Feed children healthy food to boost their immunity

Fruits and green vegetables are normally considered as healthy  {PHOTO COURTESY}

The time I dreaded most as a new parent was the beginning of a new school term.

A few days of my daughter’s first year at school were spent nursing fevers, coughs and a lousy appetite.

From experience, I have learnt that the food we give our children at home and what we pack for them to school, and the amount of sleep they get every day can either help reduce or increase the risk of getting an infection.

Many parents know that cases of upper respiratory infections are many at the beginning of a new term or a new year. In fact, school going children below five years can get 8 to 12 episodes of cold and/or flu in a year.

When children are together in an enclosed space, there is always a risk of spreading an infection. This is especially true among children below five years as they are likely to wipe their noses or rub their eyes with their bare hands after sharing toys.

Children suffer more colds and flu than adults because their immune system is not fully developed and also because of the close contact with other children in school.

By giving your children a variety of foods from all groups, you ensure they are getting the vitamins, minerals and macro nutrients their bodies need to support the immune system and ward off infections well.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as your child will have gone close 12 hours without eating anything.

A healthy breakfast will not only provide the energy, protein, vitamins and minerals needed to keep the immunity strong, but will also help the child concentrate in class and still have adequate energy for play. Parents are surprisingly bad at packing school snacks for their children.

Most pack junk foods high in sugar, fat or sodium. Sweetened milk, packet juices, cakes, muffins, crisps, biscuits, sausages and deep fried foods feature prominently on the snacks menu. Children should be served foods and drinks that are high in fat and sugar occasionally.

Diets that are high in fat seem to depress the immune response, thus increases the risk of infection while excess sugar intake represses the immune system by reducing the ability of the white blood cells to destroy organisms that can cause illnesses.

If you want a healthy  snack for your child, make it at home.

Most snacks from the shops or supermarkets are processed foods and are loaded with sugar and preservatives. They have very little nutritional benefits. Snack time is an ideal time for children to get an extra serving of vegetables, fruits and calcium. Instead of processed food, pack raw vegetable cuts such as carrots, whole fruits, and milk and dairy products such as yoghurt.

Avoid sweetened or flavoured milk as they are high in sugar and other additives that may be detrimental to children’s health.

Children under five years should get between 11 and 13 hours of night sleep and at least 1 hour nap during the day.

Sleep not only promotes healthy growth and development in children, it also boosts the immune system.

The writer is a Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant at Afya Bora Nutrition & Wellness Centre. 5th Ngong Avenue. 5th Avenue Office Suites. Suite 16. Nairobi.