Immune boosters « Back to Group Discussions

[willsmomm]

The GBS thread got me going on this. My baby will be having surgery in the first months of his life to repair a cleft lip. Problem: he can't get sick at all before he goes in for that surgery! I have three little boy sick-magnets and there is always someone in my house with the flu or a cold or something. Without surgery I'd be worried about RSV. These boys drag in every germ from school.

What are some of your favorite immune boosters that I can start working on with my family to get us all healthy and germ resistant? Right now we are working on cutting out sugar (again) and we all have a green smoothie every day with dark green leafies, berries and o.j. What can we do without overdosing on vitamins?

Thanks in advance!

[crazykittymomma]

Once your milk comes in, breast milk smoothies!

[Jaimee]

To get the immune boosting properties of vitamin C, OJ isn't going to cut it.  You really do need to overdose on vitamins to get enough absorbed into your body to make a difference.

Vitamin D

Sodium ascorbate

Elderberry syrup

Probiotics

Garlic (preferably raw)

Super frequent handwashing, wiping down surfaces and doorknobs with TTO or thyme oil, sufficient sleep.

[1love4ever]

Has anyone tried echinacea/goldenseal combo drops?  I am seriously considering some kids drops by Gaia Herbs for DD, and maybe some for myself too.  I have heard that both of these things are good for preventing illness

[Jaimee]

Echinacea is great, but only short term.  It's one of those things that I'll throw in if I think I'm coming down with something, but not as a preventative all the time.  Many elderberry syrups have echinacea in them, too.

[willsmomm]

This is great ladies... thanks! As for sufficient sleep, I don't know if that's going to be possible. lol I will probably be pumping every two hours aside from taking care of the baby sooo... Yeah, I'm pretty nervous about that. I think I can do everything else. And I can try to get everyone else sleeping.

I think of us as being pretty healthy people. My kids eat pretty healthy but we're always sick right now! Hopefully these ideas will help!

[Jaimee]

So I was going to buy Natrol Vitamin D3 tablets, but I believe that the D3 in them comes from lanolin.  Does anyone know if the animals are killed in the process?  I read that some D3 is derived from microbial sources, but I'm having a hard time finding brands.  Most veg*n brands have D2, which I also read is not natural for humans, possibly even toxic.  Now I'm all confused and don't know what to get.  Advice?