Tips To Boost Your Child’s Immunity By Yasmine Haddad
Tips To Boost Your Child’s Immunity By Yasmine Haddad
To boost your child’s immunity especially now when they are back at school mingling with other kids and adults, there is a holistic approach to be adopted. Clinical Dietician for adults and children, Yasmine Haddad, is here to help you understand how the environment can affect your child’s immunity.
Tip #1 Be on schedule with your child’s vaccinations
Follow your pediatrician’s advice when it comes to the childhood vaccination schedule. Immunizations start in infancy and continue to adulthood and prevent measles, mumps, chickenpox, rotavirus, and other infections.
Tip #2 Take care of your child’s gut health
Gut health is critical to a good digestive system, where a majority of all infections arise. Food rich in probiotics strengthens the intestinal tract and aids the growth of good bacteria. Yasmine recommends encouraging your child to “eat the rainbow” when it comes to fruits and vegetables. A good selection of whole grains should be part of their diet as well. Keep processed foods to a minimum. Proper food choices can help ensure that your child gets enough vitamins — such as vitamin A and E. These vitamins are needed to maintain good health and a strong immune system. Encourage them to eat more probiotic foods such as garlic, onions, mushrooms.
Tip #3 Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Try to manage at least 2-3 liters of liquid consumption every day by including soups, milk, juices, coconut water, buttermilk, lemonade, etc. besides water.
Tip #4 Schedule time for exercise
Exercise is also important because physical activity can help keep your body resilient and more likely to fight off infections. Exercise can help increase a person’s number of natural killer cells and is an important part of overall good health. Any outdoor game with the family before dinner is a great way to pump children up before they eat as well as a chance to spend some quality family time together.
Tip #5 Boost sleep time
Studies of adults show that sleep deprivation can make you more susceptible to illness by reducing natural killer cells, immune-system weapons that attack microbes, and cancer cells. The same holds true for children. Children in daycare are particularly at risk for sleep deprivation because all the activities can make it difficult for them to nap. So how much sleep do kids need? An infant may require up to 16 hours of crib time each day, toddlers should have 11 to 14 hours, and preschoolers need 10 to 13 hours. If your child can't or won't take naps during the day, try to put them to bed earlier.
Tip #6 Enrich your kid’s diet
Include carrots, beans, oranges, strawberries, yogurt, and walnuts in your child’s diet; these are great for boosting a child’s immune system and they also provide plenty of vitamins. These fruits and vegetables increase the number of white blood cells and provide a sort of cell coating which acts as a barrier against viruses.
Last but not least, keep the communication bridge always open. Discuss things about their diet, their school, what they’d like to eat or snack on. So how do you boost your child’s immunity?
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!