Are Alcohol Tinctures Bad For Children?

Tinctures can also be prepared with honey, glycerites and vinegar.

This is ONE of many questions I have asked myself at one point.

My personal studies were with the understanding that alcohol is used in tinctures because it is one of the fastest ways to deliver the herbal nutrition into the body; being absorbed directly into the bloodstream.

I have personally used tinctures both with alcohol and alcohol-free on my children. One of my children is in the spectrum and after much research, I've opted giving him alcohol-free tinctures. I only came to this decision after months of observing his moods and behaviors with different tinctures. I discovered that with his unique constitution (as is with many children under the autism spectrum), which involves a problem with constipation and other GI issues, keeping him as alcohol-free as possible was something worth trying.

In her book Naturally Recovering Autism, Karen Thomas shares her insight on the matter. After many years of trial and error and much product research, she concludes:

"Alcohol can cause malnutrition by preventing the body from digesting proteins. Many liquid herbal tinctures contain alcohol. Be sure supplements are alcohol free."

In conclusion, I'd like to say I don't think alcohol tinctures are bad for children. Many of the foods we eat daily have a percentage of alcohol --- including products we add to our skin. We do need to lessen this intake but the alcohol in tinctures is too minimal to cause a serious effect on children --- UNLESS your child does have a sensitive gut, as mine does. If that's the case, I do recommend the herbal tincture be prepared with honey, glycerites or vinegar. The beauty of herbs is that they are quite safe and can even be prepared to fit one individual's very unique constitutional needs.

We are the biggest advocates for our children. Only we, as parents, can decide which remedies are best for them --- and herbs offer us many choices.