January 2, 2024
5 Nutritious Foods to Boost Your Child’s Immunity
If you have a child aged 1 to 6 years old, you probably understand why nutrition is important for them. At this stage, they’re growing by leaps and bounds, but all of that growth requires fuel – and the best fuel for it is nutritious food.
Only with healthy food can child development occur properly. Growth is a process that sees the body consuming a great many vitamins and nutrients, after all. This means a shortage of one of vitamins and nutrients can actively hamper your child’s development.
Today, we’ll help you ensure healthy nutrition for children in your home by going over the key food groups and nutrients they need. With this guide, you should find it easier to keep your little ones on a balanced diet that sustains them!
Fruit Rich in Vitamin C and Antioxidants
Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins when it comes to healthy eating for children. One of the best-known physiological antioxidants, it inhibits the formation of free radicals, which are responsible for a lot of the eventual degradation in our bodies.
Vitamin C is therefore a protective vitamin from which your child can benefit. Moreover, it’s a key nutrient for the immune system, since it boosts white blood cell production.
The best part of adding Vitamin-C-rich fruit to your child’s diet, though, is that it’s so easy. A lot of fruits that have this vitamin as well as other antioxidants are the ones popular with children!
Good examples are berries, oranges, kiwis, mangoes, and pineapples. Even lemons (like most citrus fruits) are good options – try making lemonade with them, especially in summer!
Vegetables Rich in Fibre and Vitamins
Vegetables are marvellous sources of fibre, which can help with children’s digestive health and blood sugar levels. It ensures that their bowel movements are regular, seems to be linked to fewer allergies, and even lowers the risk of overeating by helping them feel full.
As an added benefit, most fibre-rich vegetables are also chock-full of other nutrients such as Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which again means they can help protect your child’s body from free radicals.
So, what veggies should you add to your child’s diet? Try broccoli, spinach, carrots, and bell peppers. These are fibre-rich veggies that have a tonne of vitamins and nutrients in them.
The only problem is if your child isn’t fond of vegetables (which is fairly common). Try being creative here, e.g. turn the vegetables into veggie sticks that the children see as finger food. You can also try things like blending the veggies with fruit to make smoothies or creating a colourful and fun dish with differently coloured veggies.
We do some of these things ourselves at My Little Campus, where we ensure children’s meals include ample helpings of fruits and vegetables daily. It’s how we build the habit of healthy eating from an early age in our children!
Protein-rich Foods (including Non-Meat Sources)
Proteins are vital for the growth and repair of tissue, as well as the healthy function of the immune system. A lot of protein sources also tend to provide nutrients such as Zinc and Vitamin D, both of which also support immune system health.
You can get proteins from meat such as pork, poultry, fish, and eggs. However, vegans and vegetarian families needn’t despair: you can also get them from other sources like beans, lentils, and nuts.
Fortunately, most protein sources are easy to incorporate into children’s diets. Most children will even eat nuts happily as snacks, although you can certainly try adding them to their meals through various dishes.
Probiotic-rich Foods
Good gut health is important in immune regulation. The microbiota or healthy bacteria in our guts actually play a key role in achieving immune homeostasis, or the state where our immune systems still protect us from pathogens yet don’t attack our own bodies.
To maintain your child’s gut health, try giving them probiotic-rich foods. Probiotics are live microorganisms that benefit the healthy bacteria in our guts. Good examples are yoghurt and fermented foods or drinks like kefir.
Yoghurt is especially easy to incorporate into a child’s diet because most children like it as a snack! Try finding yoghurt with a flavour your child likes, as many yoghurts now come with fruit flavours.
Foods with Healthy Fats
Fat isn’t always bad. In fact, your child needs fat to grow optimally!
The trick is to identify which fats are beneficial and which aren’t. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids are good because they have anti-inflammatory properties that support the immune system. Studies even indicate that they’re good for heart health!
You can get such healthy fats through fish as well as certain plants. Chia seeds, flaxseeds, and even walnuts are good sources of these fats, for example. You can add them to your child’s diet either as ingredients in dishes or through supplements.
Ensure that your child has a nutritious diet even at school
The meals your child eats at home are just one part of the equation, of course. You have to think about what your child is eating when at school too!
To that end, you should make sure that your child’s preschool is conscientious about children’s nutrition and needs. At My Little Campus, for example, we always provide children with a balanced diet for meals to ensure they have the vitamins and minerals they need to grow.
Aside from that, we also introduce children to healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, and nuts early on. The idea is to make sure that we build healthy eating habits as soon as possible, well before they have a chance to discover the “junk” alternatives they shall run into later.
If you want to learn more, reach out to us. You can also contact us to learn about our many programmes for children at My Little Campus.