How To Boost Your Childs Immunity

Covid-19 has certainly changed the way we look at life. We are all worried about our health and the well-being of our loved ones and want to take all possible steps to remain healthy. Your childs immunity is sure to be on top of your agenda. Your childs eating and sleeping habits, gut health, physical activity and stress everything affects immunity, either positively or negatively. Lets delve deeper.

Nutrition

Nutrition plays a very important role in building your childs immunity. Its simple what works for adults, works for children too. Your child does not need any special foods to build immunity. Give your child a balanced diet fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, probiotics, lentils, pulses, wholesome cereals, ghee, and coconut oil. Heres a quick look at some immunity-boosting nutrients:

1. Vitamin A: Research has shown that immune system organs need a constant supply of Vitamin A to function at an optimum level. Vitamin A, in particular, is a nutrient that helps fight:

• Diseases that affect the respiratory system in children and these include pneumonia and measles
• Contagious digestive diseases in children, such as infantile diarrhoea and hand, foot, and mouth disease

Common sources of Vitamin A: Carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato

2. Vitamin D3: It plays a crucial role in the growth and development of children. It is also a precursor to immunity and hormonal health. If Vitamin D levels are way below normal, supplementation may be necessary, as per doses suggested by a health expert. Sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D. So, make sure your child gets regular exposure to natural sunlight for about 15-20 mins anytime between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., to enable his body to produce Vitamin D3.

Other sources of Vitamin D (though minimal): Whole eggs, mushrooms

3. Zinc: This is a micronutrient that plays an important role in the development of your childs immune system, along with his nervous and reproductive systems. The human body cannot produce zinc and therefore, it must come from the diet.

Common sources of zinc: Nuts, seeds (specifically pumpkin), oysters. Severely immune-compromised individuals may need zinc supplementation.

4. Probiotics: Children are easily susceptible to stomach infections. Make sure your child gets a regular dose of probiotics, either via food or through supplementation. Live and helpful bacteria thats good for the digestive system are termed as probiotics. If your child has been on antibiotics, taking probiotics is all the more important, as antibiotics tend to wipe out the good as well as bad bacteria from the gut.

The simplest and one of the most effective probiotics for children is rice kanji (a type of porridge), which you can easily make at home. The leftover cooked rice that people often toss into the bin can become a supernatural, inexpensive probiotic for the gut. To make kanji, let the cooked rice cool. Then, transfer the rice to a clay pot or a mug (about 1 tbsp per person). Immerse the rice in drinking water. Place a lid over the pot and leave it overnight. The next morning, consume the rice and water on an empty stomach. This is a powerful probiotic.

Along with probiotics, an often-overlooked aspect is the prebiotic. What are prebiotics? They are a kind of fibre that the human body cannot digest, but serves as food for the probiotics, that is, the good bacteria in the gut. Prebiotics are found in fibre-rich foods. For example, apple, raw banana, garlic.

Activity and Movement

A sedentary lifestyle is not only bad for weight management, but also for building immunity. So, make movement a key part of your childs lifestyle. If your child is not used to much physical activity, make the switch gradually. Also, limit your childs screen time since it is one of the biggest blocks against physical activity. Additionally, involve your child in breathing exercises and pranayama since oxygen is another critical ingredient for immunity. If you find that your childs mind is wandering, that is OK! Even one or two deep breaths can go a long way in boosting a childs immunity.

Quality Sleep

Sleep is critical for the immune system for both children and adults. Lack of sleep can have a negative impact on the immune system almost immediately. Healthy sleep practices are absolutely essential. Create a fixed bedtime routine and an environment conducive to sleep. Dim the lights, turn off the television and any other electronic gadgets at least two hours before bedtime. Sleep facilitates growth, healing, and recovery in children. It is also necessary for brain development. Use the tech detox-time to narrate stories or rhymes to your child, or just spend time talking as they are proven to be helpful for children.

Emotional health

Children and stress? Yes, children have their own set of worries and uncertainties. They can also pick up worries from the discussions they hear at home, the fights they see, the news they are exposed to, school, society, teachers, bullies, social media, unsupervised programs, TV shows, movies, music, etc. Emotional stress can be harmful to a childs immune system, just the way it is for adults. Help your child develop a sense of security around you by regularly connecting with him and building a close and trusting relationship with him, one thats devoid of threats and punishments.

There you go. These simple steps can help build resistance in your child. While a pandemic like Covid-19 is certainly stressful, you can do your bit to build your childs resistance to viral threats. Children can surprise us. More often than not, they are open to trying out new habits. Stay positive, stay healthy!

LUKE COUTINHO IS A LEADING INTEGRATIVE AND LIFESTYLE MEDICINE PRACTITIONER AND A HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST.