Maintaining a Strong Immune System

So moms~ if you're anything like me, you really hate to see your children feeling under the weather. I know I do! I am super thankful for all that my own mom taught me growing up. She helped me understand more about our miraculous bodies, how our immune systems function optimally (or not so optimally at times), and how I can keep my family's defenses up to minimize illness around the crazy Wilson household. :-)

Here are a few things that we follow to keep our immune systems functioning at optimal performance:

• Get adequate rest-- as in 10-12 hours per night for the kiddos!
• Drink lots of water-- our bodies are made of 70% water. So- we certainly need it! And it helps keep our bodies cleansed as well.
• Keep refined sugars to an extreme minimum! This is a huge kicker! Did you know that every time we eat sugar, our immune systems become depressed for 5 hours?! That's enough to get rid of the candy jar and keep the fridge free of sodas, kool aid, etc!
• Eat sufficient amounts of high quality, low fat protein. It's easy not to get enough of it. But protein is the basic building block of all cell development in our bodies, and it is highly responsible for a strong immune system too.

I have found that the only way to ensure that our family is really covering our bases nutritionally is to supplement with high-quality, scientifically proven, and clinically tested vitamins. Let's face it. None of us really live in prime farming land where we grow every bit of our own produce, raise our own free range chicken, and eat it all the moment we harvest it. That would be nice, but today, it's just not practical. And since that's the case, even if we're striving to do our best and buy organics, clean meat, etc., it is just impossible to give our bodies enough nutrients through our food to function at optimal health. So- here's what our children take on a daily basis:

1. A serving of Energizing Soy Protein
2. Either Incredivites or Vita Lea Multi-Vitamin Multi-Mineral Supplement (Matthew is 3 so he chews 2 Incredivites and Ian & Tyler can both swallow now, so they each take 2 Vita-Lea.)
3. Vitamin C- at least 500 mg, but up to even a few thousand is perfectly safe and helpful for really boosting the body's immune power. Chewable C 100 mg or Sustained Release Vita-C 500 mg.
4. Optiflora Pre-and Pro-Biotic. The central hub of our immune forces resides in the intestines. When "bad" bacteria outnumber the "friendly" bacteria in there, a mutiny arises as the body has to focus more on killing off the bad bacteria in the intestines than on fighting off invaders to the body that can make us sick. This one is really important, and even a baby can swallow the tiny pearl if you'll stick it in his/her mouth and then begin to nurse or give baby the bottle. It'll slip right down.

We do give our children a couple of other supplements as well, but the listed supplements are those that particularly keep their immune systems fighting strong. Check back soon, as I'll also be posting a recipe for a "Get Well Tea" that really works wonders! It's something that we use if we ever feel like we might be coming down with something, and by taking it every hour for several hours and then a couple times a day for a few days, it really nips the sickness, and we avoid all of the antibiotics and other drugs that ultimately weaken the immune system anyway. I am so thankful for all that I have learned. What a blessing for our family!

Shaklee Videos: A conversation with Roger Barnett

Shaklee Videos: A conversation with Roger Barnett