September 3, 2020 Leave a Comment
With viruses on the rampage, it’s crucial to ensure that your family has the best defenses. Here are the Top 10 Immunity Boosting Foods Kids Need NOW.
With the pandemic going strong and cases in the country rising to alarming numbers, it’s a grim situation. What’s worse is that since most patients are asymptomatic, you never know who might be sick and when you may be exposed.
Children and older people are more at risk, which is why it is so important to keep them safe at a time like this. Wearing masks and practicing social distancing is absolutely important, but at the same time, you want to ensure they’re strong enough to keep off any stray infection they may come in contact with. And that’s why we need to think about strengthening our immune systems.
The immune system is the set of the body’s organs and processes that are specially for fighting off infections and keeping illness at bay. A weak immune system cannot put up a good fight against microbes, which is why strengthening it is so important.
The fest step in doing this is by ensuring we have a diet rich in immunity-boosting foods. Now this can be difficult when it comes to young kids and babies. For one, they may not be able to eat a few things if they are under one year of age, or they may simply be fussy eaters.
Fussy eating is a normal developmental stage, but it can cause deficiencies. Tackle this by natural supplementation in the form of special foods that have been specially formulated for children, and are prepared using traditional methods. These work far better than artificial supplements and contain valuable immunity boosting nutrients like protein, Vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, selenium and iron. Here is a look at the top 10 such foods kids need now.
Top 10 Immunity Boosting Foods Kids Need NOW
1. Immunobooster Drink Mix
Like the name suggests, this is your number one solution for boosting an immune system weakened by a poor diet. This mix contains an assortment of whole grains, nuts and seeds, all of which have super immunity boosting properties. The highlight of these has got to be sunflower seeds.
Sunflower seeds are packed with Vitamin E, an antioxidant that improves immune function by fighting free radicals. We’ve all heard about how free radicals can damage our cells and weaken our defenses. Vitamin E is an important nutrient in maintaining a healthy immune system. Sunflower seeds also contain selenium, a nutrient that is being studied regarding its ability to fight viral infections like swine flu (H1N1).
You can use the Immunobooster Drink Mix simply by mixing it in warm milk, or in an Immunobooster Smoothie or Immunobooster Jaggery Laddu.
Recommended for children over 1 year.
2. Choco Immunobooster Drink Mix
With its assortment of high quality nutrients, the Immunobooster Drink Mix is on its own an amazing food for boosting immunity, but when you add some chocolate to the mix, it becomes more powerful. Dark chocolate is known to contain theobromine, which is an antioxidant that boosts immunity by fighting free radicals. In fact, one study shows that cocoa powder has more antioxidant activity than even well known ‘super foods’ like berries.
Along with antioxidants, chocolate also contains good amounts of zinc and selenium, other immunity boosting nutrients. However, it’s important to note that regular chocolate bars are loaded with preservatives and added flavors and don’t have the health benefits of natural chocolate. That’s why the Choco Immunobooster Drink Mix uses only 100% natural, unsweetened cocoa powder.
Recommended for children over 1 year.
3. Dry Fruits Powder
Nuts are an excellent source of various nutrients, packed in a tasty, compact form. However, it can be difficult to feed kids nuts, owing to them being a choking hazard. The best solution to this problem is the Dry Fruits Powder, which contains a collection of nutrient-rich nuts, seeds and even spices.
Along with Vitamin C, Vitamin E is also an antioxidant that is crucial for a healthy immune system. Being a fat soluble vitamin, it is better absorbed when accompanied by fats. That’s why nuts are such an excellent option, since they contain naturally occurring healthy fats. The best part is that you only need a small amount to get all these benefits.
Recommended for children over 1 year.
4. Mixed Nuts Powder
We know that the dry fruits powder is an excellent immunity food for children, especially fussy eaters. However, if you want to take it a step further, opt for the Mixed Nuts Powder that contains walnuts as well. Walnuts contain loads of healthy fats (65%) in addition to Vitamins E, B6 and folate.
Walnuts also help fight inflammation, another indication of the body’s weak immunity. These nuts are also high in beneficial plant compounds like ellagic acid, melatonin and catechin. Children have particular benefits from walnuts, as they regulate the body clock and improve brain function.
Recommended for children over 1 year.
5. Turmeric Milk Masala
Turmeric is something that has been used since generations to heal and prevent. Most of us remember our mothers and grandmothers feeding us turmeric mixed into milk along with other spices. They were right – turmeric has several benefits for the body, which is why the Turmeric Milk Masala is an ideal food for the current season.
The main active component in turmeric is curumin, which is what provides it with its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Some studies have found that curcumin has antiviral properties and that it can boost immune cell activity. Turmeric Milk Masala also contains cinnamon and dry ginger along with black pepper, which increases the bio-availability of turmeric.
Recommended for children over 1 year.
6. Sathumaavu Health Mix
They say nothing’s perfect, but the Sathumaavu Health Mix comes close. It has 13 ingredients, including immunity boosting ones like lentils, whole grain, nuts and spices. Lentils provide protein, which is essential since the antibodies and cells of the immune system need protein to function properly. Whole grains ensure a healthy gut, which is another crucial element of boosting immunity.
The Sathumaavu Health Mix also contains nuts like almonds and cashews that offer healthy fats along with the all important Vitamin E and other micro nutrients. An added benefit of this mix is that it makes up for a variety of nutritional deficiencies in children, particularly in fussy eaters.
Recommended for children over 6 Months.
7. Sprouted Sathumaavu Health Mix
If you thought that Sathumaavu was the final word on nutritional health mixes, thing again! Sprouted Sathumaavu Health Mix has an edge over this, particularly when it comes to immunity. In this mix, 9 of the 19 ingredients are sprouted before being used to make the mix.
Sprouting any food makes its nutrients more bio-available, meaning that they’re more easily absorbed by the body. This makes them much more beneficial than their original form. A highlight of the Sprouted Sathumaavu Mix is the dry ginger, which has several compounds that help strengthen the immune system. Ginger is rich in gingerol, the main component, along with zingerone, paradols and others.well to reap the maximum profits.
Recommended for children over 6 Months.
8. Sprouted Ragi Powder
Sprouting all grains and lentils increase their nutrient content and bio-availability, but sprouting something that’s already hugely beneficial like finger millet, makes it something else altogether. Ragi is rich in the nutrients most Indian kids are deficient in, like protein, calcium and iron. What’s more, millet like ragi strengthen immunity in many ways, particularly by improving gut health.
Millet like ragi are known are ‘nutraceuticals’, which means they’re not just nutirtious, they also possess medicinal properties. Along with its high content of Calcium, Iron and Phosphorous, Ragi also contains resistant starch, dietary fiber and lots of antioxidants, all of which play a role in boosting immunity in children.
Recommended for children over 6 Months.
9. Instant Wheat Dalia Moong Dal Mix
One of the most important elements of a strong immune system is a balanced diet, with enough quantities of macro nutrients like carbohydrates, protein and fat, as well as micro nutrients like Vitamins and minerals. The Instant Wheat Dalia Moong Dal mix is an easy way to ensure little babies can have a balanced diet in a single meal.
Moong Dal is packed with protein, dietary fiber and folate, along with immunity-essential nutrients like zinc and calcium. All these are the building blocks of a strong immune system. Along with lentils, this mix also contains whole grain in the form of wheat dalia, which provide carbohydrates that are broken down in the gut to encourage the growth of gut-friendly bacteria that gives the immune system a boost.
Recommended for children over 6 Months.
10. Raw Kerala Banana Powder
Thanks to research, experts are realizing that gut health is crucial to immunity. The gut is where good bacteria break down food into short chain fatty acids which then promote better immune cell function. Being a part of the BRAT diet, bananas are already known for their benefits when it comes to gut health, but we now know that they can also improve immunity in people of all ages.
Bananas are a good source of fiber. Raw bananas like the Kerala banana contain a kind of fiber known as resistant starch, which provides nourishment for the good bacteria in the gut, making them an excellent prebiotic. These bananas can be cumbersome to cook, however, and most children don’t like the taste. The Raw Kerala Banana Powder solves this problem by providing the bananas in an easy to consume powder form.
Recommended for children over 6 Months.
While these foods can help boost immunity greatly, diet is only one component of a healthy immune system. Along with these foods, ensure that children get enough physical activity, even if it is inside the home. They also need to get sufficient sleep based on their age and sleep requirements. Most importantly, ensure a happy atmosphere at home, since stress is one of the main reasons for weak immunity.
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