Boosting your child’s Immune System
We finally start stepping away from what has felt like a very long winter and, those pesky winter colds and bugs our children have picked up over the last few months can take a real a toll on their immune systems.
So what can we do to protect our little one’s immune system and give it a much-needed boost? Supplements can be helpful, yet difficult to navigate the correct dosage in growing children. Lucy, at The Rocket House, asked renowned paediatric nutritionist and naturopath Lucinda Miller for her top tips and advice for boosting a child’s immune system.
Lucinda says, nutritious food comes first in my armoury when supporting kids immunity, resilience and focus.
That’s where upping a child’s nutritional intake can really help build more robust immunity and, help with the overall stress and academic expectations from school. So here are some great tips to get their immune system stronger, right on time to enjoy the summer term!
A Healthy Breakfast Is Key
Sugary cereals are not going to do the job as well as a homemade breakfast. So, my top tips are to always include healthy protein and fat at breakfast time which could be eggs, some avocado, nut butter, ground seeds or good quality turkey, chicken, ham or smoked fish. Also try my porridges, muffins, waffles, pancakes and granolas.
After school snacks
Roll out the homemade muffins and waffles or take along a homemade cookie or even a sandwich with a protein-rich filling. Fruit can tide them over until you get home and then you can give a “picky plate” packed with crunchy veg, dips, crackers, nuts and seeds – just enough to get them get through homework and then to supper time.
Kefir & Live Yoghurt
Kefir is a bubbly, sour yoghurty drink you can buy or make. It is a great source of beneficial gut microbes, amino acids and a wide range of nutrients, including high levels of vitamin B12, calcium and magnesium. It is a fantastic source of nutrients to supercharge the immune system via a healthy gut. Live yogurt is the next best thing and if your child is dairy-free consider a probiotic supplement.
Vitamin D
Sunny Vitamin D is vital for both immunity and mood! We have had two very grey, wet and cloudy summers in a row, so unless you have been fortunate to been abroad or taken vitamin D supplements, your kids are likely to be running low.
You get it from the sun in the summer, and also from foods such as oily fish, organic milk and eggs. However, if you know your child has low vitamin D levels, or your family have dark skin or your child is always slathered with suncream throughout the summer then you can take Vitamin D all year round; and there is no harm in most other kids starting back on Vitamin D as soon as the cooler cloudier days start drawing in.
The Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) which is the minimum daily intake of vitamin D for children should be 400iu/10ug. However, during the winter if the immunity is struggling then nursery age children can take up to 2,500iu/67.5ug per day, 4-8 year olds it’s a maximum of 3,000iu/75ug and for 9-18 year olds it is 4,000iu/100mcg. I would not take these maximum daily levels for more than 6-8 weeks without checking blood serum levels of Vitamin D.
Zinc
In my mind zinc is one of the most important nutrients for growing children. Not only is it important for building robust immunity, but it also helps make melatonin which helps us get to sleep. It aids regulation of our nervous system and I always go with the mantra “Zinc helps you think”. Zinc also helps with a healthy sense of smell and taste and is key component of the nutrients that make our stomach acid which digests protein and our pancreatic elastase which helps with the assimilation of nutrients.
In terms of how much zinc they need: 1-3 year olds need 3-7mg zinc, 4-8 year olds require between 5-12mg per day, 9-13 year olds it’s 8-23mg and then for teenagers they need more like 11-34mg – this is because they need a lot more zinc whilst going through puberty.
Omega 3
Omega 3 fatty acids are key nutrients that feed the brain, the immune system as well as the gut microbiome. If a child is low in omega 3 then they might have dry bumpy “chicken skin”, dry hair and also be very thirsty quite a lot of the time. They might also find it hard to concentrate and focus and may even struggle with itchy skin or wheezing.
Omega 3 is one of the most important anti-inflammatory nutrients and can be found in oily fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines as well as seafood, organic whole milk and some omega 3 rich eggs. Plant-based omega 3 options include walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds and hulled hemp seeds as well as marine algae based omega 3 food supplements.
Iron
Iron is a key nutrient for growing kids and helps to oxygenate the blood which nourishes the immune system, energy levels and brain function. Pasty pale kids often test low in iron or iron stores (ferritin) if they have a blood test. Many are not getting enough as there is a trend towards eating more white meats containing minimal iron and away from red meats which are more iron-rich.
You can get iron from plant-based foods such as black beans, chickpeas, tahini, baobab, mulberries, green vegetables and molasses but they need to be eaten in large quantities to build back up iron levels if they have dropped too low. How much iron does a growing child need every day? 1-3 year olds need a minimum of 7mg of iron, 4-8 year olds require at least 10mg per day, 9-13 year olds it’s 8mg and then for teenagers they need more like 11mg for boys and 15mg for menstruating girls. The maximum a child should take is 40mg per day and for 14-18 year olds it is 45mg. Tip: remember to pair iron with Vitamin C to optimise iron uptake and improve immunity
If you are in need of some new healthy recipes, please view Lucinda’s cookbook The Good Stuff by Lucinda Miller - NatureDoc , or her new book Brain Brilliance with 60 nourishing recipes for neurodivergent kids.