Top 3 Tips From Nutrition Experts To Boost Your Child's Immune System

Nearly two months since School Year 2022 officially opened on August 22, you may still be wary every time your children go to school for their limited face-to-face classes three times a week.

After all, kids these days are experiencing the physical school environment only after two-and-a-half years of staying at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now exposed to more microorganisms that could cause diseases.

"Their immune system may not be prepared enough or stimulated enough in those two-and-a-half years, and therefore they may be prone to infection," said Dr. Jun Dimaano, a nutrition expert and medical director of Abbott Nutrition Philippines. He gave an explanation at a media roundtable discussion on child nutrition.

Tips to enhancing the immunity

Here's what you can do to help strengthen your children's immune system in preparation for the mandatory daily in-person classes starting on November 2.

Stay up-to-date on childhood vaccination schedule

These are common vaccinations to prevent, for instance:

• Diphtheria
• Pertussis
• Tetanus
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella

If your children missed any of those vaccines, you can ask your pediatrician or inquire about the the catch-up bakuna in your local health center. (Read here for the list of vaccines that are given for free at the health centers.)

To boost your children's vaccination response, Dr. Dimaano recommends giving them nourishment such as milk fortified with nucleotides. These are essential building blocks in the body which have been shown to help vaccination response.

Let kids explore the outdoors

Parents are normally protective of their children, said Dr. Dimaano. That's why you're understandably cautious of them getting exposed to dirt, going to the playground, or even having pets.

But such things can actually be helpful to kids, Dr. Dimaano pointed out. "Because if you expose them to these external stimuli, you also prime the immune system, so that it can react appropriately once you are exposed to pathogenic organisms."

Just don't forget to make the necessary precautions for your children: wearing face masks, washing of hands, observing social distancing, and the like.

Provide proper nutrition

Nutrition definitely plays a big part in strenghtening your children's immune system. Dr. Dimaano said the colors of the rainbow should be on the plate. So that your children will have all the macronutrients and the micronutrients needed to strengthen the immune system. (Read here on teaching kids to have healthy eating habits.)

Aside from nucleotides, Dr. Dimaano also mentioned human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) as equally important. The topic of HMOs is the focus of the research of Dr. Rachael Buck, a pioneer in child nutrition and Abbott’s senior research fellow.

HMOs are special types of prebiotics that are abundant in nature, said Dr. Buck at the media roundtable discussion. These are now available in formula milk, such as Similac GainSchool, which has five types.

She explained, "That’s important for the immune system because the beneficial bacteria that live and reside in the gut stimulate the immune system."

So if you feed your children with HMOs, these HMOs will be consumed by the beneficial bacteria that are naturally found in the body. The result is better digestive and brain health, as well as stronger immunity.

Read here on Smart Parenting's 5-rule food guide for children ages 3 to 5.