The safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations is one of the most controversial and confusing issues that parents must address. Many parents, for a variety of reasons, choose not to vaccinate their children and/or to delay vaccinations until their children are older.
Supporting optimal immune health is important for everybody. For those parents that choose not to vaccinate or to delay vaccination, it can be especially important to focus on providing your children every possible manner of immune protection. Here are some ways to boost and maximize your child’s immune system:
- Eat natural, whole foods (i.e., the majority of the foods your kids eat shouldn’t have or need an ingredients label; at the very least, everything on the ingredients label should be easily identified by your grandparents as food). Limit junk foods and added fats and sugars, especially high fructose corn syrup and trans fatty acids. This means severely limiting or eliminating fast food, anything that comes out of a vending machine and anything that is deep fried.
- Buy organic as much as possible. If you can’t buy or find everything organic at least buy those foods listed on the “Dirty Dozen” organically; these foods have the highest percentage of pesticides applied to them. If you can’t find them organic, buy something from the Clean 15 instead.
It’s been estimated that the average US consumer has an average of 70 daily exposures to residues of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides every day through the consumption of conventional foods; that equates to about one gallon of pesticides every year. These chemicals can dramatically alter and depress immune function and lead to stunning number of symptoms.
Pesticides are particularly harmful to children. This is because kids have higher metabolisms and lower body weights than adults. It’s been reported that more than 600,000 kids in the US eat doses of pesticides that the government considers unsafe and that more than 61,000 eat doses that exceed unsafe levels by 10 times or more – all from conventional foods.
- Get outside and get plenty of exercise/play. Physical activity is good for the immune system, as is getting as much fresh air and sunshine as possible.
- Take immune-boosting supplements, including the following:
- Vitamin D3 – Bio-D-Mulsion Forte – 1 drop (2000 IU) every other day for children 3-5 years of age; 1 drop daily for children 5-12 years of age; 1 drop twice daily for kids older than 12 years old as well as for adults.
- Fish Oil – the EPA and DHA omega-3 essential fatty acids in fish oil have been shown to decrease inflammation and support immune function in kids. Many fish oils on the market have been shown to contain contaminants and/or not meet label claim. Here are a couple you can use: EPA-DHA Balanced Liquid and Orthomega.
- Probiotics – FloraBoost – 1 scoop daily (mixed with juice or water on an empty stomach) for kids between 15-60 lbs.; 1 scoop twice daily for kids 60-100 lbs.; adults should use Ortho Biotic – 1 capsule 1-2 times daily on an empty stomach.
- Fruit, vegetable and berry supplements – these whole food supplements can provide a wide variety of nutrients from whole food sources, including many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are vital for proper immune function. Dynamic Greens is a great product that is also great tasting (link to it on site – needs to be added).
- Breastfeed for at least one year; two years is better.
- Avoid day care and nurseries for at least two years.
Choosing not to vaccinate is a person choice that every parent must make. Supporting proper immune health is also a choice and one that can dramatically improve your child’s health (and childhood) no matter if they are vaccinated or not.
