immune system boosters!

[tadpole1707]

well...my two year old is sick AGAIN. he seems to get ill so much-every month! i try to vary his diet andhe loves fruit and things..but what foods will boost his immune system and help fight off nasty bugs? what veg/fruit should i give him? any ideas would be greatly recieved!

[Kim[ba]]

Echinachea! (sp?) Many personal experiences have shown me that it works. For about 5-6 dollars you can get 100 echinachea gel caps. Very much worth it.

[Hemlock]

I'd be interested too as my sister is also seriously ill every month, she's had flu, pneumonia, tonsillitis etc so many times I can't count, she's only in her 20's too. We call her the runt of the litter :D
There must be something we can do?

[maya]

Maybe you guys should try jucing. I think it is one of the best ways to boost your immune system. Even for small children-in small amounts.

Try some carrots and 1 apple to sweeten it up.
Carrots are packed with beta-carotene, needed for a healthy immune system.

Also
Oranges and a small piece of ginger.
Ginger is used to help detoxify the body, especially aching muscles from colds and flu.

[Tigerlily]

Maybe this is not what you want to hear, but if my two year old was getting sick every month, I'd see a doctor.

[eve]

I agree, Tigerlily, the two-year old obviously needs a thorough checkup as it is not natural for a child to be sick every month. And I'd be very doubtful about giving him echinachea gel caps! maya's juices sound good, very healthy drinks.

[foxytina_69]

actually, echinachea works really well. ive been on some as part of a program to help me not get sick, and since ive been on it, i havent gotten sick for a whole entire month, which is extreme for me during the winter, with having asthma and all. (especially due to the fact that my bf had a nasty flu and i didnt even get it!) usually i get bronchitis every month!

[eve]

Yes I know someone who takes echinacea, but this is a two-year old, foxytina.

[foxytina_69]

well if it can work for me, cant it work for a toddler? i guess wed have to do more research on the topic. sorry eve, i thought u were saying you didnt think echinachea would work at all for anyone :D

yes juices sound great. those would definitely bump up his immune system. and lots of rich colored fruits/veggies. lots of vitamin c and zinc rich foods will prevent sickness aswell.

[Tigerlily]

It might be too strong for him, since the doses are for adults.

[foxytina_69]

well you can adjust doses, thats why i thought it would be fine. there are products on the market for children that contain echinachia.

[Kim[ba]]

I thought herbs were generally safe and intended for everyone. I mean, it kind of sounds like saying don't give them parsely or sage, but I don't know much about raising kids, so if you take my advice be careful :o

[John]

Well, I don't know why but people are urged not to take it for too long:

"Echinacea should only be used for a maximum of 8 consecutive weeks and then wait a month before starting again."

http://rx.health.arizona.edu/echinacea.htm


According to the first link that popped up for echinacea, 5 out of 11 brands failed testing, including this one:

"One had excessive lead contamination. The product contained over 2.5 micrograms of lead per daily serving. This exceeds the California state limit above which a warning label is required. While of itself not triggering a health problem for adults, it unnecessarily contributes to lead exposure."


http://www.consumerlab.com/results/echinacea.asp


And a study by University of Washington and Bastyr University funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that "echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), an herb often used to treat colds (upper respiratory infections), is not effective in young children."

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/echinacea/

But you can take Google results with a grain of salt.


Anyway, I don't know anything about babies but it doesn't seem normal for anyone to get sick every month. What does the doctor think? What has the child been diagnosed with?

[foxytina_69]

my naturopath has put me on echinachea as part of an immune system boosting program. ive been on it for more than two months, and am expected to be on it for 6 months of every year (september to february) because those are my worst times with getting sick.

[Kim[ba]]

I would be interested to know if the lead contamination comes from processing the gel caps or the plant itself. Either way, with that information in mind, I would have to retract my previous advice to give echinachea to a two year old :o

[Roxy]

Freshly squeezed apple, orange and ginger juice.

[John]

']I would be interested to know if the lead contamination comes from processing the gel caps or the plant itself.

I think the best way to take it is in liquid form. I've been told that it is very best in alcohol. Plus, in a liquid you can taste the tingle of the herb which lets you know it is fresh.

I've taken it when sick with a cold but I'm not sure I believe in it anymore.

[tadpole1707]

thanks for th advice...
enchinea (i know i spelt it wrong!)...ive asked about it on a few baby boards i go on and it seems to b okay-ill check it out when i go in my health shop tomorrow-thanks for the sugesstion tina.

alot of young kids are ill often...plus i havent had him vaccinated etc-it just seems he gets alot of sickness and diorherea...im guessing its something in his diet, what i dont know. i dont like my doctors...they just fob me off with antibiotics all the time...earlier this week my bf took tad (our son) to the doctors and she gave him a prescription for antibiotics...she said it was serious and he needed them that night. only problem was tat all the chemists were shut! an hour later and tad was in hospital for the night...the doctors there said he didnt need antibiotics...just shows how crap our doctor is.

i think he catches alot of illnesses because he goes to alot of playgroups...almost every day...he is always around other kids, hence he gets ill alot.

thanks for advice anyway.

[8 winks]

i wanted to reply even though this thread has fallen back.

ECINACIA may make you birth control not work!!!!! AHHH!!!!! not a problem for the baby... but be so careful anybody else who takes it for health.

also this thread pertains to one i just started... i am interested to know if your child is still feeling unwell, if not how did you modify diet to facilitate this?

[eve]

8 winks - interesting, and it reinforces what I've read many times, that taking herbs can deleteriously affect other medications, and of course a birth control pill is a medication. Sadly, some people feel that a herb can't hurt, and naively take, eg, St Johns Wort, then not realise the reason their medication isn't working well.

[foxytina_69]

ill talk to my naturopath about this, as she put me on immune support pills with echinacea in it, in september and im on birthcontrol. she never said anything to me about this, and i did a search and have not found anything. if you have any info to validate this fact i would appreciate it, 8winks. st. johns wort however DOES affect birth control. but i agree eve. herbs arent always safe with all other medications, just because theyre herbs. ALOT of herbs counteract alot of medicines.

[eve]

I did once print out a list from the net, of herbs and their effects on various medications. The list went on for about 4 or 5 pages. I gave this away to someone who was on a lot of medications plus herbs, but I don't recall which website the list came from, but perhaps a bit of googling will help you foxyt. :)

[eve]

This is one website though it's not the one in question:
http://www.holistic-online.com/Herbal-Med/hol_herb_med_reac.htm

[foxytina_69]

great link eve, thanks! :D

[Feodor]

About a year ago I have read a series of books "The Ringing Cedars of Russia". It talks mainly about spiritual development and connection with nature, but among other things it talks about Siberian pine nut oil. It appears that pine nuts of this tree have an interesting quality of having a strong blend of all necessary vitamins and nutrients for a human organizm. If pine nuts are grown naturally, the numan organizm takes whatever it needs from them. The pine nut oil is a cold-pressed oil from the pine nuts. One of the most important qualities of the pine nut oil is that it improves your immune system.

I have become a vegiterian after reading the books, and since that time I am more and more going vegan. I was looking for the shop to sell the "clean" and fresh nuts, and found this one:
http://www.ringingcedarsofrussia.com/info_products.php
There you can also read more information about the products. Note, that on that website the Siberian Pine is called Siberian Cedars (that's the older version of the name that is used throughout the books I mentioned above).