Top Ways to Boost Your Child's Immune System
Whether it's winter cold and flu season or summer stomach bug season - every parent wants to know the same thing… What can I do to boost my child's immune system? There's always room to boost our family’s immune system to prepare for if and when whatever next round of illness hits. Here are my favorite tips and tricks to keep my family, and yours!, healthy anytime of year! :-)
Commonsense measures to strengthen your immune system
There are several commonsense measures to boost your child's immune system and help prevent the cold/flu, which most of you are likely already doing. But just as a reminder:
- An apple-a-day keeps the doctor away! Eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. They are full of antioxidants which will destroy the free radicals that weaken our immune system and are responsible for making us feel sick when we catch a bug. Each color provides different antioxidant power – so be sure to eat a rainbow everyday!
- Wash those hands frequently, especially before eating or touching your face. Do your best to keep those little fingers out of mouths and noses!
- Stay well-hydrated. Stick to water, coconut water, herbal teas, and bone broth. No soda or sugary drinks, please! What’s a good estimate for how much water you need at a minimum? Divide your body weight in half and drink that number in ounces! Do you come close?
- Drink your bone broth! Bone broth has amazing immune-supporting properties. Not only is it delicious, it’s oh-so-nutritious! See Amazing Bone Broth to get started making your own! Instead of throwing them in the compost bin, use your Thanksgiving turkey bones and get simmering!
- Eat fermented foods. The probiotics contained in fermented foods have tremendous immune boosting powers. In fact, the fermented Korean cabbage, kimchi, was found to have significant effects in preventing and fighting the H1N1 influenza virus! Here are other examples of yummy fermented foods to try – sauerkraut, pickles (try “real” pickles without added vinegar like Bubbies), miso (who doesn’t like miso soup? Make it with homemade bone broth for an even more powerful immune punch!), kefir (a delicious yogurt-like drink that can be made with coconut if you are dairy-intolerant), and kombucha (a tangy fermented tea – my personal favorite is GT’s Guava Goddess).
- Avoid simple sugars and processed/junk food. Did you know that your blood shows lab evidence of a lowered immune system within 30 minutes of eating simple sugars (like glucose, refined sugar, and fructose), and causes a 50% reduction in your white blood cells' abilities to kill germs? White blood cells are our “army” cells that fight off germs. This effect is most noticeable 2 hours after ingestion, but is still present 5 hours later! Maybe that’s why your child always seems to get sick after those birthday parties full of birthday cake, juice and soda. On the other hand, keeping blood sugar levels healthy has been shown to improve immune system activity.
- Get fresh air and moderate daily exercise. Moderate exercise can boost the production of macrophages, the kind of white blood cells that “eat” bacteria and viruses. However, intense exercise can actually temporarily decrease immune function – so don’t overdo it!
- Get adequate sleep. An increase in sleep actually increases the number of your white blood cells. On the other hand, loss of sleep even for a few hours at night, increases inflammation in our body which makes us more susceptible to catching the flu and having more severe symptoms. So make sure your whole family is getting enough zzzz's. For tips on getting a good night's sleep, see Eat Yourself to a Good Night's Sleep and The 3 Things You Need to Know to Get a Good Night's Sleep.
- Minimize stress. Emotional stress creates physiological stress in our bodies that lowers our immune defenses and makes us more vulnerable to illness. Stress has been shown to lower our white blood cells' abilities to kill germs, and actually creates more inflammation that may make us feel even sicker. No, it’s not just in your head! For guidance on how to help manage your child's stress naturally, take a look at Back-to-School, Back to... STRESS!!! for some great tips.
Nutritional supplements to boost your child's immune system
Apart from these commonsense measures, there are a variety of nutritional supplements that can further boost the immune system and give your child’s body that extra defense to more effectively ward off and fight colds and flus. Some of my favorite include:
- Probiotics –Taking a probiotic-a-day can keep tummy troubles and the flu away! In fact, one study found that “Probiotic use could achieve >54 million fewer days of infection, >2 million averted antibiotic courses, and >4 million avoided missed work days” each year!” Two specific probiotic strains have been found to reduce the frequency and duration of fevers and colds/flus. These 2 strains are found in our Immune Probiotic chewable and Immune Probiotic capsules. The recommended dosage for children and adults is 1 chew or 1 capsule 2x/day. It’s shelf-stable at room temperature, and 1 or 2 bottles should get your whole family through vacation in tip top shape!
- Omega-3 fish oil – Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil provide essential support for a healthy immune function and a balanced inflammatory response (not too much, not too little), to support complete recovery when you’re sick. Our Omega-3 Synergy has an evidence-based amount of key omega-3 fatty acids and not only that – it’s just about the tastiest fish oil I (and my kids) have ever tried!
- Targeted Supplements (Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, Zinc, Quercetin) – Each of these nutrients has amazing immune-boosting power. When it comes to supplements, quality matter, which is why I've handpicked my top effective and evidence-based supplements and put them on my Healthy Kids Happy Kids online store for easy access.
- Oscillococcinum – Oscillococcinum is a homeopathic flu medicine that may help to prevent flu-like illnesses. The typical dosage is one vial of Oscillococcinum once/week for kids and adults during the flu season. I also give my kids one vial of Oscillococcinum before or right after any known “germfest” – i.e., birthday parties, plane travel, etc.
- Xlear nasal spray – One of the MOST preventive things you can do is to irrigate your and your children’s nasal passages with Xlear nasal spray at the end of every day, and after any potential exposure (work, school, playgroups, plane travel, etc.). This is a saline nasal spray with xylitol and grapefruit seed extract, both of which have antimicrobial properties. You cannot overdo it, and will not get “addicted” to it. Other options for nasal irrigation are a regular saline spray, Neti pot, other sinus rinse like Neilmed. **Apart from regular hand washing, I believe that daily and frequent nasal irrigation is one of the MOST important things that we can do to prevent influenza and other infections from taking hold.** This is because after exposure to a virus, the virus tries to invade and multiply in your nasal passages for at least 1-2 days before you develop any symptoms. Nasal irrigation can wash away viral particles before they have the opportunity to take hold, and thereby prevent many infections from happening in the first place!
What if your kids DO get sick?
I got you, too! The immune-boosting strategies in this article are just the beginning. In my book, Healthy Kids, Happy Kids: An Integrative Pediatrician's Guide to Whole Child Resilience, I share my complete integrative pediatric toolkit with the exact protocols I use for my own children and patients. Part 4 of the book covers the top 25 childhood conditions with specific, age-based dosing for natural remedies, so you'll know exactly what to do when illness strikes - whether it's a cold/flu, cough, stomach bug, sore throat, earache, sleep problem, or more.
You can get your copy here to be prepared all season long: Healthy Kids, Happy Kids.
So there you have it! All the tools you need to keep you and your family healthy any time of year! Feel free to share this post with any parent who wants to know the steps they can take to keep their family as healthy as possible all year long. And thank you for allowing me to take this journey with you to optimal health to help your whole family thrive!
Share this blog post with your friends on the following sites:
