Boosting Immune System

stasher · #1 01-08-2006, 08:10 AM

Does anyone know good ways to boost your immune system? I have 2 children, ages 2 1/2 years and 6 1/2 months old, and they get colds all of the time. My infant has had 4 colds since he was born. We have been vegan for 2 years now and eat pretty well. We take multi-vitamins and get exercise every day. It's getting very frustrating because I thought eating a vegan diet would keep us from getting sick and that's not happening. Also, I thought babies who are breastfed aren't suppose to get sick too often and my baby has been sick 4 times already. Right now they are battling a bad cold - cough, congestion, and running nose. Luckily they've never had a serious infection that needed antibiotics, but they've had there share of bad colds.

My mother-in-law swears by garlic - is there a kid's garlic supplement?
What is the best vegan multi-vitamin for adults and kids?

Should we cut out all wheat products?
We don't eat much sugar, maybe a little bit in maple syrup with pancakes on the weekends and a little sugar in condiments.
Should we completely eliminate sugar?

I was thinking of trying a raw diet, but I'm not sure if I could do it - I think it might be too time-consuming (I'm so busy with the 2 and so tired b/c I'm not getting any sleep) and too much raw veggies may bother my infant (through my milk). Has anyone nursed a baby and been on a raw diet?

I appreciate any suggestions you may have.

Thanks,
Shelly

kjmckenzie · #2 01-09-2006, 08:03 PM

We've had a couple of colds too on a vegan diet and breastfeeding. So ditto! Although, I do eat way too much sugar and chocolate and I notice a definite correlation. So I am working on giving them up... But I would also appreciate advice (although I like to think that our colds come from germs from serious illnesses and that we are so healthy, that they just manifest as colds

)

feline01 · #3 01-10-2006, 04:36 AM

Sambucol, an elderberry extract, is a fantastic immune booster. I give it to my husband and kids! Or if you can just find pure elderberry juice. Elderberry has been proven to prevent colds/flu. I put chopped garlic in my kids soups and stews, have been doing so this they were a year old. They rarely get colds, they've had 3 in 20 months and I work in an environment where I am constantly exposed to colds and flus. Cilantro is also supposed to be a fantastic immune booster, I was told this by a holistic pediatrician but I haven't tried giving it to the kids yet. I'm waiting until I can pick fresh, organic cilantro at a local farm next summer.

firegypsy · #4 01-12-2006, 03:31 PM

Sambucol is great. Zinc will really boost your immune system-you can actually put some liquid zinc in the sambucol and it tastes great. Raw garlic and onions will definitely do the trick...I wouldn't do a supplement just make some hummus or something. Eliminate anything refined-at least for a little while till you all recover. Do you have a yeast overgrowth issue? That will DEFINITELY depress immune function. If this is really a chronic thing I would also find a classical homeopath and get a constitutional remedy. You need a doc to do that but MAN does it make your life easier. For any sickness, you just take your constitutional and everything is better. I nursed on a raw diet for a bit. I was fine. Just make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. We don'd do a multi. We do Sea Silver ( a vegan supplement-it's awesome and tastes great) Juice Plus chewables for kids, capsules for me, and floradix calcium-magnesium. Oh, and of course a B-12.

xmysticprincessx · #5 01-13-2006, 02:00 PM

try selenium. someone on MDC called it "birth control for viruses." we also do zinc and vitamin c. now that i think about it, we cook with a lot of garlic and onions.

Sergio_B · #6 02-01-2006, 06:36 AM

Stasher, but how is your immune system? When you brestfeed you share your antibodies with your kids, and if your immune system is not very good, there will not be much benefits.

Also it is a good think to do cold training, but it should be done very accurate, so kids will gradually become accustomed to colder temperatures.

MIRIAM · #7 02-01-2006, 07:49 AM

Hi Stasher
What I do for my 3 children is to give them echinacea, especially during the winter months, or if they get run down with a cold etc. We also use homeopathy, so I would reccommend seeing a homeopath.
My 2 older children (8 and 6 years) have come up with their own cold preventative - raw garlic sandwiches! I prefer mine in dips and salad.
We do have sugar in home baking and vegan sweets as I couldn't do without my chocolate, plus we all need treats!
Don't know if any of this helps.