What Can Weaken My Child’s Immune System?

Many times, the first thing that is discussed is how the immune system can be built up and maintained; however, it’s essential to keep in mind the things that can actually weaken your immune system and how it functions.

• Not eating enough fruits and vegetables – Proper nutrition helps your body produce white blood cells and gain nutrients needed to fight back when diseases and infections enter your body. Without these necessary nutrients, your child’s body will be left vulnerable.
• Eating Lots Of Fats – High levels of unhealthy fats can cause an imbalance of the bacteria in your body needed to respond to issues in the immune system.
• A Lack Of Sunlight – If your child doesn’t go outside and get sun very often, they are missing out on natural energy that your body can get from being outdoors that aid in immune function.
• Sadness/Mental Health – If your child suffers from depression, mental health issues, or is experiencing grief, it can weaken their immune system and make them more at risk of catching illnesses.
• No Physical Activity – Exercise helps your body get your blood pumping and moving around your body. When your blood is actively getting around, the germ-fighting nutrients needed to fight off disease can get where they need to be quicker and easier. If you aren’t moving, your body will take longer to get what it needs, making it take longer to heal and recover from an ailment.
• A Lack Of Sleep – When you are sleep-deprived, your body struggles to perform certain necessary functions, including fighting disease.

How Do I Build My Child’s Immune System?

Thankful, parents can do several things to help their child build a solid immune system. The best places to start are with the big three: nutrition, healthcare, and habits.

Nutrition

When your child is first born, it’s crucial to consider breastfeeding if you can. This is ultimately a personal decision, but there are many benefits to breastfeeding your baby if you choose to do so. According to NHS, antibodies are naturally shared between mother and baby during the last three months of pregnancy, giving babies a type of immune protection called passive immunity. After they are born, this immunity starts to decline, leaving them more vulnerable to illnesses. When babies are breastfed, these antibodies continue to be shared, along with other valuable nutrients, allowing the baby passive immunity for a longer time.

As your babies grow, several different foods are excellent for their immune system health, such as:

• Broccoli – This vegetable contains vitamins C, A, and several antioxidants that are excellent for immune health.
• Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes are a fantastic way to get vitamin C and beta-carotene, which are both significant boosts to the immune system.
• Oats – Beta-glucan is found in oats, which activates the cells in your body that work as your “army” to fight off anything trying to invade your body.
• Spinach – Spinach is another powerhouse food for the immune system. Spinach contains selenium, iron, manganese, zinc, and vitamins A, K, C, and E, which all work together to make your immune system nice and strong.
• Eggs – Vitamin D, B vitamins, and selenium can be found in eggs, which are all great sources of strength for your body’s immune system.
• Berries – Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and more are all great sources of antioxidants to help your body fight off disease.

Healthcare

When it comes to health, you want to ensure that your child is regularly going to the doctor and being checked out. This way, if anything arises, it can be caught early and treated.

Make sure to keep up with your child’s immunizations. These immunizations help protect not only your child but millions of children around the world, from different illnesses, disabilities, certain cancers, and even premature death. So it’s important to ensure that you keep up with these shots. Keeping up with their shots will prevent them from getting sick, build their immune system, and keep them from spreading diseases to their classmates and around your household. It’s also essential to make sure they get their yearly flu shot. The COVID-19 vaccination has also been approved for everyone six months and older, as stated by the CDC. The CDC also provides an excellent resource for parents to keep up with their immunization schedule for children.

Habits

Yes, eating healthy and regularly going to the doctor and getting shots are important, but another vital part of protecting yourself is implementing healthy habits into your regular routine.

Get Plenty Of Sleep

Sleep is an extremely important part of protecting your child’s health. Having an adequate amount of sleep helps children and adults fight off infection, disease, and inflammation.

Wash Your Hands

Teaching your child handwashing is very important. Infections and diseases can easily be spread from person to person by touching objects and surfaces without washing hands. Make sure to teach your child that handwashing is a necessity after playing outside, engaging with pets, after coughing or sneezing, before eating, or even after coming home from school.

A great way to teach children how long to wash their hands is to have them sing their ABCs or the Happy Birthday Song while washing their hands with warm water and antibacterial soap.

Get Regular Exercise

It is recommended that children get at least an hour of physical activity each day for ultimate health, which also positively impacts the immune system. Do this by encouraging family fitness activities, such as camping, swimming, sports, skating, or walking together.

Limit Stressors

Stress is not good for a person’s health, especially not the immune system. When you are more relaxed and don’t have as many stressors in your life, you are healthier as a whole. Make sure that the entire family is doing things to help reduce stress and aid in positive mental health.

In Conclusion

As parents, we want our children to remain as healthy and strong as possible, especially as we continue to navigate the pandemic and other ailments that arise and impact the world. Keeping the tips mentioned above in mind will help you make sure your child is as protected as possible and equip their internal “army” to be able to fight off any disease that may come their way.