12 Foods to use with caution in children

* Roasted nuts or popcorn should not be eaten until after the six-year molars have come in. Such foods, when not properly chewed, can become lodged in the digestive tract and cause severe problems.

* Soy milk is a concentrated protein food. It is too heavy for most children, so use only under doctor's orders. (The same should be applied to soy-based infant formulas).

* Spices, before the age of 12, should be used minimally because they are irritating and put a pressure on the liver and kidneys.You can use mild spices like fennel and coriander

 * Stimulating foods like onions, garlic and ginger should be limited to small quantities. These foods generate sexual energy and are therefore inappropriate for children who have not yet reached maturity. However, these foods do make good medicine.

* Flours, especially wheat, promote mucus and allergies. Avoid them for the first two years of your child's life. Children over the age of two who have reactions to wheat can sometimes tolerate kaput or spelt pastas and breads.

* Excess salt is too hard on the children's kidneys and tends to inhibit growth, so limit its intake.

* Avoid refined and rancid cooking oils, margarine, shortening, and hydrogenated oils. These fats block the fat metabolism, which weakens the nervous system, and can cause emotional instability and degenerative diseases later in life.

* Avoid refined sweeteners such as fructose, white sugar, and brown sugar. Try honey, maple syrup, fruit juice concentrate and sugar cane.

* Chocolate's oxalic acid and caffeine prevents the absorption of calcium.

* Do not cook or bake with honey as it becomes highly toxic.

* Fresh fruit in the summer, cooked in the colder months as it can encourage colds, runny noses, ear problems, and general weakness when consumed in large quantities.

* Always dilute juice and serve at room temperature.