Does your child get sick every winter? Can you prevent the annual colds, bugs, flu, croup? There are definitely some foods, herbs and supplements that help – a lot! One of the easiest things you can do is add supplements that help the immune system function more robustly. It’s no secret that dozens of nutrients, plant components, single herb extracts, or herbs in combination have potent, positive effects on the many layers of our busy, miraculous immune systems. Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, and countless other traditional cultures know this better than western physicians, who rely on drugs and surgery.

The right foods make an even bigger difference. When there is a commitment to eating whole “clean” (organic, unprocessed) food as a regular habit, especially less sugar, less processed stuff, and plenty of plant foods that give minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds, it’s easier for your immune system to function. Viruses and microbes love sugar as much as you do. Eating sugar has an immediate suppressive effect on white blood cells’ ability to attack bacteria. And, the stress of constantly clearing toxins like heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides or GMO foods bogs your immune system down.

Popping pills can’t nourish your kids’ immune potential as much as a routine of whole food, less sugar, and less processed starchy food (pasta, bread, bagels, granola bars, crackers, chips). While you’re working on that, rotate these through winter to shore up your family’s immune systems. There are so many to choose from, not to mention items that your Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner or Naturopath can offer you for acute illnesses, to lessen the duration and severity of symptoms. While prescription drugs generally suppress symptoms, traditional medicine practices do the opposite: They modulate the immune system in its effort to kill pathogens, and to aid organs and lymph in eliminating the consequent toxins.

This list is for good daily maintenance. Use them consistently – the benefits build over time. As always, especially if your child uses medications, check with your doctor about adding supplements:

• N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is widely available in capsules, but not found in food. We make it ourselves from protein we eat, when well nourished; it’s an amino acid the body uses to make glutathione, a major antioxidant. But extra stresses on the immune system can increase demand, and it’s easy to less than you may need – especially for kids I meet in my practice, who tend to have trouble eating good diets. NAC is especially helpful for lung tissue and has some pedigree for helping asthma, inflammatory conditions, and reducing bouts of flu and respiratory illnesses. 300 to 900 mg daily is a usual dose, depending on body weight. It is used in higher doses for obsessive compulsive symptoms, but lower doses are notable for helping lung tissue.

• Broad spectrum, high potency probiotic: Buy from a reputable brand devoted to high quality. Cheap probiotics aren’t worth it. Unless you’ve been given specific reasons not to from your GI doctor, most kids can use a potency between 25 to 75 billion CFUs daily per dose. Less won’t have much impact. Probiotics are emerging for not only supporting gut health, which many now regard as a cornerstone of immune health, but for aiding lung health too!

• Cod Liver Oil and Vitamin D: Kids can safely use a half teaspoon dose daily up to 100 pounds body weight or so. Heavier kids can use a teaspoon or two. Vitamin D should be checked with your doctor each fall. If it’s below 40, use 2000-5000 IU daily for kids. Debate continues on whether you ought to use fermented cod liver oil. I let parents choose whatever they can comply with daily, since, unless you pick a very poor product, some is better than none. For non-fermented, check Nordic Naturals or Pharmax. These are my preferences in that case. Enjoy free shipping and discounts off your Nordic Naturals purchases by ordering here and entering my practitioner ID 107159.

• Astragalus: This is a time honored herb in many traditions. For western herbalists, it is noted for its ability to boost B cells, T cells, and the body’s ability to identify bacteria and viruses. If your child tends to be sick often or have low energy, after you make sure his or her diet is adequate and fully nourishing, you can add a tool like astragalus to tone immune function. Capsules or tinctures are available. Peruse options here – over thirty of them as capsules or tinctures. For young kids, glycerite tinctures are ideal.

• Andrographis: Check out this list of benefits when andrographis is used for colds, flu, and infections. Shorter duration of illness and reducing severity are documented effects of using this herb. Both anti-inflammatory and immune stimulating, this herb can be a better choice than echinacea for kids who have chronic inflammation from conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, or allergies. If your child feels worse using this herb, it is possible that it is clearing a latent viral load that needs to go. Kids will feel sicker if this is done too quickly, so back down or withdraw the herb to a level that is tolerable.

• Vitamin C and Zinc: Use vitamin C to bowel tolerance daily, especially if your kids shun vitamin C rich foods daily. Buffered forms of C work may be easier to tolerate for kids who have normal digestion and who are not on reflux medicines; if your child uses reflux medicine, a non-buffered form may be best. If kids are eating a lot of sugary stuff (orange juice, fortified juice, fresh fruit, sweetened yogurt not to mention candy, ketchup, and obvious sources) then you may want to add more. Lozenges, capsules, liquids, powders – every option is out there. With zinc, this will support better white blood cell production for infection fighting. To dose vitamin C, start at 250 mg for young kids under 40 lbs and increase to one, two or three grams (1000-3000 mg). Loose watery stools mean too much C. Constipated kids may get relief by using high doses of buffered C. For zinc, 30-50 mg daily can be safely used in most cases, as long as your child’s iron status is normal. High doses of zinc can worsen iron status, so check with your doctor or contact me for guidance if you’re not sure (your child must become a patient of mine in order for me to give individual care).

• Iron and mineral-rich foods, with strong protein and plenty of healthy fats and oils: Snacks like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, butters from nuts and seeds, any dark leafy greens your child will accept are perfect. Homemade broths are perfect as a start to a cold day or after school snack, because they give all of these good nutrients. See my blog on mineral rich snacks for kids here (these support adrenal glands, which will pump out more cortisol when your child gets sick). If your child struggles to eat protein rich foods, try powders in smoothies, puddings, broths, cocoa, or even tea. Check this blog for protein powders, here for all smoothie blogs, and here for a hot cocoa that avoids common allergens but tastes creamy and delicious. And of course.. if your child has an undiagnosed gluten or dairy sensitivity, infections will be more frequent and take longer to recover if they are eating those foods daily.

Gluten sensitivity can cause all sorts of noise

Be sure to visit my blog on immune boosting foods too. I love it when my clients tell me their kids are not getting sick for the first time in years, once we begin thorough and individualized nutrition support. If that sounds good, let’s talk soon! Contact me here or schedule your time to speak with me by choosing an option here.