10 ways to boost your kids’ immunity

by Sheena Hendon | Jun 14, 2016 | DIET & NUTRITION, KIDS CORNER, NATURAL HEALTH | 891 comments

Young child with thermometer and sweet taddy lying in bed with flu and fever. Child with a temperature.

No kid enjoys being unwell so what can you do to protect your child from the viruses, bacteria and other bugs that they are exposed to? Of course, colds and flus are a fact of life and in fact they are a natural way for your child to keep healthy throughout their adult life. However, the important thing is ensuring that the immune system is robust enough for your kid to fight the nasties and quickly bounce back as good as new. So let’s find out what healthy habits we can adopt that will supercharge your child’s immune system.

What is Immunity?

The immune system, which is made up of special cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, defends people against germs and microorganisms every day. In most cases, the immune system does a great job of keeping people healthy and preventing infections. But sometimes problems with the immune system can lead to illness and infection.

Signs that our child’s immune system is not working as it should can show up as frequent infections, allergies and behavioural disorders. The thing about our immune system is that it is pretty complex, but if you can understand the basics you will be more easily prevent or reduce severity of infections and provide solutions to building and maintaining a robust fighter for life.

Immune system basics 101

Your immune system is divided into two different types: Innate and adaptive immunity.

Immunity 1

Innate immunity is something you are born with – it is already present in the body. As soon as something enters the skin, blood, or tissues, the immune system immediately goes into attack mode. It does this by identifying certain chemicals in the substance that tells the innate response it shouldn’t be there. One example would be white blood cells fighting bacteria, causing redness and swelling, when you have a cut.

Adaptive Immunity is created in response to exposure to a foreign substance. When a foreign invader enters the body, the immune system takes it in and analyses its every detail. Then the adaptive immune responds by getting cells to attach to foreign substance every time they enter the body. The adaptive immune cells actually have a memory and know how to fight off certain invaders. One example is the chickenpox vaccination so that we don’t get chickenpox because adaptive immunity system has remembered the foreign body.

There is also one more immunity type; Passive Immunity. Passive immunity is “borrowed” from another source and it lasts for a short time. For example, antibodies in a mother’s breast milk give a baby temporary immunity to diseases the mother has been exposed to. This can help protect the baby against infection during the early years of childhood. That is why wherever possible and it is the right thing for both mum and bub I recommended that baby’s are breast fed up to at least 6 months.

Everyone’s immune system is different. Some people never seem to get infections, whereas others seem to be sick all the time. As people get older, they usually become immune to more germs as the immune system comes into contact with more and more of them. That’s why adults and teens tend to get fewer colds than kids — their bodies have learned to recognise and immediately attack many of the viruses that cause colds.

Solutions for balancing immunity

Recurrent or chronic infections – even mild colds – only occur when the immune system is weakened. Thus, a vicious circle develops: a compromised immune system leads to infection – infection causes immune system damage – which further weakens resistance. Only by boosting the immune system can we break this cycle.

When it comes to your child’s immunity, imagine it as a see-saw with the innate system on one end and the acquired at the other. At birth the immune system of an infant is tipped high at the innate end – the innate system is in place but the acquired immunity is not that established or strong. That is why children tend to have more allergies, bacterial and viral infections (up to 3 a year is considered normal). Yet immunity continues to be imbalanced if they are frequently exposed to poor nutrition, lots of processed foods and chemicals, antibiotics, lack of breast feeding and stress. To bring the see-saw back into balance and allow the acquired immunity to start to kick in and work well, optimum nutritional, dietary and lifestyle habits are vital to ensure a great immune system during their childhood and as an adult.