Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Keeping Your Kids Healthy this Season

Its seems as though our kids are perpetually sick with some form of virus or infection from October through March. The runny noses, coughs and stomach bugs are enough to drive us insane. Not to mention how unhappy our little ones are. Although it seems unavoidable, this season of sickness can be shortened and even prevented to some degree.

I have found success with the following regimen and hopefully you will too!

A daily probiotic. I have blogged about the benefits of a probiotic, especially if your child is taking antibiotics. The probiotic replenishes all the good flora in the gut that is essential for immunity. We use ProBio with 7 billion CFU's. Its a powder that can easily be hidden in their juice. One to 2 tsps per day.

Daily fish oil supplement. We have been using Nordic Naturals cod liver oil for kids but recently found a new brand that is extracted from smaller fish and is purer than many of the other cod liver oils on the market with less chance of any mercury or PCB's. Although I do hold Nordic Naturals in high accord on their purity and will continue to recommend them as one of the best brands. Our new brand is called NutraSea (kids) by Ascenta. It contains EPA, DHA, GLA and vitamin D3. All these things are helpful for immunity as well as brain development! The vitamin D3 is especially helpful in preventing the flu. Kids can take up to 3000IUs per day, but I like to stick around 1000IUs. My boys like the fruit flavor of the oil and take it without complaint.
One tsp per day.

Thieves essential oil. This oil can be purchased at http://www.youngliving.com/ or you can contact me. Its a great oil because of all the antibacterial properties it has. Its ingredients are clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary. The oil itself smells like cinnamin so its very pleseant to put on. Thieves is like a mini defense system for the body, protecting it from harmful antigens that may try to infect your young ones. I rub 3-4 drops on the bottom of their feet every morning before school.

Washing hands. No brainer!

Garlic. If they do happen to start feeling under the weather, dice up a garlic clove and let it oxidize in some pure olive oil. Then rub the oily garlic on the bottom of their feet and put socks on. Yes it will smell like an italian restaurant in their room but the anti viral and anti bacterial properties of  garlic are unsurpassed. More than likely, if you caught the cold early enough, the garlic will do the rest.

Peppermint essential oil for fevers. If there is a fever involved, peppermint on the bottom of their feet can help to reduce it without having to overdose them on tylenol or motrin. This can also be diffused in a diffuser or  humidifier. The peppermint also helps to reduce any swelling in the trachea which helps any breathing issues or a cough.

I also blogged a while back about other oils that I use for ailments such as the Croup.
http://caraendriss.blogspot.com/2009/10/change-of-season-ailments.html

A healthy diet goes without saying to maintain good immunity but our kids sometimes make this hard to achieve. If you have kids like mine, getting them to eat vegetables is a chore. I have been sneaking them into other foods they normally eat. Hiding them in muffins and juices, pancakes and burgers is my main strategy. So far its been working well. Thankfully one of my twin's enjoys his veggies and will eat carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and sweet potatoes as well as many different types of fruits and fresh fruit smoothies.

My kids also drink raw milk which contains essential enzymes and probiotics that replenish good flora in the gut. I mentioned before how the flora in the gut is the power center of our immune system. Pasturized milk is heated and therefore these enzymes and good bacteria are killed off in the process. If you need information or resources on where to get a safe supplier of raw milk, please contact me or visit http://www.westonaprice.org/ or http://www.realmilk.com/ .

In a future post, I will go over various types of foods that help increase immunity and hopefully will mitigate any sickness that may try to invade your life.

I hope these ideas are helpful and keep you and your family free from sickness this winter. Or at least less than last year!

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