Tips to Boost the Immune System of Your Child.
Children are their parents’ pride and joy. Parents make it a life mission to always support, nurture, and protect their children. In some circumstances, though, protection can be counterintuitive. This piece will suggest a few points to help us continue correctly protecting our loved ones. The immune system is a set of bodily organs and processes that protect us from infections and toxins. The immune system is comprised of bone marrow, lymph nodes, and the thymus.
5 Healthy Tips to Boost the Immune System of your Child
1. Nutrition
The best and most effective way to protect and support the immune system is nutrition. We are literally what we eat, although we are complex organisms. Overconsumption of ultra-processed foods that have been stripped of all original nutrients and the lack of consumption of healthy whole organic fruits is a death trap for our immune system. It is therefore imperative that we provide the best whole foods, preferably home-cooked meals, as a major part of our children’s diet. The consumption of fruits and vegetables should be the norm.
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2. Sleep
Priority should also be given to sleep. Adequate sleep for children should be at least 8 hours. Long hours of television watching, playing video games, and other sedentary activities are not an exchange for proper sleep and rest. As the saying goes, everything grows when you sleep. This is especially true for children who experience substantial growth. The brain, nervous system, and immune system all grow and repair during sleep, and a lack of sleep is the beginning of a very unhealthy human.
3. Exercise
Next on the list is exercise, and no, I don’t mean the gym. Playing outside provides a tonne of benefits to the immune system buildup of children. When they play outside, they are exposed to the sun, which ramps up their vitamin D. Playing with children from other homes also challenges their immune systems with a different cocktail of bacteria and viruses. As the immune system fights them off, it grows stronger. Getting dirty also boosts the immune system through the same mechanism.
4. No Artificial Fever Reducers
Usually when children get sick and have a fever, parents instinctively run towards artificial fever reducers to help drop the temperatures significantly. Recent research has shown that this might have a negative effect on the overall health of the child. How so? When the immune system realises that there is an invading pathogen near, it quickly amps up and attacks.
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During this “war,” the immune system gets aggravated, which raises the body temperature a notch. The high temperatures denature the pathogen’s proteins and destroy them. However, if you give the child artificial fever reducers, this forces the entire body temperature to drop, leaving the pathogens intact to reproduce and spread further.
5. Supplementation
The last, but not least, is supplementation. Mostly, supplementation is not necessary if the nutrition is on point. But let’s face it honestly: even one who tries her very best with nutrition will come short in this generation of pesticides in nutrient-depleted soils and inorganic fertilizers.
Pineapples 100 years ago were 90 percent more nutritious than pineapples today. Supplementation has therefore become a necessity. Omega-3s and zinc can be part of the basic supplements that can be given to children.
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Conclusion
In summary, give children good, nutritious, dense foods, let them sleep for long hours, allow them to play outside, resist the temptation of artificial fever reducers, and supplement as seen fit. Ensure supplementation is discussed with a qualified health provider first.
This article was written by Mrs Samira Mohammed, a food science expert working at the Food and Drugs Authority in Ghana
Other articles written by her:
Simple Ways to Release Stress immediately
Five super foods you should be consuming more of
What is gluten, and how does it affect the body?
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