Boost Your Child’s Immune System, Boost Their School Year!
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Strong Immune System, Happy School Year.
Getting back into a school routine can be difficult for kids even under the best of circumstances—early wake-ups, lack of morning sunshine, and cold weather all make it tough to feel ready to start the day.
These elements can act as immune system onslaughts.
Give your kids the tools they need to stay healthy and happy this school year!
With a little effort, you can equip your kids with a strong immune system and the energy to face whatever challenges come their way.
A healthy child is a happy child, ready to learn and thrive.
1. Encourage personal hygiene
Handwashing is huge.
It’s the number one thing that we can teach our kids to wash their hands frequently, as much as their setting allows.
And as much as is recommended in their location, encourage hand washing when your kids get home from school or when they are about to eat.
hHave them wash their hands and faces before bed, too.
2. Hydration
Water makes up a large part of our body mass.
It has numerous critical functions.
In regards to immunity, it helps to absorb all of the important vitamins and minerals your child should be taking.
It also is what moves lymph throughout the body.
The lymphatic system includes organs, vessels, and tissues that are vital for your immune system.
Drinks with water in them, like soda and juices do not always hydrate, some of these can actually cause a hydration deficiency.
Help your child love water…just water.
3. Feed Them the Rainbow
When it comes to using food to support immune function, one method most experts advise is balanced nutrition.
They recommend increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables as much as your budget allows.
Zinc and B, C, D, and A vitamins are a few other micronutrients that help immune cells fight infection.
Zinc:
Zinc is a mineral that is important for immune function, wound healing, and the senses of smell and taste.
It helps if you are not a vegetarian, because a lot of the really great foods for Zinc are meats.
Foods rich in Zinc include:
Chicken
Red Meat
Lentils (whew, the vegetarians breathe a sigh)
Legumes
Nuts (especially cashews)
Seeds (they have high numbers of zinc per 100 grams, but who eats 100 grams of seeds?)
Whole Grains (especially millet and oatmeal)
Fruits and Veggies: Fruits give less zinc overall than veggies, however your top 3 in each category are:
Mushrooms, Green Peas, and Spinach and Avocados, Blackberries, and Pomegranate.
There are a lot of Vitamin “B’s”.
This category helps with your energy levels, brain function, and cell metabolism.
Vitamin B may also help help to prevent infections and promote growth of red blood cells.
Foods rich in Vitamin B include:
Salmon (I was blown away by the amounts of B’s in salmon)
Firm Tofu
Green Peas
Beef
Avocado
Spinach
Eggs (this one is high in B-7, biotin, I had not heard of it!)
Lentils
Mushrooms
Asparagus
There are more, I just picked a few that were loaded.
I was surprised to note that most of these contained many of the “B’s” not just one type.
The article I was reading said that if you are pregnant and can stomach asparagus, it is the veggie to add daily.
This is because the Vitamin B in asparagus is Folic Acid.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium.
Both Vitamin D and Calcium build strong bones and help keep them strong.
It is also linked to a healthy immune system and a better mood!
Your best source of Vitamin D is the sun.
This is just another great reason to encourage kids to play outside!
Sunscreen does block the Vitamin D absorption.
This is a line you will have to walk if you want your children to get their daily Vitamin D allowance through the sun.
Another way to get Vitamin D is through supplements.
I know that kids will eat vitamins much more easily if they are in gummy form.
I do not know if this form actually works as far as getting into the child’s body and doing what it needs to.
I use Superior Source sublingual tablets.
They are super tiny, taste fine, and melt under your tongue.
I get my Vitamin B this way as well.
I have had my blood drawn and both my Vitamin B and D levels were high.
So, I can say with confidence this method works great!
Yes, there are some foods that offer Vitamin D naturally, but there are not many and most children don’t love them- like liver.
This is why you will see so many foods that are fortified with Vitamin D.
How much Vitamin D does your child need?
This number keeps changing.
It used to be that for adults, 600 IU daily was enough, now many experts are recommending up to 2,000!
Speak to your family physician.
Vitamin C:
I remember studying the horrors of not getting enough Vitamin C in school; it results in Scurvy.
While I do not know that we still face that extreme, Vitamin C plays an important role in skin healing, in fighting infections, and in iron absorption.
It also helps to metabolize hormones, cholesterol, and chemicals within the body.
This is the category that most of us find easiest to get our children to eat!
*Note: there were some really high in C fruits, but they were rather random, so I chose the most common.
Foods Rich in Vitamin C include:
Sweet/Bell Yellow Peppers (not the green)
Cantaloupe
Kale
Kiwi
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Papayas
Strawberries
Oranges
(Yup, oranges was the last on the list!)
I had no idea Vitamin A was so important!
Vitamin A is important for normal vision, the immune system, reproduction, and growth and development.
It also helps your heart, lungs, and other organs work properly.
So bring on the Vitamin A!!!
*By the way, if you have a child age 0-5, this is especially important!
Foods rich in Vitamin A include:
The top four foods are liver-types, I did not include these 🤢
Salmon
Blue Finned Tuna
Goat Cheese
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
Cream Cheese
Eggs
Canned Oysters and Clams (I have no idea why canned)
Milk
After seeing this list, I understand why so many people have a deficiency in Vitamin A.
The burning question is: are there any veggies that have Vitamin A?
This is tricky, there are veggies that have a provitamin A, the body then converts this to Vitamin A.
The problem is 45% of people are not able to do this conversion.
Think you are one of the 55%?
Here are some of the provitamin A veggies:
Cooked: Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash, Kale, Collard Greens, Spinach and Carrots
4. PROMOTE GUT HEALTH
Research has shown that 70% of the immune system is located in the gut, so the condition of our kids’ gut health is crucial to their overall well-being.
Who would have thought the trillions of bugs that live in our stomachs would take center stage in the health arena?
Gut health has become a critical topic when considering preventative health.
The microbiome in our gastrointestinal tract aids digestion, absorption of nutrients and influences our immune system;
the gut helps to keep your child mental and physical healthy while reducing the risk of illness and disease.
These are good bugs!
How do you promote gut health in your child?
1. Fiber, lots of it.
The ideal is 25 grams a day. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are the best sources of good fiber.
2. Probiotics, feed the bugs.
Yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and aged cheeses have great micro biome-supporting probiotics in them.
3. Processed foods and sugar are not your gut’s friends.
Research has shown that many of the chronic diseases including diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases can be linked to poor gut health and more specifically, a common “Western” diet.
Convenience and super tasty foods like chips, processed meats (sandwiches), soda, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and fast food can all mess with our good bacteria.
One of the key reasons that all of these are found to be so “bad” is because they are low in nutrients, even more specifically fiber.
5. PRIORITIZE SLEEP
Sleep is so important I did a whole blog on just this topic!
It has a direct effect on happiness, and research shows that sleep impacts alertness and attention, cognitive performance, mood, resiliency, vocabulary acquisition, and learning and memory.
Not to mention, the rest and restore function-
Your child needs a good nights sleep so their body can regenerate and heal, helping to build their immunity.
Did you know that when you are helping others, you reduce your own stress?
You take on an “attitude of gratitude.”
Bring the family together!
Get a daily activity or thought to bring your family compassion towards each other.
6. HELP THEM REDUCE STRESS
Have you noticed mindfulness is all the rage?
There is actually a thing called “Stress Sickness.”
Your body diverts white blood cells, lymphocytes, from fighting a common cold to fighting off chronic stress.
High levels of stress and anxiety also can lead to depression and anxiety which can then cause inflammation.
Stress manifests in your body, and it is not good!
Help your child identify what causes them overwhelming concern and ways to battle it.
Methods to reduce stress and anxiety:
- Get a good night’s sleep
- Play outside.
- Exercise
- Create a safe space to discuss problems.
- Color!
- Teach breathing activities.
- Listen to soothing music.
- Play with a pet.
- Garden
- Journal
As parents, we all want our kids to stay healthy and resilient, especially during the back-to-school season when they are exposed to various germs and illnesses.
By incorporating these science-backed strategies such as a healthy diet, hydration, and rest into their daily routine, you can provide vital support to your kids’ immune system, helping them stay strong and healthy throughout the back-to-school season and the rest of the year.