Information in this article is not intended to substitute speaking with your physician and receiving proper health care.
With school now a couple of weeks away and the summer months coming to a searing end, sneezes, sniffles, and red eyes are slowly making less frequent appearances in your household. To keep these ailments at bay, it is important for your kids to learn about the importance of immunity and caring for their little immune systems.
Whereas the stomach pangs to signal hunger, the immune system reacts by fighting against foreign and unfriendly substances. Their defenses can be weakened if kids aren’t exercising or practicing a healthy diet.
As we transition into fall and winter, keeping kids active and enjoying the cool outdoor weather can be easy with a parents help. As the first line of defense against health challenges, the immune system should remain at peak levels to help you and your children live the most active and healthiest life possible. The following do’s and don’ts are suggestions that can help you and your children keep your immunity in tip-top shape and help it fight off any seasonal sicknesses and allergies or year-round illnesses.
1. Incorporate proper nutritional practices into your diet
When a body is craving something, it’s because it’s lacking in a specific vitamin. Keeping a nutritionally rich and balanced diet not only aids the immune system but it can help rid your child’s body of free radicals that are inevitable from eating everyday foods. These free radicals, which can damage the DNA and suppress the immune system, can be counteracted by eating healthy foods rich in vitamins and minerals and filled with antioxidants.
Since a full scope of nutrients can’t always be achieved through protein and vegetables, a daily supplement can often fill in those nutritional gaps. Daily vitamins and supplements are the perfect complement to a regimen helping keep yours and your kid’s immune function in great shape!
2. Be Active!
Organizations like “Let’s Move!” and “Play 60” both promote at least 60 minutes of activity to promote a healthy lifestyle for active youth. As an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, physical activity also helps sweat out free radicals that may be damaging to an immune system. Not only does physical activity help promote an active and fun lifestyle, but it can help with mental wellness and development by promoting strong bone and building lean muscle.
3. Let your Kids Relax
It can be a hard idea to grasp when we see our carefree children playing around and living life but kids get stressed too! When school is back in session, they will slowly learn to get back into a daily routine of waking up early, going to school, and doing homework, not to mention after school sports programs and extracurricular activities. Their schedule can begin to look crazier than yours! Ensure that your children have time to relax in between their moments of triumph at school, on the field, and even on paper.
Keeping your child de-stressed can deter him from mood disorders that result from stress. Take a walk with your kid after dinner or before they start their homework to help clear minds, mobilize the immune system and improve autoimmune function. Activity between rest is the right way to play and de-stress!
4. Practice Proper Hygiene
Maybe your child can skip brushing their teeth before bed once, maybe even twice, but any more than that and it’s the start of your child breaking bad. Lack of proper hygiene can lead to a weakened immune system as germs inhabit the body and easily take over. Helping your children keep their nails neat and trimmed and reminding them to wash their hands before eating can help keep infection at bay.
– John Rubinow, M.D. is a Los Angeles based physician with a special interest in immune health. Dr. Rubinow graduated from Tufts University and received his M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Today, Dr. Rubinow is the well-known spokesperson and endorses SmartMune™ as his choice supplement designed to prime the immune system and provide lasting energy.