Kids are headed back to school, and this is a prime time for illnesses. Here are 8 “easy” ways to support the immune systems of your entire family.

1. Meditation: Many people recommend increasing your sleep to support your immune system. I don’t know about you, but I have very little control over the amount of sleep I am able to consistently get with young kids. So, I like to recommend meditation or mindfulness instead. Meditation activates your immune system. A recent review found that 220 genes involved with immune response were upregulated with meditation! This is a great time of year to start a meditation practice and include the entire family. It is unrealistic to think that your young child will sit and meditate, but meditation games or stories can be helpful in developing this practice. Two of my favorite books to involve kids in meditation are Sitting Still Like a Frog by Eline Snel and Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry MacLean
2. Gut Health: Your gut microbiome is incredibly important and influences your immune function. To support your gut microbiome and your immune health, add fermented foods to your family’s diet such as sauerkraut and kefir. You can also encourage mud play to support your gut microbiome. Yes, mud play! As messy as it is, it can promote friendly microbes in the gut and on the skin which modulate the immune system. For added benefit, get in the mud with your kids! Looking for a probiotic for further support? Check out the Whole Health Baby Probiotic Complete.
3. Sunlight: Sunlight is so important to our immune health. Sunlight is the primary source of vitamin D which modulates our immune system. Vitamin D deficiency leaves us susceptible to infections, and many of us our vitamin D deficient. As a bonus, babies and young children who are exposed to afternoon sunlight sleep better than those who are not exposed to afternoon sunlight.
4. Massage: There are so many benefits to touch and massage. In fact, massage can increase the number of white blood cells and in babies even help develop the innate immune system. Regular massage decreases cortisol and also improves circulation of white blood cells.
5. Physical Activity: Regular physical activity is one of the best ways to boost your immune health. Daily or near daily exercise improves antipathogenic activity and recirculation of anti-inflammatory and immune cells. This is not the time to go too hard, though. Vigorous exercise actually suppresses your immune system. So, this is the perfect time for a family bike ride or game of tag. For babies, allow for plenty of floor time, exploration, and movement.
6. Outside play: Outside play, especially in nature, is so beneficial for your family’s immune system. Not only do sunny days provide vitamin D but being outside in nature has anti-inflammatory effects and increases your natural killer cells. Natural killer cells are a type of white blood cell that limits the spread of infections.
7. Nutrient Dense Foods: A common piece of advice that you hear for immune support is to decrease your sugar. Yes, sugar absolutely suppresses your immune function. However, how realistic is it for your family to completely stay away from sugar this time of year? If you can do it, that is ideal, but I recommend shifting the focus to what you can add instead of what you can remove. So, start focusing on the addition of nutrient dense foods. For example, foods rich in vitamin C, zinc, and selenium will support healthy immune function.
8. Hydration: Hydration status affects immune function in many ways. For example, dehydration decreases your saliva as well as your mucous membranes’ antimicrobial activity which is one of your body’s first ways to defend yourself. So, focus on hydration for you and your children.

There are so many ways to support your immune system heading into the winter months. There are also many herbs and supplements that may be helpful for your family such as Elderberry. The Whole Health Baby Elderberry Extract can be used for the whole family (it does not contain honey!). To see my other recommended products for kids and adults, check out my Fullscript dispensary. There you will find my recommend products for immune support in my protocol list, and you can shop the entire Fullscript catalogue of physician grade supplements at a discount (US and Canada only).

For individual recommendations and support, check out my services.

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