Parenting Australia

Every winter I see a multitude of mums and dads who are hugely impacted by the effects of the cold and flu season. Often a child comes home from day care or school with a runny nose and the infection travels around every family member. Before you know it, mum and dad are tag teaming days off work and juggling sick kids.

A new study has revealed that an overwhelming majority (86%) of parents with children younger than 12 were likely to take the day off work to stay home with their sick child, and three in five said they would not send their child to school or day care if they were ill, even if they had been given medicine. The only answer is to be very proactive in keeping your family’s immune system strong and powerful.

There are a few simple and easy preventative measures you can take that will boost your immunity. Over half of the population take natural remedies but are you taking the right ones? I simply don’t have the time to get sick so I stick to these tips religiously!

• Take a probiotic daily as 70% of your immune system lies within your digestive system. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria and can easily be affected by caffeine, alcohol, not enough dietary fibre and medications such as the Pill. Having the right balance of probiotics will enhance your immunity and reduce your susceptibility to infection. I like Wagner’s Probiotica P3 as it doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge and I actually remember to take it! For children you can open the capsule and mix it into yoghurt or milk.

• Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract is a powerful immune booster. We all know that eating garlic will keep infections at bay but who wants to smell awful? The unique aging process eliminates the anti social smell while enhancing the germ fighting capacity.

• Avoid all forms of sugar including glucose, fructose, sucrose or processed juice as they significantly reduce the ability of white blood cells to destroy viruses. This is due to sugar blocking white blood cells from using Vitamin C, and this vitamin is vital in the fight against infection.

• Increase your intake of immune boosting foods such as onions, leeks, kiwi fruit, sesame seeds, beetroot, carrot, sweet potato, mushrooms and ginger.

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Emma Sutherland – N.D.BHlth Sc (CompMed) MATMS, MNHAA – is a successful naturopath and TV presenter and her mission in life is to inspire women to get their mojo back. She was the expert nutritionist in a premier show on LifeStyle You in 2011 called “Eat Yourself Sexy”. Emma was the resident Naturopath on the TV show “The Daily” in 2010, and is a keynote presenter and private consultant at the exclusive Golden Door Health Retreat. Emma is a fully qualified Naturopath, having completed four years of training in Herbal Medicine, Nutrition and Homoeopathy as well as a Bachelor of Health Science. She has completed post graduate training in women’s health and is also a certified HypnoBirthing instructor. www.emmasutherland.com.au

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