Should malnourished children eat toad meat?

My son is 4 years old, has anorexia and malnutrition. I heard from friends that I should feed him toad meat to improve his condition. Please advise me, doctor. (Hoai Phuong, Hanoi ).

Reply:

Toad meat has long been passed down in folklore as an effective remedy for malnourished, malnourished, and stunted children. Many mothers believe that toad meat has many benefits, so they often buy it to process and make toad floss for their children to eat.

According to the Vietnamese food composition table published by the National Institute of Nutrition, the nutritional value of dried toad powder has about 55.5 g of protein/100 g of toad meat, and about 13.4 g of fat/100 g of toad meat. However, when comparing the nutritional value of toad floss (toad floss) with pork floss, these two types of floss have equivalent energy value. Therefore, not only toad meat but also other types of meat such as pork, chicken, fish, shrimp... also bring nutritional value, providing energy and good protein for children.

In addition, each type of food, especially protein-rich foods, contains different essential amino acids. Therefore, parents should feed their children a variety of foods to provide nutrition, avoiding overuse of a certain type of food.

Toad meat, if not prepared carefully, can cause poisoning. The liver, eggs, skin, pus (white secretions from the subcutaneous and parotid glands), eyes and nerve ganglia of some toad species contain Bufotoxin, a poison. This substance can cause death in a short time. It is estimated that the amount of Bufotoxin in one toad meat can kill 4-5 healthy people.

Signs of meat poisoning usually occur quickly, about 1-2 hours after eating. Common symptoms: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, arrhythmia, headache, shock, rapid damage to the liver and kidneys. People with poisoning can die if not treated promptly.

Back to your son’s case, toad meat is just one of the foods that can be provided to children. If you want to feed your child toad meat, parents need to consider carefully, prepare and process it properly to avoid poisoning. If choosing processed foods such as toad floss, you should choose the type that is licensed by the health authority to ensure safe use.

Doctor Tran Thi Tra Phuong
Nutrihome Nutrition Clinic System

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