vitamin C, which protect bones from damage resulting due to free radicals in the body.
Helps in Weight Loss : Generally, our urine consists of up to 4% fat. Higher urination level results in removal of fats and water from the body. Being diuretic in nature, dandelions promote urination, thus promoting healthy weight loss. This way, they are highly beneficial for teenagers trying to reduce weight. Adding further, dandelions are low in calories, just like most green leafy vegetables. This is the reason that they are also used as sweeteners for containing fewer amounts of unhealthy sugars.
Anemia : Dandelions are loaded with vitamins, iron, and protein content. Although iron is an integral part of hemoglobin in blood, vitamins like vitamin-B and protein are crucial for the formation of red blood cells along with certain other components of the blood. This way dandelion is helpful for anemic children to keep their condition in check.
Constipation : There are certain components in dandelion, known as high dietary fiber, that make it a beneficial aid for digestion as well as proper intestinal health. Dietary fiber not only encourages healthy bowel movement by adding bulk to stool, but also reduces constipation and diarrhea chances in children as well as adults. Dandelion works by regulating bowel movements. Generally, dandelion is suggested for children who experience constipation, for it is relatively soothing on the stomach. Besides, it has also been used to stimulate the appetite, specifically surgery or trauma.
Other Benefits : Dandelions are also used as a vegetable and are also good suppliers of fiber. It stimulates digestion. In the recent past, it was used to treat diseases like scurvy, in children for being loaded with vitamin C. Also, it features healing properties for diseases like dyspepsia, and infections in the intestines, stomach and the urinary system.
Jaundice : Jaundice is a known disorder of the liver that involves overproduction of bile by the organ, which wreaks havoc on the body’s metabolism on entering the bloodstream. Well, dandelions are effective to treat jaundice in children for it promotes liver health while regulating production of bile.
Being diuretic in nature, dandelions promote urination, thus eliminating excess bile form the bloodstream. Finally, it also helps fight viral infections as it is an antioxidant and disinfectant because of the presence of Luteolin and vitamin C.
These benefits of dandelions can be maximized by combining with sugarcane juice, as it replaces the sugar in the body that falls down excessively due to the impact of excess bile. Lack of sugar in such cases can lead to extreme fatigue and weakness. Therefore, dandelions help stimulate the energy levels after infection in children.
Acne : Dandelion juice is an effective detoxifier, stimulant, diuretic, and an antioxidant. All these properties make it a great treatment for acne, something teenagers are looking for. Acne arises specifically during teenage, when your child’s body undergoes numerous hormonal and physiological changes that need to be regulated. If these hormones don’t remain at a healthy ratio, they might deposit as toxic substances inside the body. These toxins tend to come out along with sweat through the sebaceous glands or sweat glands on the skin.
Well, during these hormonal changes, these glands tend to secrete higher level of oils which, when contacted with dead skin, can block the pores to obstruct the secretion of toxins, eventually resulting in acne. Being a stimulant, detoxifier, and diuretic in nature, dandelions help in removal of toxins from the body through the way of urine and sweat while regulating proper secretion of hormones.
Adding further, external application of dandelion sap to the areas affected by acne can inhibit microbial infection while reducing the frustrating signs of acne. Also, it speeds up the healing because of the vitamin C content, so as to make the scars and the ugly red inflammation, following acne, less noticeable.
As a precautionary tip, it should be noted that it is important to consult your doctor before using dandelion in any remedial therapy or as a treatment for any disease. Also, the milk sap of dandelions might cause irritation, itchiness, or allergic reactions on the skin, and should be kept at a safe distance from the eyes. Many a time, your child might be allergic to this food. Make sure to check the fact before including it in your child’s diet.
