Immunity-Boosting Foods for kids (Best of 6 Super Foods)

Winters make kids more vulnerable to diseases such as flu, colds, digestive problems, and throat infections. But can feeding snacks to your kids reduce the probability of getting sick? You will be surprised to know there are numbers of immunity-boosting snacks like walnuts, yogurt, etc, can help you in arming your child from seasonal cold or flu and provides good health to them but can also satisfy their taste buds. A survey of the Indian population stated that only about 23 % of children of age group 6 months to 23 months have sufficient diversified meals. 

In today’s era, most of the working moms of nuclear families, stay concerned about their kids’ health. Children with evolving immune systems mostly get affected by infections during season change. It has been reported that among seven groups of food about 74% of children consume tubers and roots, 29 % consume fruits and veggies enriched with vitamin A, 37% other veggies and fruits, and 55%  have milk products.  The consumption rate for nuts and legumes was 13% and 14% for eggs.

There are certain immunity boosting foods that you may serve to your kids for developing their immune system:

• Almonds: rich in manganese and vitamin E which is a good immune booster and also increases the killer cell activities.
• Berries are antioxidant sources that reduce oxidative stress from free radicals and also help the toddler’s immune system keep fighting.
• Yogurt: probiotics of yogurt prods toddler’s immune system.
• Broccoli: are a nutritional powerhouse and contains vitamins A, E, and C along with numerous antioxidants. 
• Eggs: are a natural source of vitamin D and also contain other nutrients like selenium and vitamin B. Lack of vitamin D may make your child vulnerable to sickness. 
• Seeds: seeds like sunflower, flax, pumpkin seed boost immunity, and consumption of seeds would provide your child with omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and zinc that may also assist their immune system.

According to Dr. Anju Sood, a leading nutritionist, during monsoon immunity level crashes as excess moisture leads to the growth of microorganisms, and, children stay carefree at outdoors that makes them more vulnerable to diseases. For keeping them healthy they should be given powerful antioxidants foods enriched with vitamin C. Eating nuts, seeds, and green veggies and staying hydrated could prevent health issues.

Some common foods and nutrients that help in increasing immunity against cold and cough are: 

• Vitamin C: mostly found in potatoes, oranges, bell peppers, berries, and leafy vegetables. This helps in shortening the symptoms of cough and cold and protects your babies.
• Vitamin E: found in corn, sunflower, milk, soybean oil, eggs, and avocado. This protects the toddler’s immune systems from free radicals and boosts it as well.
• Beta Carotene: found in carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, water squash, and spinach. This gets converted to vitamin A within the body and boosts the immunity of your child.

Natural remedies that boosts-up toddler immune system include:

1. Foods rich in probiotics build good bacteria in the gut.
2. Eat fruits instead of sugar added foods as it feeds sugar-loving pathogenic bacterias and crowds up immune-boosting ones.
3. Vegetables containing sulfur and vitamin B like spinach etc, fuel methylation and boost the immune system. 
4. Lukewarm water or milk with turmeric and pepper would surely build the immune system stronger for toddlers and cures throat infections as well.

Teaching and practicing hygienic immune-boosting activities reduces the duration and severity of sickness among your children. The immune system among children gets fully developed at the age of 7- 8 years.

Child’s immune system can be boosted naturally through:

1. Regulating the sleeping schedule
2. Eating of nuts and seeds, along with vitamin and antioxidant-enriched fruits and veggies.
3. Serving more healthy snacks like yogurt etc.
4. Avoid serving foods with excess sugar, instead serve fresh fruits.

Every parent wants to keep their children protected from health issues and seasonal diseases especially during winters but kids shouldn’t also be kept indoors for a long period to protect them from contracting the disease. Children should be allowed to play and explore the outside world, as it is necessary for the proper development of their physical and mental health. Hence the focus should be to improve their immune system.

One useful tip to keep the children busy during this lockdown period would be to involve the children in planning and cooking the meals, as it will help them to learn and will also work as a fruitful distraction from regular studies.

Here are answers of some frequently asked Questions:

1. What age is a child’s immune system fully developed?
   By the age of 7-8 years, the immune system gets completely developed among children, until then they should be served with nutritious foods.
2. How can I boost my child’s immune system naturally?
   Immunity boosting snacks like egg, yogurt, nuts and seeds, berries, etc, are required to be served to your children.
3. What are the best vitamins for children’s immune systems?
   The best vitamins for children’s immune systems are vitamins A, B-6, B-12, C, E, and D.
4. How does our immune system work, short explanation?
   When our body senses any foreign substance also known as antigen, our immune system recognizes these antigens and liberates B lymphocytes to make antibodies to fight off.  

References:

https://food.ndtv.com/health/5-foods-that-can-boost-immunity-in-kids-2157802