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Top 12 Natural Ways to Improve Your Kid’s Immune System
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No one likes to see their kids sick. Those long faces, the stuffy noses, the crying in the night because they can’t sleep, it’s heartbreaking. However, children are often exposed to bacteria, fungi, viruses, and even parasites, but this doesn’t mean that they will get sick every time they are exposed. That is, not if they have a strong immune system.
If your child is frequently sick, suffering from recurring infections, ear infections, vomiting, or other types of stomach problems, always seems to have a cold, the sniffles, or the flu, then this could mean that your child’s immune system is not as strong as it could be.
With a few easy dietary and lifestyle changes, you can improve your kid’s defense system so they aren’t sick nearly as often. Who doesn’t want to see that?
Keep reading and find out the top 12 ways you can improve your child’s immune system, and maybe even your own!
1. Avoid Hyper-Cleanliness
Too many people try to stop their children from getting “dirty,” afraid somehow that they will pick up some germ and get sick. However, a huge body of research shows that exposure to germs during childhood can help the immune system develop better responses that will last your kid their entire life.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that your kid should go rummaging through a public trash can, but do allow them to hug the dog, play in the mud, and explore their environment. If your home is sanitary and you practice good hygiene, your child will not be affected by a kiss from Fido.
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2. Breastfeed
A study done by Australian researchers found that breastfeeding has a profoundly positive influence on a baby’s immune system development. Human breast milk encourages gastrointestinal mucosal maturation and alters the gut flora that will influence the development of the body’s immune system.
Formula-fed children are more prone to middle ear infections, stomach flu, pneumonia, and other health problems, when compared to breast-fed children. Keep breastfeeding your children for a minimum of 1 year to help improve their immune system their entire lives.
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3. Make Sure Your Child Sleeps Well
Sleep deprivation has a huge number of disadvantages, including a lowered immune system. Sleep has a powerful regulatory influence on immunity, according to a study published in Pflugers Archiv European Journal of Physiology in 2012. Newborn babies need at least 18 hours of sleep each day (although it might feel like a whole lot less!); children over 1 year need between 10 to 14 hours of sleep each night.
The quality of their sleep is also important, so turn the bedroom into a sleep sanctuary, rather than a playground. Put heavy curtains or light blocking shades in their rooms and never keep electronic games, such as video games, in their rooms.
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4. Let Them Play Outside Every Day
There is perhaps no better immune stimulator than good old Mother Nature. Most children are deficient in vitamin D due to the amount of time they spend indoors playing. Vitamin D is a vital immune boosting vitamin that can fight cancer, autoimmune disease, and even stop infections.
Most kids need a minimum of 20 minutes out in the sun to get their vitamin D. So let your child play outside as much as possible, in the fresh air and sunshine. If you live in an apartment without a play yard, take your child to the park or nearby woods, and let them run and play to their hearts’ content. Oh yes, and let them run barefoot in the grass!
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5. Teach Good Hygiene
Training your child from the very youngest age possible will ensure that they incorporate these healthy habits throughout their lives. Although good hygiene will not improve the immune system, it does help to prevent disease and will minimize the strain on the immune system. Begin by teaching your child hand washing before eating, after playing outside, after coming home from school, after using the bathroom, and after playing with the family pet.
Teach them to cover their mouth when they cough, brush their teeth, take a daily bath or shower, and look underneath their fingernails for dirt that escapes hand washing.
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6. Add Probiotics
Probiotics contain plenty of good bacteria that will fill the intestinal tract and stop the bad bacteria from overproducing. About 90 percent of the body’s immune system lies in the gut, so when the gut is filled with healthy bacteria, then the immune system can work at its optimum.
You can give your child a probiotics supplement, or you can feed your kids probiotic things such as kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, pickles, and sauerkraut. Give children that are 7 years old or younger bifidus supplements and children over the age of 7 can consume acidophilus.
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7. Vitamins
Multivitamins are a good idea, especially for school aged children as they have access to junk foods that you will have no control over. You might want to consider giving your child other vitamin supplements, including:
- Zinc – Children 6 years old and over can safely consume between 10 and 20 mg each day. Older children and adults can consume 20 to 40 mg each day. This mineral is vital to the immune system and can stop many viruses dead in their tracks.
- Vitamin C – This immune boosting vitamin is important as well, especially if your child isn’t fond of citrus fruits. Vitamin C can fight off invading germs. Small children up to the age of 6 can consume 250mg each day, and older kids can safely consume about 500mg.
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8. Consider Home Remedies
There are also plenty of immune boosting herbs and simple home remedies that can help improve your child’s immune system. You can give turmeric milk to your child two or three times each week, especially during flu season. Simply mix ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder and a dash of black pepper into one cup of milk. Boil it, and then add a bit of raw honey. Allow it to cool until it is just warm.
If your child likes fresh basil leaves, have them chew one or two several times per week, or even daily is OK if they want to! You might also want to consider giving your child herbal teas such as green tea and Echinacea. This might turn into a life-long love affair with herbal teas, rather than sodas.
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9. Avoid Unnecessary Antibiotics
Although there are times that antibiotics can literally be a lifesaver, relying on them for every little runny nose or cough is detrimental. Overuse of antibiotics not only breed supergerms, but they also destroy the immune system by killing all bacteria, good and bad, allowing yeast to often take ahold. Read also why children receiving antibiotics are more likely to be obese adults.
Don’t pressure your pediatrician to write a prescription for every little thing and question if an antibiotic is absolutely necessary, should your doctor write one.
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10. Show Plenty of Love and Affection
Although you might think that this is something that comes natural and should not have to be said, you might be surprised at the number of parents who are focused solely on academic or sports achievements and are very critical, only offering praise when a child does well in school or in a game. Your child will have plenty of time as an adult to be hounded about their performance at work.
Shower your kid with love and affection and let them know you love them even if they only got a C on a test or struck out at the game. Happy, positive feelings boost the immune system.
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11. Exercise with Your Child
Thirty minutes each day of regular exercise boosts the immune system and will provide many other types of health benefits. You should be a role model for your child in this area. Encourage exercise by offering to do it with your child, such as go bike riding, swimming, play tag, or take the dog for a walk, rather than sticking them outside to play while you sit on the sofa watching TV.
SEE ALSO: Top 11 Reasons You Need to Watch Less Television
If your child is interested in a sport, sign them up! Make it fun, laugh and have a good time. These are not only memories that will last a lifetime, but you will be surprised how quickly your child picks up this habit.
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12. Offer Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables
Consuming a natural, healthy diet is the foundation of a healthy and strong immune system, so offer plenty of organic fruits and vegetables, especially those known to build up the immune system such as broccoli, kale, strawberries, blue berries, oranges, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, kiwi fruit, cabbage, and beans.
This is especially important when your child is very young and you can control almost everything they eat. You can already instill a love of fruits and vegetables before they head off to school and find out what other kids are eating. If you are lucky, they will prefer natural foods to junk foods, but only if you continue to serve them those types of foods even after they begin school. Stopping off at the fast food drive through after school rather than serving something wholesome will undo all your best efforts.
Serve plenty of steamed vegetables and offer fruit as a snack or dessert. Nuts and seeds are also great snack foods that will help to strengthen the immune system.
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