Aiding Your Families Immune System

Today my daughter called to ask for my motherly advice for her friends who have small children who are consistently ill with colds and flu. Whenever their kids get together to play, the illness spreads like wildfire and they all end up passing it around to each other. She wanted to know what ideas I had for helping to build their immune systems.

My suggestion was to begin with some of the most obvious things, which we sometimes forget because our lives are so busy. Following are eight things which should help.

First: Have them wash their hands several times a day, especially after being out in public or with other children. You can also keep hand wipes in your car. Stay away from antibactterial soap,

Second: Give them several glasses of water per day to drink because water assists in removing toxins from the body and keeps them from becoming dehydrated. Filtered water tastes best and contains less harmful chemicals. Juices can be full of sugar and high fructose corn syrup so water is best. If you want to give them a treat in between, make fresh homemade lemonade with a bit of honey or make some herbal iced tea. If you do give them juice, make sure there is no added sweetener and water it down.

Third: Eliminate white sugar from their diets as much as possible. Sugar lowers immunity and causes many severe health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease and pancreatic cancer. It can also cause hyperactivity in children, which of course can drive their parents and teachers nuts. This includes high fructose sweetener. Make sure to read labels and stay away from all artificial sweeteners.

Fourth: Begin the day with a good breakfast. It sets the blood sugar levels for the day and they won't be dragging by the time they get to school. Stay away from sugary cold cereals and prepare hot cereals such as oatmeal, cream of wheat or buckwheat, quinoa, nine-grain, etc. You can also make your own waffles from some of these grains, freeze them and reheat them in the toaster when you need them. This will give you the opportunity to use grains from your food storage.

Fifth: Feed them organic fruits and vegetables. These help build the immune system and create healthy kids. Most fruits and vegetables are alkaline which can help balance the pH of the body and fight off disease. Processed foods are acidic and can break down the immune system very quickly. It is important to buy organic in order to avoid harmful pesticides that can also break down immunity. You may have to sneak these foods into a smoothie if you can't get your kids to eat them any other way. Otherwise, if you have some fresh carrots, broccoli, celery etc. at easy reach when they open the refrigerator, it may encourage them to eat more of these foods.

Sixth: Give them a high quality multi-vitamin with vitamin C that is made from whole food, not synthetic processing. These are usually only available at health food stores or online. (Avoid grocery and drug store vitamins.) Also include Acidophilus which is a probiotic that can help build immunity. From what I have read, illness begins in the intestinal track so it needs the beneficial "friendly bacteria" to fight off disease.

Aciophilus is found in yogurt, but most yogurt is loaded with sugar so you need to find an organic plain yogurt without the sugar. (Greek yogurt has twice the amount of protein.) You can add some berries and honey if you need to. Acidophilus is also available at the health food store in capsules which you can add to your children's food or chewable tablets.

Seventh: Make sure they get to bed at the same time every night. It's important to keep them on a schedule because the body repairs itself during sleep. If they don't get the right amount of sleep, their immunity will be compromised. It is also easier for them to fall asleep if their body has adjusted to a certain time every night. I also found that if you give them some quiet play time in their room before bedtime, it is easier for them to fall asleep.

Eighth: Give them lots of hugs because touch is so important for healing. You don't get to have them in your care for very long, so take advantage of this wonderful time you have with them and hug, hug, hug!

Organic Produce and Canned Goods

I try to buy organic milk, eggs, produce, and meat products as often as I can. Sometimes I have to drive down town to our co-op in order to get some of these items, which can be time consuming and the traffic can drive me crazy.

Luckily, some of the supermarkets are beginning to provide an organic section in their stores. For instance, I have found some very good buys at the Fred Meyer store in our area. They have an organic produce section as well as boxed and canned items. I find they have some of the best prices available on organic canned goods when they are on sale. This includes the boxed soups, which I find to be quite tasty. I wait until they have a sale before I purchase items for storage.

I'm not sure which area of the country you live, but I believe Kroeger and Fred Meyer are owned by the same corporation. You may want to check it out. You can begin by purchasing a few items if you are on a budget and add them to your food storage program slowly until you can eventually replace some of your non-organic canned and boxed food items.

Finding Organic, Home Food Storage Products

Organic Home Food Storage

More and more of our food supply is becoming contaminated with pesticides and genetically modified foods. People need to be educated about the damage these foods can do to our health. Since most of the home food storage suppliers have not added many organic products to their catalogs, it has not been given the chance to succeed. When organic is available it can be slightly more costly, but once more of us are on board, the prices will come down, and more product choices will be offered.

The low moisture food companies are some of the last to give in to the concept of providing certified organic foods in #10 cans. Some emergency home food storage suppliers are beginning to offer organic grains, and beans which is a good beginning but that isn't enough.

For years they haven't paid much attention to the chemicals or pesticides in their low moisture foods. However, some have already become aware that the chemical MSG is dangerous, and many people will not buy products containing this harmful ingredient.

Once people become educated on the benefits of organic foods, (non GMOs) I believe these products will become popular . The more people demand, the more likely the companies will be willing to provide it. They want to sell what people want. I would encourage all of you reading this post to call your home food storage providers and request they get in more organic food choices. Consider that the small additional cost per serving is worth it to protect your family's health. Who wants to serve chemicals to a family in a stressful situation? By spending your dollars in organic you can help vote in favor of a new food system!

It is my intention to help spread awareness on this blog as companies begin to start offering new healthier choices. So far I have found www.waltonfeed.com to have some selection, please add a comment to the post if you know more!