Parents naturally want healthy children, and boosting their immune system offers important protection. Foods containing protective nutrients are the key!
Are you aware of the immense difference nutrition makes to your child’s immune system? Babies are born with underdeveloped immune systems. Through interactions with other children in daycare and grade school, children are continuously exposed to infections. Therefore, including protective nutrients in your child’s daily meals can far increase her resistance to infection.
According to Dr. Allan Walker, a specialist and Professor of Nutrition and Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, “protective nutrients are nutritional additions that provide or enhance the body’s natural defenses beyond the level provided by a balanced diet.”
Protective nutrients are found in foods like blueberries, oranges, cruciferous and green leafy vegetables, soy, cold water salmon, tuna, whole grains, flaxseed meal, and yogurt containing live and active cultures to name a few.
According to Dr. Walker, protective nutrients contain:
- Nucleotides that enhance a child’s response to immunizations
- Lactoferrin that works to decrease inflammation and “bad” bacteria
- Fatty acids that decrease gastroenteritis
Almost 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician who penned what has come to be known as the Hippocratic oath, said, “Let food be your medicine.” Those wise words are no less true today.
Coaching questions: Does your child’s daily diet consist of the functional foods that provide these powerful protective nutrients? What does your child know about nutrition? What is your relationship with foods containing protective nutrients? What role do you play in teaching your child about nutrition and a healthy lifestyle?
