5 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Immune System
As the weather changes and as people spend more time indoors together, the propensity for colds, flu, and other illnesses to spread from person to person increases. Natural remedies are wonderful when your child is sick, but boosting their immune system to try to prevent them from catching any illness in the first place is even better!
So what are some natural ways you can boost your child's immune system?
1. First of all, there is no substitute for a nutrient-dense diet. Nutritional deficiencies make your child much more susceptible to viruses and bacteria. Additionally, additives and sugar found in processed foods not only do nothing to strengthen the immune system, they actually suppress it. Keep your child off packaged food with added ingredients and cook whole foods for them. (Need help planning a healthy menu? I like using Build a Menu.)
2. Herbs – there are several herbs with immune boosting properties. I'm honestly not very knowledgeable about herbs — yet! I am working my way through the Making Herbs Simple course from Bulk Herb Store . I'm really excited about learning! I purchased some pre-made formulas and they worked so well when my little guy was sick last week!
3. Non-toxic environment – exposure to chemicals on a regular basis can damage the immune system. I try to use only natural cleaning and beauty products and we do not use antibacterial soap as it kills all bacteria, not just the bad. When any resistant bacteria emerge, there are no good bacteria to fight them.
4. Sleep – Children and adults alike need sleep in order to give their body time to regenerate cells and repair itself. If your child does not get enough sleep, his body does not have time to rebuild itself from the damage of the day and will eventually succumb to whatever bacteria or viruses are attacking his system.
5. Probiotics – probiotics are the friendly bacteria that naturally occur in the gut. One of their jobs is to protect the body from bacteria and viruses. When the balance of beneficial bacteria to unfriendly bacteria is incorrect, your child will be much more susceptible to illness. Supplementing with probiotics will help your child's body naturally protect itself. One enjoyable way for your child to consume enough probiotics is to feed them yogurt or fermented foods like sourdough. You can also get powdered probiotics to add to their food or drink. I buy mine at Vitacost. I get the Garden of Life Raw Probiotics for Kids. (Sign up through this link and you will get a coupon for $10 off your first purchase.)
6. Oral Hygiene – Oral health has an incredible impact on your overall health! To make a long story short, bacteria from improper brushing and flossing habits move into the bloodstream and create system-wide imflammation, which sets the stage for any number of illnesses. Proper dental hygiene is a must for healthy children!
(Did anybody notice that was actually 6 ways? Evidently I can't count!)
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