5 Tips for Building Children's Immunity
As an immunologist, I am often asked “How can I build my child’s immunity?” If your patients’ parents want tips on how to optimize immunity, share the following suggestions:
1. A great diet is a good place to start.
You are what you eat! There may be something to this adage. Healthy foods — from yogurt to walnuts — may help boost children’s natural defenses. So, whether you're trying to arm your patients for cold and flu season or just aiming for good, year-round health, immune-boosting foods may help.
Foods that May Boost Immunity
- Yogurt contains helpful germs called probiotics. You may already know that these organisms live in your gut and can improve the way your body uses food. But they're also important in helping the body fight sickness. What type of yogurt should you buy? Look for brands that contain live cultures. Try to stay away from artificially added sugars, colors, etc.
- Walnuts have healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for you in a lot of ways. Experts believe that omega-3s help your body fight illness. Walnuts are easy to sprinkle into a snack mix or on cereal and are a great way for vegetarians to consume natural omegas.
- Fruits and veggies. To help your immune system, some experts suggests aiming for fresh fruit and veggies that are high in vitamin C, like citrus fruits, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.
On the other side of the coin, sugar has been shown in many clinical trials to suppress immunity. To keep children well, suggest a limit to their overall intake of additives, sugar, and find out which foods are allergens. Focus on plenty of fresh veggies, whole fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and eggs.
2. Maintain microbiota!
Probiotics are the friendly, helpful bacteria that naturally occur in our guts. They protect our digestive tracts, help us to digest food, and shield us from invading bacteria and viruses. When this bacterial balance becomes disrupted in children, we can see changes in a child’s ability to fend off infections. So, suggest eating foods that have probiotics like yogurt and avoid unnecessary antibiotic use. Offering prescriptions for antibiotics at your patient’s request is a bad idea. Antibiotics treat only illnesses caused by bacteria, but most of childhood illnesses are caused by viruses. Studies show, however, that many pediatricians prescribe antibiotics somewhat reluctantly at the urging of parents who mistakenly think it can't hurt. In fact, it can. Strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have flourished as a result, and a simple ear infection is more difficult to cure if it's caused by stubborn bacteria that don't respond to standard treatment.
3. Calm stress and anxiety.
In today’s fast-paced world, parents are overstressed, children are over-scheduled, and everyone suffers. Children’s bodies have the same response to stress that adults do — their cortisol and adrenaline rises. When this elevation in stress hormones is sustained, their immune systems’ response is lowered. It’s important for children to have lots of down time, time for creative play, and simply times of rest.
4. Make sure they're sleeping enough.
Most children are not getting the required amount of sleep. Depending on age, children need between 10 and 14 hours of sleep per day.
5. Remind patients that fever helps fight infection and infections develop immunity.
Although many parents panic at the first sign of a rise in temperature on the thermometer, it’s important to remind them that fever is only a sign of an illness and not an illness itself. Fever is a child’s body’s natural response to an infection and without it, the body isn’t as effective at fighting the illness. Minor illnesses are part of life, and not every infection can be prevented or treated. When you do have an infection, your immune system builds immunity and memory to that virus or bacteria.
What tips do you typically offer your patients? Leave a comment and let us know!
By: Sonal R. Patel, M.D., M.S.
Dr. Patel is a MedStudy contributor who has worked on the 7th Edition Pediatrics Core, 8th Edition Pediatrics Core, and Pediatric Q&As.
All content here, including advice from doctors and other health professionals, should be considered as opinion only. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.
