Getting ready for the holidays also means getting ready for the Cold and Flu Season. I read an interesting article on our immune systems, and how we should be focusing our attentions on building up ours and our kids systems to help fight the flu.
Studies show that sugar and processed foods lower our defenses, basically depressing the immune system. There is a direct link between the amount of these foods that kids eat and child their health.
So we know the drill--sodas, candy, sugary sweets, ice cream and chips are not good choices for our kids. But there are more foods that some may think are "healthy" but actually are not. Yogurts, drinkable yogurts, juices, soy ice cream, fruit rollups, and many frozen treats actually hide sugar and refined ingredients. Even though snacks like these may be labeled healthy, they may not be. We need to carefully check out ingredient labels and watch out for things like corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup or “HFCS,” brown rice syrup, fructose, sucrose, barleymalt and the obvious, sugar.
Getting fresh fruits and veggies into kids may be a challenge, but it is crucial we find creative ways to do so. They need the vitamins from these foods more than ever during cold and flu season.
Sleep is another factor in strengthing in our immune systems. Deep sleep allows for the body to do some serious recharging of our immune systems, so for kids to be the most resiliant, they need their 8-10 hours of sleep.
Avoid having kids use antibacterial soap when washing their hands. Washing with good old hot water and soap is actually better (and cheaper!). Bacteria is everywhere, and immune systems actually need bacteria to be stronger and resilient. So while it is important to wash hands frequently during flu season, killing off the germs on hands with antibacterial products is futile and weakens your child’s- and the world’s- future ability to confront germs.