Boosting our and our kids’ immune system has never been more important than it is today. With the forever-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, keeping immune systems strong is vital for overall health and well-being. Especially for kids, where it is important to stay healthy to cope with the studies. Often, as parents, we get panicky when it comes to boosting immunity for our kids. However, the good news is that boosting immunity doesn’t have to be that complicated. In fact, it can be as simple as making a few changes to your kids’ diet and lifestyle.
To help you on your parenting journey to a stronger immune system, we’ve put together a list of easy yet very useful tips and tricks. By incorporating them into your daily routine, you can give your kids the support they need to fight off illness and keep them feeling their best.
Here are some of our top tips for boosting kids’ immunity naturally:
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is equally important for kids as much as it’s for adults. While kids sleep, their body works to repair and rejuvenate itself and that includes their immune system. Lack of sleep makes the immune system weak, leaving kids more susceptible to illness.
Depending on their age, kids should aim for at least 7-10 hours of quality sleep each night to give the immune system the support it needs.
Encourage a healthy diet
One of the most important things you can do to improve your child’s immunity is to encourage a healthy diet. A diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats can provide the nutrients that are essential for immune function.
Incorporate probiotics-rich Food in the diet
Foods like kimchi, kefir, yoghurt are rich in probiotics, which can help support the health of kids’ gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is essential for a strong immune system, so be sure to incorporate these probiotic-rich foods into kids’ day to day diet. When choosing probiotic-rich foods for your child, be sure to read the labels to ensure that they contain live and active cultures. Also, introduce these foods gradually into your child’s diet to avoid any digestive upset.
Support Immunity with the right Supplements
While a healthy diet should provide most of the nutrients your child needs for immune function, some children may benefit from supplements. Also, for picky eaters and their parents, it’s a big challenge to eat nutritious food.
Supplements are amazing when it comes to support kids’ immunity. But how do we choose the right supplements?
Some of the supplements that can be helpful for improving kids’ immunity include:
- Vitamin C – Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can help to boost the immune system. It is found in many fruits and vegetables, but a supplement may be recommended for children who do not consume enough in their diet.
- Zinc – Zinc is a mineral that is important for immune function and wound healing. It is found in meat, poultry, seafood, and nuts, but a supplement may be recommended for children who do not consume enough in their diet.
While choosing supplements for kids, choose the ones made only from food sources because they provide the nutrients in their natural form, which may be more easily absorbed and utilized by the body. For example, a whole food-based vitamin C supplement may provide not only vitamin C, but also other antioxidants, flavonoids, and phytochemicals that are naturally present in the food source. Brands like MadeFromTM focus on producing high quality supplements with a focus on real food in a format that’s simple, healthier and more fun. MadeFromTM puts in lot of effort in ensuring transparency for parents. The ingredients are clearly mentioned right there on the label. No nasties like artificial colours and flavours, artificial sweeteners, palm oil, fillers or GMO ingredients!! All Natural Vitamin C Gummies for Kids is their popular supplement available in Singapore.
By using Vitamin C sourced from acerola cherries, MadeFromTM supplements are designed to be the most structurally identical match to the food we eat so they are naturally bioavailable and bioactive for easy absorption. As a parent, there’s peace of mind when you know that every product batch of these supplements is tested stringently to ensure the highest quality-nutritional products for you and your family, including testing for:
✔ ingredient potency
✔ heavy metal content
✔ microbial contaminants and
✔ pathogens
For more information, you can visit their website at: https://www.madefrom.sg/
Get Some Sun
As the saying goes – All work and no play make Jack a dull boy, so it’s very important for kids to play outdoors and soak in some sun. Vitamin D is important for bone health and immune function, and one of the best sources of vitamin D is sunlight. Spending just 15-20 minutes in the sun each day can aid our body to produce the vitamin D it needs to keep the immune system strong. It is also found in fatty fish, eggs and fortified dairy products.
Reduce Stress
Stress is not a word kids should ever know. But unfortunately, study and peer pressure can cause it involuntarily. Stress is a major contributor to a weakened immune system. When the person is stressed, body produces cortisol, a hormone that can suppress the immune system. Incorporate stress-reducing activities like meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises into your family’s daily routine to soothe the body and mind. It will impact the immune system positively.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough water is essential to boost a strong immune system. Water helps flush toxins out of the body and supports the health of the cells and tissues. When the body becomes dehydrated, it can struggle to regulate its temperature, which can put added stress on the immune system. Make sure to keep kids well-hydrated and thereby their immune system strong.
Remember, a strong immune system is essential for overall health and well-being, so make it a priority for your kids!
This article is vetted by Teresa Pena. She is a nutritionist at Balanced Nutrition Lab.
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