Top Ways to Strengthen Your Child’s Immune System

As parents, one of our primary goals is to help ensure our children are as healthy as possible. A big component of this is immune system support.  

Our immune system is made up of different cells, organs, and tissues, all of which work together to help protect our bodies and our children’s bodies. 

White blood cells are germ-fighters in our bodies, and the stronger our immune systems and our kids’, the less time they’re likely to spend being sick. 

Of course, being sick is something that happens from time-to-time, but with a strong immune system, our kids are better equipped to fight off the sickness in a shorter period of time. 

The following are some simple, natural ways to strengthen your child’s immune system. 

Serve Fruits and Vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables should be an essential part of your children’s’ diet, and this is especially important during the winter months when flu season is going on. 

Fruits and vegetables, and in particular options like oranges, strawberries, and carrots, contain phytonutrients that are natural immune boosters. 

Phytonutrients are believed to help boost the body’s production of white blood cells that fight infection, as well as something called interferon. Interferon is an antibody that can help keep viruses out. 

If your child has a healthy, well-balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables in childhood, it can also help reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases later in life. 

Other Immune-Boosting Foods

Along with fruits and vegetables, other items can be incorporated into your kids’ diets to help their immunity. 

Some of these include:

• Yogurt or other foods that have probiotics. Our immune system actually needs a good balance of healthy bacteria, which is what probiotics are useful for. 
• Almonds are good for kids’ diets because they have B-vitamins, which help reduce stress, and they also have protein and fiber, as well as healthy fats. 
• Omega 3 is a healthy fat that’s found in fish like salmon and tuna, but if your kids don’t enjoy healthy fats from fish sources, they can also get them in supplement form.
• Oats and barley are soluble fiber, which has anti-microbial and antioxidant properties to reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system. 

You can go ahead and make that tried and true chicken soup recipe too. Chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties, and it can help thin mucus out. 

Increase Sleep Time

Kids already need a lot of sleep, but if it’s cold and flu season, you might want to think about increasing how much time your kids are sleeping even more. 

Sleep deprivation can make you more susceptible to illnesses. 

Get Physical Activity

Physical activity can help increase the number of natural killer cells in adults, and kids may get the same benefits. Natural killer cells are what destroy invaders, such as bad bacteria and viruses. It can be tough to ensure everyone in your family is getting enough exercise during the times you need it most, such as fall and winter, but try to make it happen. You may even have to exercise indoors sometimes during cold weather months, but it can help your entire family have a healthier immune system. 

Encourage Good Hand-Washing Habits

Hand-washing is one of the most important things you can do and that you can make sure your kids are doing. Whether you’re washing hands in the kitchen before mealtime or you’re washing hands when you’re out and about, you should remind yourself and your kids to do it as often as possible. 

Speak to Your Pediatrician About Using Supplements

There are certain supplements you might want to add to your medicine cabinet that can help strengthen immune systems also. 

You should speak with your pediatrician before using any kind of natural supplement or homeopathic medicine, but good choices include:

• Black Elderberry: Black elderberry has been used since ancient times to help with the immune system and combat illnesses. It’s packed with antioxidants and may be helpful for upper respiratory infections, colds, and coughs in particular. 
• Vitamin D: D3 is especially known as a natural fighter of the flu, so you can take it as a supplement, or you can get it from wild salmon, which is rich in this vitamin. 
• Zinc: Zinc is believed to boost the production of white blood cells. 

There are a lot of simple and effective ways you can strengthen your entire family’s immune system this winter and help you stay protected against colds and the flu.