I take vitamin d, whole vitamin c, turmeric, zinc, quercetin, and elderberry gummies for immune health and haven’t gotten sick except for a 24 hour stomach bug since I started it. My 1 and 3 year old get sick pretty regularly though and I want them to be better at fighting it off.
My 3 year old gets an elderberry gummy for kids that has a little zinc and I’m planning to also add in vitamin-d drops. There don’t seem to be many vitamin supplements for babies though and I’d like to be able to also give something to my 1 year old. Anyone have any suggestions for research they can point me to?
Dirt and vitamin C, works every time.
Agreed. And make sure that all food is organic. By that I mean that it's cultivated without any chemicals or pesticides. Varity is important, too; man can not survive on broccoli alone.
Obviously, avoid all junk food (processed "food" and "drink") because it likely contains virtually no vitamins or minerals but lots of sugar.
I'm with the dirt and vit c. There is a multivitamin that I gave one of my children under drs advise. But didn't worry about. Let them get in the dirt, play and have fun.
Most of the sickies babies have are the very thing that builds their immune system. You'll have it happen again in preschool and kindergarten. Expose to the other kids they'll be all cruddy. But they all live. Healthy.
I get it. They should get sick to build their immune systems. I just want to help them fight sickness more efficiently. Both in daycare so they already catch a lot. As a parent, it’s hard to see your kid feeling bad with not much you can give them to feel better. Most medicines are for older kids so the young ones just have to tough it out most of the time it seems.
I think with children it's more important to have them eating more healthy foods so that constitutes their needed vitamins and minerals. Taking them outside and having them be active helps too.
I know that could be a little more difficult depending on where you live but having them eating the right vegetables, meats, fruits, and grains goes a long way with avoiding sickness. Avoiding sugary stuff is another good idea - NO SODA OR SUGARY DRINKS - have them drinking water most of the time (your one year old should be getting plenty of milk still, probably around 8 oz per day at least.)
I also think you really need to be extra careful about administering vitamins to children because I think it could wind up causing them more harm than good. Giving too much can tax their system, probably mainly the kidneys, and that could wind up giving them stones...
So... I think overall it's up to you what you'd want to do, nobody's going to give you SOLID advice because it's not something people typically wants to screw around with - what I can tell you though, definitely don't go overloading them with too much of any vitamins or minerals. Maybe you can do some math and figure out what these vitamin protocols are based from - what the average weight of a person might be for taking the regimen - adjust proportions according to your children's weight and go a little lower on the doses....
Thanks. Sounds like a solid foundation to go from. Now to figure out how to get the picky-eating 3 year old to eat what he’s served…
Can you still breastfeed? That is the best immunity.
1 year old pretty much phased out of breastfeeding. Not going to do the whole Game of Thrones thing for the 3 year old 😂.
Haha, my last baby, I supplemented with breastfeeding until he was four. At that point it became too much for me, because it made me feel faint and sleepy. I respect your wanting to phase it out though. Best vit D comes from the midday sun.
By all means, do what works for you. Mine didn’t need to be weened off the breastfeeding. They did it themselves as we introduced solids into their diets. Just spent less and less time breastfeeding until they just seemed “over it.”
You could do chewable C, and very small doses of the other stuff (like 1/4 capsule) blended in with a yummy smoothie. Stevia is a great non-glycemic sweetener (a tiny bit goes a long way: our family’s favorite brand is from Trim Healthy Mama—1/8 tsp will sweeten a 2-cup smoothie perfectly with no bitter aftertaste). You could also use honey to sweeten. I love the Ninja personal-size blender for mixing up stuff like this. 1 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup full fat cottage cheese, 1/8 tsp stevia, about 1/2 cup frozen fruit, and supplements. BAOBAB is also an amazing superfood fruit powder to include. You could even make this and divide between kiddos. FYI: not medical advice, just a helpful tool in my parenting bag. 😎 Hope that helps!
Thanks! Will look into this stuff.
I recommend that you make your own elderberry syrup. I can give you a recipe if you're interested (for children over 1 year old due to the honey). But also, when your child has a fever, don't rush to give them tylenol or something to bring it down. Let the fever do its job, that's part of the natural immunity building thing. Unless it gets high - like 102 - 103, then make an attempt at a cool bath to reduce their temp before involving meds.
I’m interested in the elderberry syrup recipe. Thanks!
My pleasure! You can find freeze dried elderberries at iherb.com or frontiercoop.com. I've seen them on amazon, but they price gouge so I shop with the smaller companies. I recommend getting the organic, they're a little more expensive but worth it.
2/3 cup freeze dried elderberries 3.5 cups spring water (or filtered, I don't use tap water) 1 good sized hunk of fresh ginger, peeled & finely chopped 2 tbsps ground cinnamon 2 cups raw honey
Put all ingredients except the honey in a sauce pan and set to simmer on low to medium heat, stirring every 10 minutes. After it cooks down about an inch in the pot (about 25 to 30 mins), remove from heat and strain out all solids. You should have about 2 cups of strained liquid. Stir in the honey, mix well (I use a whisk) and refrigerate. It will keep for 6 months in the fridge. You'll love the smell it gives off in your house while cooking!
Preventatively, kids can take 1 tsp per day, adults 1 tbsp. If you're already sick, double or triple that, depending on severity of your illness. It has cured many a flu in my family! :) And babies older than 1 year can take it, but not less than 1 year because of the amount of honey in it. For babies less than a year, you could steep dried elderberries to make tea, and sweeten it with regular sugar because it is quite bitter without any sweetener.
Saw this recently. I know nothing about the efficacy or safety of these. But Dr. Zelenko has a kids gummy vitamin you may want to research. If I were you I’d start by contacting them and perhaps looking to America”s Frontline Doctors for guidance as well.
https://zstacklife.com/
They dont need to take anything at all what is wrong with you? The chance of them getting covid or other sickness is almost nil.
I’m not worried about covid. They’re in daycare and constantly catch colds so you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. They catch stuff all the time. Stomach bugs, hand foot and mouth, coughing, sneezing, rashes and lethargy. Adults take vitamins the body uses to fight viruses and bacteria more effectively, so why can’t kids?
I get it, kids are supposed to get sick to build their immune systems. I’m not asking what experimental drugs they can take, just ideas on ways they can stay healthy, whether vitamin supplements or certain types of food. I’m not scared for them, just hate seeing them sicker than they have to be.
Your kids are getting vaccine induced (from others unless you’ve gotten their “wellness” vaccines) mutated strains of basic illnesses. I ONLY get sick when I’ve held some persons green-snot nosed kid.
Kids today don’t get sick in “normal” ways anymore, it’s all usually from some mutated strain that was manipulated by some “scientist”.
Give your kids clean water (NOT tap or bottled) and clean food. Their bodies will learn how to fight naturally and be better off.
What is their typical diet?