1)Honey:Botulinum spores are found widely in soil, dust, and honey. Adults who swallow botulinum spores are almost never affected. When infants swallow the spores, however, the spores can germinate in their immature gastrointestinal tracts and begin producing botulinum toxin. This has occurred even when the honey was only used to sweeten a pacifier (European Journal of Epidemiology, Nov 1993).

herbs:Studies are not carried out to test the safety of herbs on babies, and therefore it is not recommended that they are used for them. The pharmacological effect of herbs requires breakdown of them by the liver, and because babies livers are still small and immature, a safe dose for an adult can be dangerous for an infant. Many herbs are in fact toxic to babies.
fruit juices:This is a major area of confusion among so many parents. It is so sad as most of them are really trying to do a good job and provide a great diet for their kids.

They just don't realize that fruit juices can devastate their child's health due to the high levels of fructose (fruit sugar) present. If you are not aware of the dangers of fructose please review the links below.

However, the damage from fructose is greatly lowered if it is consumed with the whole fruit. When it is removed from the beneficial fiber in the fruit, one's blood sugar rapidly rises and this causes a major increase in insulin levels that appears to be one of the major factors for children requiring glasses.

However cardamom,ginger,asafoetida,pepper come under spices category

HI,i would like debate with you on your post, hope you are fine with it and you are open for it.
if not,please ignore my this message/post.

pepper is not safe for babies under 1 year ! nor is ginger...they are strong spices.even citrus fruits arent good.
however, in india, during noon times, dr recommend if the baby is feeling gassy ( above 3 months ), they give 1 drop of orange juice !
i was surprised by that when i was adviced by my family dr in india, but that didnt convince me so i dont give that to nirja...

everywhere i found reading that citrus not good for infants below 1 year! however, to my surprise in the Baby book, it is mentioned that if you are preparing home made baby foods, squeeze in 2 drops of lemon(citrus) as a preservative with the whole batch you make to restore the nutrients and stop them from fermenting and makes food gass free !!!! it was for vegies and fruits only.and not for cereals ! i asked my dr here, he was fine with it !

all spices arent harmful. and herbs like parsley and coriander are actually the greens and are considered as spices that have mild qualities or rather named as weak spices !!! if you put them in lowest flame and dyhydrate them, they will just concentrate on the their flavour,and are known as herbs as they get dry..and so being concentrated one, we have to use them less.

the gripe water that we use has more amount of herbs,,,given in proper proportion, its CONSIDERED GOOD FOR HEALTH !
CONSIDERING THE AGE FACTOR,
GIVEN NETHING IN PROPER PROPORTION IS NEVER HARMFUL. which applies to us and babies. surprisingly, in mumbai, my family dr adviced avoid giving gripe water, no matter watever the brand is. however, himalaya bonnison gripe water, is recommended by some drs here in US.and surprisingly in canada too.

gripe water, mylicon or ne stuffs that we all use,even our all time fav tylnol,,,,all has the recommended dose according to age,,on it,right. also, they mention the side effects and warnings in using those medications, even though they all are over the counter.
so in using all herbs and all traditional things that we use, we too have maintain a caution, a balance, an amount, and a good time 2 observe the reactions.
watch your baby with a benefit of doubt which works for all you give in her diet.
we all know that baby body are very sensitive to reacting to nething you give them, so you have to watch for them, just like you watch for babies for side effects of ne over counter medicines or even some babies are sensitive to j&j products/ they are well known brands right.

when a piece of fruit is given, its great to let baby suck and get the juices ! it will help baby learn the sucking skills,and strengthen the tongue muscles.eventually mastering them to eat on their own by chewing and controlling their tongue to hold food ! - exact words from baby book.m following it, and i saw nirja discovering and playing with food..which is actually good.and its not a day story, it was a 1 month process that today she is able to differenciate and group the vegies when i put before her, 3 kinds of boiled vegies.nd she knows the shreeded carrots r small pieces of her fav baby carrots.she pulls em out of it and eats em ???

also, adding water to juices at the ratio of 1:4 or 1:3 ( for strong fruits,strawberries,berries,pears,pineapple) or 1:2 for milder fruits ( peaches, apple,banana etc )are recommended by all the nutritionist and also the child drs.
it is the concentrated part,that is not advisable to give..

honey --- using as a sweetner in pacifier is for sure harmful but rubbing your finger over it and then remove all the honey and just 1 thinnest possible film is not a problem ! my ped said its ok if she is not feeling choked,,as some babies are sensitive to choking by the taste itself !
my ped is russian and is of age 55. my gyn is indian, and is in US, past 40 years,,she told me to give nirja parsley,hing,cardamom and salt too in all our foods..she mentioned that if you dont give your baby, all these,she will not accept indian food in the long run and not only that, you will not need to use ne gas medication.also in the long run she will b sensitive to spices coz our indian food doesnt have only salt and pepper !
our foods have everything from a to z, that we dont need medicines for nething, just use eachother towards it.

but following to the books i have been reading, the baby book, and the couple others, i follow them because they are best sellers and are awarded by board of ped, i think if they are selling millions of copies and if people have made some 3-4 sites on their forums, i suppose its worth giving a try.

in india, we give cardamom and asafoetida,,just a touch,,doesnt harm them,,at all.
if so, why would they apply asafoetida on the belly of newborns( to relieve them gas ),, and all those babies including me who were brought up using those things only.

when we were pregnant, we are told not to apply ne cosmetics or strong perfumes or ne such things, that have complicated names !! it does matter.actually when you apply nething on ne human body, its absorbed thru the skin, which aplies to us as well, and to babies it applies in a faster way..so if its not safe, why would they do that thru out their childhood !
we all were grown up by our grannies and mothers doing that only !

cardamom and kesar are considered hot, right, but in india, those who all are giving raagi sheera, and kheer, put cardamom in that ! a very very lil...
havent heard of kesar though. though to balance it, they put ghee in it, and i too advice ghee in everything.

neways, i also dont use the stuffs that m not convinced with, but i certainly give it a try and watch her for a week, and if she is fine, i would say why not give, if it makes your baby eat ?? and all those dig ins that are mentioned here, in US, were never known before or are still unknown in India, still in india, babies eat everything there, dont they !
our kids are lucky with all these cereals and fruits,,vegies,, when we were that small, our mothers use to feed us rice only thru out our first year.slowly then the lentils and all spics like turmeric, salt, corainder from the day we were on rice and dal diet after 8th month.
m following that, believe in that.turmeric is a spice 2! but the amt v put in our food works as a great antibiotic 4 lil tummies :)

I first tried with nirja,all what i told and observed her reactions and activities, everything went fine with her, so i recommend..

no offense to neone or insulting. just my thought process, and i will b very happy if you convince me, reply me, for not giving or recommending all i said ! i will follow if i m convinced.

and it will reduce my ingrediants that i use in cooking for nirja and i dunt have to take pains remembering everything and nothing else will bother me :))

take care.thanx 4 info,reply with more.....

in india, many give cardamom,,,etc
my ped also said no. our dr also says no to many things, but we do give.
refer to THE BABY BOOK the best selling by william and martha sears...
also the books by reena coyle and cathy nolson, both are award winning child nutritionist and they have foods for all ages from 6th month onwards though...great recipes there too...

just a tip, i would like my dd to give natural foods than giving mylicon or gripe water so i include hing,turmeric,parsley or cardamom and curry leaf in her diet,,,

honey is a big nono but thats in eating,,you can rub the finger in honey as hard as you can, drain off the excess honey and can move ur fingers to the swollen gums,,great soothers,,,,,works betterand is natural than orajel !!!

also, egg whites, peanuts, are after 9months or 10 months,,later the better.

about juices, like priya said, dilute with water.
i give nirja, cardamom, cinnamom, parsley after 1 month of starting solids to her,,,
a sprinkle is not a problem at all.

njoy, love to lil one.

i give gerber juice...but dilute with water 50:50
I did give some herbal thinghs to dylan when he had a cold but i dont anymore i just go with the flow there is no need for herbal meds in usa..they get all vit and minerals from the food they eat.
Priya