5 Way to Support Your Kid's Immune System This Winter

Autumn is definitely here and it's personally my favourite time of the year.

For many of us though, it marks the start of cold and flu season, especially if you have school or nursery age kids. There is currently a nasty bug ripping its way round my girl’s school. So I thought I’d share with you 5 simple ways to look after your children's immune system this season, to help you and them cope with colds, flu and bugs:

🌈 Eat a Rainbow. Antioxidants are compounds found in plant-based foods which protect your cells and reduce inflammation. Inflammation contributes to poor immune function; so eating foods containing these substances, helps keep kid's immune systems healthy. The best way to do this is to encourage them to eat a rainbow of fruit & vegetables, as the different colours provide different forms of protective substances. If your children struggle to eat vegetables, then making soups, stews, or bolognese are a great way to include an abundance of vegetables.

🌞Replace the Sunshine. Vitamin D is vital for modulating our body’s immune system’s response and deficiency is linked to poor immunity. It helps enhance our immune response against various infections which are more common during winter. Our main source of vitamin D comes from the sun, with only 10% obtained from foods such as oily fish and eggs. So in the winter months it could be advisable to consider supplementation.

🍭Reduce Sugar. Excess sugar disrupts the immune system so it can't function properly. So being mindful of your child's overall sugar intake and making sure you are offering them a variety of nutrients from different sources is key.

🦠Look after your gut. 80% of our immune system is contained within our gut. Consuming probiotic foods such as yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and miso is a great start, as these foods help to balance the bacteria in our guts, helping our immune system to work correctly. Fibre is also vital for gut health, so encouraging our kids to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains will also help their immune systems.

😜Take it Easy. Busy schedules, stress and lack of sleep easily deplete the immune system. Make sure you build some time into your children’s schedule for relaxing, unwinding and spending time in nature and their immune systems will thank you.