Boost your child's immune system,easy ways
The world is tired of a pandemic situation and finding ways to battle it. Our kids are surely affected and schools and activity centers are opening up slowly. This worldwide pandemic COVID 19 has reminded us to keep in good health in general and that has to start from early childhood. Here are some tried and tested ways to boost child immune system so they can fight unwanted elements in the body and get stronger with age.
1. Lukewarm water in the morning in empty stomach at the onset of winters and monsoon.
Just a glass of warm water is good enough if the child has it regularly.
It helps keep the throat clear, improves bowel and keeps away allergens.
Common cold and cough gets to children in the morning many times as they get suddenly exposed to the change in temperature once they are out of the cozy bed.
Having a flask of warm water at bedside helps. The child will get used to this and soon this will become a habit that may stay life long.
If you can you may add some lemon or honey or grated ginger at times. These too have their own benefits and helps children keep away the cold and cough keeping the body warm.
2. Oil massage
Give a hot oil massage to your baby/kid before bath. Mustard oil, olive oil or any prescribed massage oil for babies is good.
This helps kids and babies improving their blood circulation and keeping the body warm.
It is always good to have baby/kid be exposed to the morning sun 30 mins after the warm oil massage and before bath. This helps absorbing vitamin D and we all know how important it is that we have this vitamin adequately.
This definitely helps in improving immunity in kids but needs to be done consistently at least on the onset of winters and till the cold weather says bye!
3. Amla or Indian gooseberry in diet
Give this wonder fruit to your kid at least 3 months a year when it is in season. It has an abundance of vitamin C which keeps away many problems and you can see the effect throughout the year.
You can give this to kids in the form of candy, pickle or with honey.
4.Good quality timely sleep
Following an early undisturbed sleep pattern for kids is absolutely essential but very often ignored. Distractions like TV, Video games and other gadgets should be kept away at least one hour before sleep time. Make sure the kid had 1 hour gap between dinner and bed time as well.
A light warm bath very often helps get a good night sleep. If possible you can make your child habituated to this routine to maintain a good sleep and rest pattern that soothes the body.
5.Avoid packaged food with artificial colors, preservatives, excessive salt and sugar.
We all know the ill effects of the items listed above, but do you know that these if consumed frequently messes up the immunity system in our body, specially if the age is tender?
A treat once in a while if of course ok. The problem arises when our child gets addicted. The availability of these food items are so easy that whenever kids are hungry, they reach out to junk.
Parents are forever having a busy day and what better than shortcuts. Give a thought to alternative items that are not as bad and make that available. HIgn sugar/salt food items are addictive. Children end up over eating and start avoiding nutritional natural food like fruits and vegetables.
Many parents complain of children avoiding fruits and veggies. More often than not, it is because they are so addicted to the salt and sugar that natural taste do not appeal to them any more.
Try home made food instead of store bought for children atleast for the simple reason that you know what’s in there and how much!
6.Regular physical playtime
Human body is made to move around and let children not get into the inactive mode from beginning. Introduce physical sports whatever they like just so that they move all their body parts. If body is active, organs work well making it little more stronger to fight when they fall ill and boosts their immunity level in the long run.
Boost your child’s immunity level making them active!
7. Try organic as much possible
If you have local and in season fruits and vegetables, chances are less that they contain excessive chemicals to preserve them. To avoid having foods without artificial fertilizers and pesticides, try to buy organic as much possible specially the ones you consumes with skin.
If buying organic is not always possible, make sure you soak them in salt water and rinse them well before consuming.
8. Use home remedies wherever possible
Try home remedies for common problems like cold, cough, usual stomach problems, headaches etc for kids. Frequent medication for common problems slows the immunity system making it difficult to boost immunity in children. Though children are fast to recover, its better if common problems are treated without chemical bombarding in the body. Having said that as a parent you will know better when to consult the doctor.
9.Include adequate protein in diet as per the age pf the child
Protein builds muscles and makes the body stronger thereby boosting immunity indirectly. Also protein rich foods are usually also rich in essential minerals and fatty acids that help boost immunity in kids
10.Use of supplements
Though not always recommended, if you feel the lifestyle, health condition or any other factor is not allowing the child to have a good immunity system, please consult a pediatrician and don’t hesitate give supplements as prescribed.
Keep a check on how frequently the child falls sick. If the frequency is on the higher side, consult a specialist and check if appropriate supplements can be an option.
11. Probiotics and Prebiotics in diet
Keeping the child’s gut clean and healthy is a way to avoid many common health issues . Gut is the origin to most common problems, sometimes we do not realise. Not only digestion problems, an unhealthy gut can cause lots of chronic problems like acidity, breathlessness, skin problems, tooth decay and many more.
If you are aiming at boosting your child’s immunity, make sure the child’s gut is healthy.
12. Introduce Yoga and meditation
Yoga and meditation is holistic for the body. Regular and consistent practice of yoga increases flexibility in the body, is said to align the body with mind, definitely helps maintain weight and helps boost immunity. The trick is to do this consistently and follow disciplined sessions of practice with correct postures.
If introduced from childhood, yoga will keep your child healthy, calm and composed while boosting immunity in the child’s system.
13. Have adequate amount of water
One should have adequate amount of water intake depending on body weight. For kids it is specially important because they tend to loose moisture through sweat during play and need to be replenished. Proper hydration helps absorb the nutrition in food, thereby boosting the immunity system.
14. Avoid polluted air
Polluted air is bad for all. But as children are vulnerable, bad quality air can disturb their immunity system thereby making them prone to sickness. Avoid smoke, artificial room fresheners, dust and pollen in the environment.
It may be a good idea to invest in an air purifier at home depending on your environment and if you think it is helpful for you and your child.
What are the immunity boosting foods for children
- Amla or Indian gooseberry
- Turmeric
3.Curd or Yogurt
- Sun dried home made pickle
- Naturally fermented foods like idly.
- Cumin or Jeera soaked water
- Citrus fruits like oranges, sweet lime, grapefruit, lemon etc
- Vegetables like mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach
- Omega 3 and Zinc rich food like fishes, eggs, legumes etc
Basically healthy and balanced diet is the key if you want to avoid complications and measure ingredients in each food which is kind of impossible in the long run. Also try to boost your child’s immune system naturally by trying out these methods
Happy parenting!!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does chicken increase immunity?
Chicken does help boost your immune system but maybe not as much as you think. Chicken is rich in vitamin B & C, zinc and selenium all of which are beneficial in boosting the immune system but chicken also contains fat and cholesterol, both of which are harmful in terms of boosting immunity.
2. Does eating meat increase immunity?
The consumption of meat has been associated with declining antibody levels, and studies examining this association are mixed. Some studies suggest that people who eat a lot of meat may be at greater risk for contracting certain diseases.
3. How to improve kids' immunity power?
The immunity power of kids can be improved by regular health checkups, taking vitamins, avoiding sugar, dairy and fried food.