Agave nectar has been shown to be and effective, low-risk way to treat a child’s nighttime cough.
In a new study published in the journal
Jama Pediatrics, Penn State University researchers compared the effects of agave nectar to a placebo — grape-flavored water— in children ranging from two months to four years old,
Fox News reports.
The results showed the agave nectar outperformed the grape water in treating children’s coughs.
“The agave nectar and the placebo water actually both had a significant impact on the criteria that they looked at and those criteria were things like less coughing at night and less bothersome coughing,” said study author Deb Lonzer, M.D., of Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.
While honey is not recommended for children under age 1 because it can cause botulism, the study concludes that agave nectar has proved to be a viable treatment for treating a cough in children without the risk.
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