| Answer: | Make sure her diet is rich in immune-boosting nutrients. These include foods with abundant antioxidants, such as sweet potatoes, apricots and carrots for vitamin A; berries, kiwis and green leafy vegetables for vitamin C; avocados, nuts and seeds for vitamin E; fish and pumpkin seeds for zinc; and broccoli and Brazil nuts for selenium. Helping your child eat a varied diet will also ensure she is getting a wide range of nutrients - not just vitamins and minerals, but also powerful immune-boosting phytochemicals such as flavonoids, found in berries, and lycopene, found in tomatoes. If she' s fussy (and even if she' s not), I' d ree- ommend giving her a children' s multivitamin and mineral formula to ensure she' s getting optimum lev- els of all the nutrients she needs.
As well as putting good stuff in her diet, take any bad stuff out. This includes refined or processed foods and anything loaded with sugar or additives, which all suppress immunity. Instead of fizzy drinks, give your child plenty of water to drink to help flush out toxins and stop her from becoming dehydrated, which can prevent her body functioning effectively.
Also, check her diet for any possible allergens, which can weaken the immune system. Is she eating or craving lots of wheat, eggs or dairy, for example? If you suspect she' s having a reaction, remove the suspect foods from her diet (substitute alternatives such as corn or rye bread instead of wheat, and soya or rice milk instead of cow' s) and see if there' s any improvement after 10 days. If not, reintroduce one food at a time and watch for any negative reaction.
If your child has been taking lots of antibiotics, her delicate gut flora may be disturbed, and this can undermine her immune system. So give a daily ' probiotic' supplement for a month or so to replenish levels of healthy bacteria. (See Resources, page 483,
for suppliers.)
Finally, when your child succumbs to an infec- tion, help them fight it off quicker with extra vitamin C. Stir 100 to 200mg of vitamin C powder into a glass of water or diluted juice and give it four to six times a day until they are well (and then, gradually reduce the dose over the next few days). If your child develops loose bowel movements (a possible side effect), decrease the dose slightly. |
