[mz_libbie22]

Well, I've been trying so hard to keep me and DS sickness-free this winter and yet I wake up to find him sneezing and coughing this morning.

:

What do you do when your child gets sick? Are there specific foods that you use to treat colds? Any secrets on how to prevent them? I'm SO sick (no pun intended) of dealing with these constant colds every winter! I feel like I must be doing something wrong in regards to his diet since he's so succeptible to getting sick. Here's a typical day for him:

morning- cheese omelet, serving of fruit, water or kefir

lunch- mini pizza (sprouted english muffin, pizza sauce, cheese), serving of veggies from the daycare so I'm assuming they're canned, dessert from daycare

yeah I know. rice milk.

snack- usually some other processed thing that the daycare passes off as food, juice or water. Usually I'll give him some fresh fruit to snack on when he gets home too.

supper- WW pasta, marinara sauce, cheese, fresh green beans w/ butter or flax seed oil, water or more kefir to drink.

snack- popcorn w/ butter & sea salt

Anyone see any nutritional problems with his diet? More veggies, too little protein, too many carbs...I do think I rely too much on easy-to-make foods like pasta but I don't really know what I *should* be making instead

. So ANY comments or advice on how to adjust his diet to help his immunity would be appreciated, don't worry about offending me or being too critical, be honest!

 

[Yemaya1]

The diet does not look bad. I do see a lot of dairy in the diet. Dairy can cause asthma,allergies, cyst growth, and tumor growths if your body cant break it down. It does nothing to combat sickness. Many fresh fruits and veggies are natural antioxadants. What raw veggies are being eaten?

 

[mz_libbie22]

Cucumbers and sometimes baby carrots but that's pretty much it. He eats all of his fruit raw though. He likes all fruit except avocados and mangos. So he eats alot of melons, berries, apples, oranges, grapes, and bananas (all organic).

I know, I seem to be going overboard on the dairy products. We were vegan for the last year though, so I'm trying to "make up for it" I guess. He does much better on dairy than off of it, especially since we don't eat meat. But, I'm going to try to increase the amount of raw dairy and decrease the amount of pastuerized dairy, and I also might try to get him to eat more goat milk products, because regular dairy products do seem to make us both phlegmy (sp?) .

 

[melissa17s]

No matter how well you eat, sometimes you get sick, especially when you have kids, so it may have nothing to do with your diet. Drinking water will help with the phlemy coughs and running noses. Another thing to help with the symptoms, Knudson's makes a nice lemon ginger echineaca juice that I drink when ever I feel a cold coming on. Lemon is full of vit C, which is good for healing from colds and echineaca has natural antibotic properties. The ginger is good for the tummy, but also for the heat which helps clear the sinuses. I drink it cold or even heat it up like a tea. There are also other teas and drinks out there for colds and flu, but I have had good success with the Knudson's. I would also load up on foods with natural vitamins (particularly C) in them like fruit. Broth soups (Health Valley has a good veggie broth) with noodles are comforting. I tried a carrot ginger soup listed off the Mothering email, and it was very good. Also, have a soothing bath and take a nap. Hope you feel better.

 

[Yemaya1]

To answer your other question its recommend that fasting on fresh fruits and vegetables is essential when sick. And your right milk creates mucous and phlem.

 

[toraji]

Get the book "Superimmunity for Kids". It will tell you all about nutrition to keep kids healthy, and how to spot nutritional deficiency.

 

[jen-mom]

This is not a nutritional thing, and I don't know how old your son is, but still wanted to make the suggestions. Has your son been taught to wash his hands frequently (at least every time he uses the bathroom, maybe more) and for a long time? I nice slow singing of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or the alphabet song is how long he should be scrubbing, then rinse with warm water.

Also, if he's old enough to understand and remember, he should try not to touch his face with his hands. It's a difficult habit to break, but it definitely helps keep germs away! Unfortunately, daycare by its nature will bring germy kids together, so helping him learn to not pick up those germs may be your best option, if he's old enough.

 

[mz_libbie22]

Wow, I'm so happy

DS seems to be almost 100% better! This afternoon he looked so bad that I was sure he was gonna be sick for at least a week but, he looks like he's back to normal now. This is something I've noticed the last couple months, he doesn't stay sick as long as he used to but he still gets sick alot. I guess if I keep evolving his diet into one that's super wholesome he'll keep making progress.

FYI since I should have mentioned it but didn't... He's 3 1/2 and has been "sickly" since birth. Ear infections, croup, eczema, and constant throwing up and runny noses

. When he turned three I had had enough and started experimenting with his diet and so far it seems to be somewhat successful. He's had three or four colds so far this winter (and there isn't even snow on the ground yet!) but has gotten over them very quickly, unlike all the previous winters where it was just CONSTANT sickness. Ugh just thinking about it makes me tired. I hope he keeps this up. I can live with having a kid that's better in one day

.

 

[amnesiac]

You might want to keep an eye on his zinc intake.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/cc/zinc.html
http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/3-nut/411-zinc.htm

 

[NatalieS]

I agree on the dairy- it is so tough especially when that's all they'll eat. Washing of hands is good too ( i needed this reminder!) But don't use antibacterial stuff too much; our bodies need to be exposed to germs to strengthen our immunity.

Getting sick is normal, but it's how our bodies deal with being sick that's key: do we suppress our symptoms or let our bodies deal with them? Homeopathics and herbs help our bodies to become stronger. I read somewhere that we should be stronger after an illness, not weaker. Antibiotics and cold meds weaken us and leave us with other problems to deal with.

My family gets sick way more than I'd like; but when we do, it's rather mild and doesn't last very long. This last cold, DD did get an earache but it was gone in just a few hours after using homeopathics and an herbal immune formula that I love- Mommy's All Better. You can use this during an illness and as a preventative. We take it when we're exposed, are out in large crowds and of course, when we're sick.

There is another homeopathic remedy that works well at preventing the flu- Oscillococcinum. My homeopath remcommends taking one dose once a week throughout flu season instead of getting the flu shot. Or if you do get the flu or are exposed, you take 3 doeses and it totally helps to shorten the duration of your symptoms. Another fav of mine is Alpha CF.

 

[CarrieMF]

My 2 favorite things for trying to prevent illnesses are onion and garlic, more garlic than onion. The more we eat the less we get sick. If we stop eating it we get sick.

 

[TopazBlueMama]

Do you juice? When I started juicing for my first toddler she got so healthy and hardly ever got sick--I did it practically everyday, as well as a smoothie for extra bulk and nutrition. Great, easy way to get good stuff into those kids. How else do you get a small kid to eat raw carrots, celery, spinach, lettuce, etc? :LOL