We all want to be healthy and stay healthy. It doesn’t matter if it’s during the long winter season or during the hot summers. Having a strong immune system is needed to fight infections and diseases no matter the age. Especially with children when they are going to school or day cares for the first time, parents will spend a lot of time going to the doctors and buying medications. In children, their immune system is still not developed fully. And being in a group of children, sharing toys, books, and food it can happen more often that they become sick and need medical attention.

Some people will often buy vitamin supplements to help and there is nothing wrong with that. Vitamins A and C are the number one vitamins that are needed for fighting disease. Having enough calcium, magnesium, and other useful minerals is also important to keep our bodies healthy. But you don’t always have to spend money on supplements. There are things that we can do that are more natural and have a proven effect in boosting the immune systems of children and adults. But keep in mind that whatever you are using needs to be done for a longer period. A good immune system can’t be reached in a month. So whatever you are using give it enough time and just make it a part of the lifestyle of the entire family.

Probiotics

I know I have shared a lot of information about probiotics in my previous posts so I will just keep it simple. Probiotics are good bacteria that are beneficial for a healthy gut. They help us fight bad bacteria and in that way help strengthen our immune systems. Probiotics can be found in all fermented food and drinks like sauerkraut, kombucha, milk and water kefirs, sourdough, yogurt and many more. The thing about probiotics is that they need to be consumed regularly to have a good effect.

Probiotics also help with conditions like constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, and acid reflux, they encourage regular bowel movement and overall keep us healthy against seasonal illnesses. Now you can try fermenting your own food. There are hundreds of useful recipes online or you can join fermenting groups on social media to get you started. Fermented foods have been around us for thousands of years and are the number one tool to keep your immune system strong. What is good about them is that you can incorporate them into any food recipe. They taste good and contain minimal food additives and chemicals so basically you know what you are eating. They are safe for children and more beneficial than juices filled with sugars or snacks with a lot of fats. Having a fermented drink or food each day will help you battle diseases, regulate your blood sugar, and give you a fighting chance against flu, and bacterial infections.

Honey

Honey is such a versatile food that can be used in hundreds of different ways. It’s super healthy and can stay fresh for a really long time. Honey is the number one ingredient to be used during the winter season. It helps to soothe a sore throat, cough, or cracked lips and can be used in teas and drinks instead of sugar. It’s the more healthier option to sweeten drinks since it doesn’t spike the blood sugar levels during the day. Honey also provides extra energy for people and children involved in sports.

Mixing honey with lemon juice or sliced ginger gives that extra kick and makes it more efficient to help with flu and cold symptoms. In cases where you are only showing the first symptoms, it can help to reduce inflammation and maybe even stop the progress. Honey has also been around for thousands of years. It is not recommended for consumption for children under one year of age so always have that in mind.

Fresh air

For many people, this may sound too simple. But especially during winter months when we are stuck at home in a warm place being in the open is not something we like to do. But bringing some regular fresh air into heated rooms is needed to purify the air and get rid of all the bacteria. Having a short walk in the fresh winter air is beneficial for our lungs. Letting children play in the snow and just having some time outside will help their lungs accept the fresh air from outside and keep them healthy.

No matter the weather conditions children and adults should spend a couple of hours outside each and every day during rain or snow. Just make sure to wear appropriate clothes and you will be good to go. Children should learn to handle all weather conditions. The cold will make their bodies stronger and help their organism self-regulate to all temperatures. The same goes for the summer months. Of course, you will not allow children to play outside during the hottest time of the day. But after 5 pm they should all go outside and enjoy the outside weather. Keeping children in a closed space all the time gives the bacteria a better chance to enter their bodies. Actually, it has been proven that exposing your children to more bacteria as they age will make them stronger and more capable of handling infections.

Getting a little dirty

This is a problem that I have seen so many times. Long gone are the days when children were taught to play freely in the mud. Their clothes were not always super clean. There were no such things as indoor playgrounds. They played in the mud during the summer and ate snow during the winter. It was a normal thing to drop things on the ground and play with them again without washing. Most kids enjoyed walking barefoot outside, picking flowers, and stroking animals without washing their hands many times a day.

Now the parents sometimes worry too much about dirt. Not understanding that dirt is part of growing up. Children who grow up in spotless homes later have more issues with allergies, bacterial infections, and seasonal flu. You have to let your kids be dirty sometimes. Don’t rush with soap and water all the time. Let them enjoy even when they have dust in their face, grass in their hair, and stains on their clothes. Everything will get clean eventually. But you are doing them a favor by letting them get dirty and not cleaning them straight away. Exposing children to different types of dirt will make them stronger, and their immune systems will kick in to fight on their own. So when they start school and daycare you will have fewer problems with sick days.

Maintaining a healthy diet

This advice is the most simple of all. Consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables will keep you healthy. The fruits you need to focus on are all citrus fruits. Especially during the winter months, they will help you to keep your vitamin C levels high. During summer months you can focus on fruits with a high intake of water like watermelon, melon, apples, strawberries, coconuts, mango, and papaya to help you battle dehydration.

On the vegetable side, all leafy green vegetables will help to keep you strong and healthy. All legumes, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and seasonal vegetables have high levels of vitamins and minerals to give your immune system a fighting chance. I know it’s not always easy to make kids eat their veggies but you can always try to be creative and make them into snacks or hide them in the juice with their favorite fruits. Teaching kids to eat healthy food and not rely on sugar and carbs will give them many health benefits in the long run. Eating healthy foods also aids in regulating your weight which is another thing you need to work on if you want to keep healthy. Just keep in mind that children learn a lot from watching adults. So make sure that the entire family eats the same food and maybe let them participate in preparing it so they will learn to like it. Deciding to eat healthy is a long-term goal. It’s not always going to run smoothly. Children especially don’t like breaking habits and making new ones. But by putting in an effort and slowly step by step teaching them to eat more healthily you are making them healthier.

Cutting down on sugar

I’m not saying that you are not allowed to have any sugar. Everybody enjoys a nice dessert. But cutting down on the amount of sugar you consume daily will bring beneficial change into your life. If someone asks me what is the number one thing I would like children to stop consuming that would be sugary juices. Fruit juices that barely have any fruit, sweet packaged teas, any types of soda drinks, sweetened and flavored milk drinks. The reason is that they cause more negative effects than positive ones. From containing too many empty calories, causing sugar spikes during the day, making children active and then addicted to consuming more sugar, causing tooth cavities and tooth decay, it’s just not worth it.

It’s easy to limit how many cookies your kids will eat. You can reason with them about how much they will eat if they finish their dinner. Chips and fast food should be available only sometimes. But sweet drinks are difficult to control. Usually, they drink them during the day, and who has time to watch how many they have. And each can contains more sugar than the whole pack of cookies.

It’s the same for adults. Now that we drink coffee with different flavors, smoothies and shakes, drinks mixed with ice cream and fruit syrup, energy drinks to get us through the day, even your regular can of diet soda still has sugar. It takes your body hours to recover from just one sugary drink a day. And usually, we have several. So if you could just get rid of sugary drinks that would be a huge step in the right direction to stay healthy. You can always sweeten your drinks with honey or stevia. You can actually blend some fruits and add some water or ice and drink during the day. If you are a tea person try green tea or other herbal teas to get you through the day. Cutting sugar will make a huge difference in your overall health and I strongly believe it’s very important to be aware of it.

Having some time for yourself

No this is not a joke. I totally understand that sometimes this is almost impossible. Especially to parents with small children it often feels that there is not enough time during the day to complete everything you have to do. But having some time for yourself to just focus on breathing, being present, and listening to your own heartbeat will help you battle stress. We all feel stress. Often it could be because of the things that we can’t really control. Financial and family issues, running late, problems at work, raising children, going through a divorce, or relationship problems. Just issues keep coming and make us think that we are all alone.

But taking those 30 minutes of the day when we are all alone or at least everyone else is in another room can make the difference. I’m not going to tell you to do yoga. You can do whatever you like. Some people do yoga, meditate, pray, listen to music, read a book, or just enjoy silence. I remember sometimes I just wanted to drown in silence. You need that time. You need to decompress and relax. You need to have a break from people demanding things from you, people calling you, and a break from remembering all the things you need to do before you go to sleep. Your body can’t handle all that stress. So just take some time. Close your eyes. Breathe. Release. Let your shoulders sag and your head bow. You don’t have to be present for every moment of the day. Let your mind wander for a moment and be thankful for everything you have. Letting go of stress can lower your blood pressure. Having a couple of deep and long breaths will bring more oxygen to your body and improve circulation. Releasing all the negative energy during the day will make you feel lighter, and more ready to handle all that is coming for you tomorrow.