Welcome Guest Blogger, Kelli Schulte of Kingdom Kids Nutrition
Yesterday my daughter came home from school and was very concerned about the “flu”. She went on to say that 27 people had died from the flu and that was concerning her. ”Am I going to get the flu?” I told her she had no need to worry because she has a strong immune system and is a very healthy young lady who eats well, and therefore has no reason to fear the flu. I told her that the people who die from the flu usually are older or have a compromised immune system. I said it is very rare for a healthy strong person to “die” from the flu! I went on the internet and confirmed to her through a news article exactly that, “Sixty-two percent of the people who have been hospitalized for flu so far in Minnesota are over the age of 65. Among those that have died from the disease, 23 of the 27 deaths were also in people over the age of 65.” The reason for this is older people tend to have weaker immune systems. So, the key to avoiding the flu is a strong healthy immune system!
HOW TO KEEP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM STRONG
LITTLE to NO SUGAR: In our family we have a diet very limited in sugar- the #1 KEY to a strong immune system. Sugar of any kind natural or not causes inflammation and breaks down the immune system! Dr. Axe says, “Sugar is not only devoid of any and all nutrients, it’s actually worse than empty- sugar is an anti-nutrient that drains and leeches the body of precious vitamins and minerals through the demand that sugar’s digestion, detoxification, and elimination makes upon your entire system. Excess sugar affects every organ in the body.”
EAT LOTS OF ONIONS, GARLIC and GINGER: Garlic and onions naturally boost your immune system and have properties that are anti-viral and anti-bacterial, Ginger is great for reducing inflammation which is key when wanting to stay strong and healthy!
DRINK WATER: YOU MUST DRINK 1/2 YOUR BODY WEIGHT IN OZ DAILY! This must be pure water: tea, coffee, juice, etc…do not count. Water is the foundation of your health. It carries your lymph around (which is basically your immune system) and it composes 80% of your body!
DAILY SUPPLEMENT SUPPORT: Every day we take a whole foods multivitamin, a probiotic, and a quality fish oil. All of these are basic to a strong healthy body! IN the winter here in MN we all take a liquid Vitamin D3 daily as well.
SLEEP: Make sure you and your kids are getting adequate sleep. A schedule filled with running, running, running, will run down your immune system! People think we are crazy when we say our boys (6 and 8) start their bedtime at 7pm and the girls at 8:30 but they are up and at ’em early in the morning all week long and this allows them a good 10 hours of sleep for the girls and 12 for the boys in which they usually use it all up!
LET THE FEVER GO: A fever is a sign that the body is doing its job! I do not ever give my kids Tylenol or Motrin for a fever. They have had fevers as high as 103.5 and I just let them go and keep them comfortable with cool wet cloths, ice chips, and lots of love. By letting the fever go, it shortens the length of the sickness, allows natural healing to occur and using fever reducers actually slows the healing process (my natural practitioner told me).
BOOST THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: If my kids show signs of “something” not quite right in their bodies, in our family they usually say to me, “I am not feeling 100%.” I then given them some Vitamin C (make sure it is BUFFERED and not ASCORBIC ACID – it is called ESTER C), I also give them a drop of liquid Vit. A, and Zinc (usually liquid as well). If the tummy is feeling ok I make a power smoothie and add in some flax oil, as it really boosts the immune system as well. If the tummy is upset I make them some peppermint or ginger tea. If you are desiring to learn more about boosting your immune system at the Conference the session Bulletproof Immune System by Dr. Megan will help you build your arsenal.
SPECIFIC FLU TREATMENT WE USE: In the past our family has had the “INFLUENZA” and we used a homeopatic called GRIPPE HP, from Energique. We also used it a few years back when we got hit with H1N1! It cut our sick time and symptoms considerably. The nice thing is that when one was diagnosed the rest of us started taking the homeopatic as well even though we did not have symptoms and avoided getting sick at all. WE have never ALL gotten the “flu” and only 3 out of 6 of us got H1N1 when we used this method!
