For parents, back to school preparation usually involves purchasing assorted textbooks and school supplies, helping kids put together course schedules, and meeting with teachers. Yet few parents realize the importance of helping a child prep his or her immune system for the school year.
The back to school season often forces kids to be exposed to a variety of illnesses, such as:
- Cold: The most contagious and common illness that a child may encounter, a cold may cause a child to sneeze constantly and experience a mild sore throat and runny nose.
- Flu: If a child experiences body aches, feels unusually tired, and has a high fever, he or she may be dealing with the flu.
- Stomach Flu: A child who suffers from the stomach flu may experience stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.
When it comes to the immune function, it pays to prepare. Fortunately, there are many quick, easy ways to help kids boost the immune system for the school year, including:
Load Up on Vitamin C
Vitamin C offers a proven treatment for the common cold, wounds, asthma symptoms, and other health issues. As such, parents who provide their kids with sufficient amounts of vitamin C can help them bolster the immune function – and for good reason.
First, vitamin C helps repair red blood cells, bones, and tissues. It has been shown to help strengthen the blood vessels, thereby reducing the risk of bruises from scrapes and falls. Furthermore, vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from myriad sources, keep the gums healthy, and lower the risk of infection.
Parents won’t have to look far and wide to incorporate vitamin C into a child’s diet. Key sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables, kiwi fruits, potatoes, and red peppers. Additionally, parents can provide their kids with Vital C-LD™, a supercharged vitamin C supplement, to augment their children’s vitamin C intake.
Vital C-LD™ contains a proprietary combination of ascorbic acid with citrus bioflavonoids and lipid metabolites from natural vegetable sources. It uses a liposomal delivery system that provides a 50% absorption rate versus just 8% absorption from vitamin C containing foods or traditional supplements. Plus, Vital C-LD™ comes in delayed-release capsules that ensure this powerful antioxidant reaches the small intestines where it is readily absorbed into the bloodstream for optimal effectiveness.
Provide Bovine Colostrum
Bovine colostrum offers a safe, all-natural product that helps children shut down the root causes of most chronic and autoimmune conditions, allergies, and infection. It has even been shown to help reduce the risk of intestinal (gut) infections.
Intestinal infections that cause diarrhea may be fatal, particularly for infants and young children. However, colostrum contains lactoferrin and other powerful components that provide non-specific protection against bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
About 6% of the total protein in colostrum consists of lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein closely related to the transferrin protein that transports free iron in the body. Lactoferrin destroys bacteria by binding free iron, which is needed by many bacteria and fungi to reproduce. It also can prevent the colonization of Haemophilus influenza, the primary cause of ear and respiratory infections in children, by deactivating its colonization factors.
Viralox® Health Spray contains a concentration of lactopeptide, a proprietary combination of proline-rich polypeptides (PRPs) and lactoferrin that has been clinically proven to eliminate infections, including viral infections. The oral health spray’s antimicrobial PRP-2s help stimulate the immune system to fight off viral infections, while its lactoferrin blocks viruses from entering healthy cells.
Viralox® is ideal for children in daycare or school, i.e. environments where germs are everywhere. Studies indicate daily use of Viralox® in pediatric patients helps reduce both infections and antibiotic use.Moreover, Viralox® has been clinically shown to help individuals mitigate the effects of a wide range of viruses, including herpes, influenza, and rotavirus.
Viralox® is supplied as a liquid spray that is readily absorbed in the bloodstream with three sprays to the back of the throat or under the tongue. It is safe for all ages and easy and fun for children to use with no pills or bad-tasting liquid to swallow.
Ensure Kids Are Getting Enough Rest
Summer vacations frequently lead children to stay up late into the evening and wake up late in the morning. As kids get ready for a school schedule, it is important to set up and maintain a consistent routine that guarantees children are getting sufficient rest.
Believe it or not, the amount of sleep that a child gets can impact his or her immune health. Mayo Clinic points out sleep-deprived individuals are more susceptible than others to the common cold. A lack of sleep may impact a person’s ability to fully recover from illness as well.
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends nine to 11 hours of sleep each night for children between the ages of 6 and 13 years old and eight to 10 hours of sleep each night for kids between the ages of 14 and 17 years old. With a sleep routine in place, parents can help their kids get the Zzz’s they need to maintain optimal immune health, along with ensuring their children maximize their day-to-day productivity.
Encourage Children to Eat Healthy and Exercise Daily
No child is immune to the cold and flu, but kids who eat healthy and exercise daily can reduce the risks associated with the cold, flu, and other illnesses.
For instance, providing kids with a diet rich in phytonutrients helps increase the body’s production of infection-fighting white blood cells and interferon, an antibody that coats cell surfaces to block out harmful viruses. Foods like carrots, oranges, and strawberries contain high concentrations of phytonutrients and can be incorporated into many different meals. Whenever possible, buy organic to avoid pesticides and herbicides.
Meanwhile, encouraging kids to play outdoors for at least an hour a day is a great way to get children to exercise. Studies have shown exercise helps increase the number of natural killer (NK) cells that normally target viruses and attack and kill invading pathogens. If parents highlight the fun and excitement of exercise to children, they can help their kids stay active from youth until adulthood.
By taking advantage of the aforementioned tips, parents can help their kids balance and maintain immune function for fewer sick days and better overall health.