Help your child's immune system stay strong

The cold and rainy season is here with us once again and no matter how many layers of clothes you stack on your child’s body, colds and flu are almost inevitable.

It seems like one infection follows another irrespective of all your precautionary measures. While you cannot protect your child from every bug around, there are several things you can do to help fight them off.

Even though diet cannot solely prevent an infection, good nutrition is essential to the development and maintenance of a healthy and strong immune system.

Poor dietary habits cause nutrient deficiency which weakens the immune system making it very easy for bacteria and virus to attack the body.

Unfortunately, most of the foods being fed to children nowadays are highly processed and have too many artificial ingredients and additives that contribute to poor nutrition.

These highly processed foods add little to your child’s nutrition. Such foods also fill up the children making them less likely to eat healthy foods that contain essential nutrient for growth and development.

The highly sweetened and fatty snacks often packed for school children can have detrimental effects on the immune system. White blood work to protect the body against disease causing organisms like bacteria and viruses. They require Vitamin C in order to destroy these disease-causing organisms.

Excessive intake of sugar, sugary foods and drinks impairs the white blood cells by competing for the same space occupied by Vitamin C in the blood cells.

The more sugar in the system, the less Vitamin C gets into the white blood cells.

Serving Of Fruits

Snacks are a great way to satisfy your child’s hunger between meals. They are a great way of helping your child get many of the important nutrients they need while growing and provide that extra energy needed for growth and to keep them active.

When preparing and packing your child’s snacks try and make them as healthy as you can.

Make sure your child gets adequate amounts of fresh foods including unprocessed whole grains, legumes, lean meat, nuts and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Aim at providing about five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. A serving is equivalent to half a cup of cooked vegetables or one medium-sized fruit. Fruits and vegetables will give their bodies the vitamins, mineral and phyto-nutrients necessary for strengthening their immune system and keeping many infections at bay.

Though hard to identify, children’s bodies also get stressed. Children can get stress from simple things such as going to school, being taunted by a fellow classmate or not finding their parents at home when they get in from school.

The crazy traffic they encounter on their way to school or home and the heavy homework they bring home can also be a source of stress. Television and video games also increase their stress levels.

Instead of spending all their free time curled up on the sofa with their gadgets or watching TV, help them come up with creative games.

Encourage your children to play outdoors, take walks, jump or run because being physically active helps lower their stress levels and keeps their immune system functioning well.

Finally, teach them to have adequate sleep. Children need ten to fourteen hours of sleep per day. When they do not have adequate sleep, their immune system weakens making them susceptible to infections.

Parents should ensure their children adhere to their sleeping patterns. Even if not sleepy, they should not be allowed to stay infront of the TV in the hope that they will fall asleep. They should instead be encouraged to go to bed whether they are sleepy or not, as long as their bedtime has reached.