Every culture has cultivated an idea of what a child should eat. For example, an Indonesian mother who fed her child worms because she believed it was healthy for the child. What the…
Much more recently, a Chinese mother was recorded feeding her son a bowl of live tadpoles as she believes it will bring good health to the poor child, reported Daily Mail. Eww!
Here’s a video of the mother feeding her son tadpoles.
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9UrUJRyEu4″ /]
Source: Youtube
In the video, the mother can be seen feeding the toddler a bowl of seven live tadpoles, which she claims will bring ‘good health’ to her child, according to a folk medicine recipe.
“Look at the little fish!” said the mum whilst feeding her son the tadpoles.
Source: Daily Mail
Nevertheless, her claims aren’t entirely wrong because according to traditional Chinese herbology, tadpoles can cure cysts and detoxify our body. This tradition dates back to the 16th Century during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 AD) when famed herbalist, Li Shizhen, recommended the practice in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” in 1596.
Source: Easy Tour China
Although it’s a traditional practice, paediatric surgeon, Dr Pei said that tadpoles can be dangerous because they are infested with parasites. Thus, eating tadpoles can lead to sparganosis – a rare tapeworm infection caused by eating uncooked food. Similarly, one of his recent patients was also infected by tapeworm after being fed tadpoles.
“This is a patient suffering from a tapeworm infection in his abdomen – the type that causes epileptic seizures,” he said.
Source: Mirror UK
“The fact is eating live tadpoles leads to parasitic infections. Tapeworm larvae can make its way into the body by eating tadpoles, frogs, snakes – anything raw,” he added.
Make sure your meat is always cooked, guys!
Meanwhile, after the video went viral, the mother received tons of backlash from netizens for her ignorance. Some even went to the extent of calling her actions ‘idiotic’. Wah, cool down bro!
Well, it’s definitely important to check with our most trusted paediatrician before we feed anything bizarre to our children, including food passed down through tradition or ancient beliefs. We wouldn’t want our kids to risk their health right?
Also, just remember that ancient tradition isn’t always accurate!
Also read: Newborn Baby Bleeds to Death After Stubborn Grandma Insists on Feeding Him Solid Food
