healthykids
Living in Harmony
with Colds and Flu by Jane Sheppard
T
aking care of sick children can
many factors involved. The internal al state, and excessive toxins.
be a rather challenging aspect of
environment of the body determines There is plenty you can do to
being a parent. Waking up in the
whether a child will be susceptible to reduce the toxic load and strengthen
middle of the night to the sounds of
colds, flu or any other illness. your child’s immune system and overall
your child’s cough, feeling your child’s
Germs, such as a virus or bacteria, health and vitality. The best approach
feverish body, and cleaning up vomit
will only lead to illness when the is to provide a healthy environment
is something you may be familiar with.
body is out of balance and immunity right from the start. A baby needs to be
We all knew there would be times like
is weakened. In order to survive and nourished during the entire pregnancy
this in our parenting experience. It’s
become active enough to cause symp- with organic, whole foods and lots of
Instead
of trying to control
and suppress the
symptoms our children
are experiencing, we can
try to stimulate their
immune systems to
enable their bodies to
heal themselves.
inevitable that kids get sick. It’s a neces- toms, these germs first need to have an
love, birthed in a peaceful, welcoming
sary part of growing up, a normal part environment that nourishes them. They
environment, then exclusively breastfed
of childhood. survive and proliferate from feeding
and nurtured immediately upon enter-
The general belief is that kids off the wastes and toxins that accumu-
ing the world.
“catch” colds and flu from viruses that late in the body. The immune system
Long-term breastfeeding is, by far,
are circulating in the air or passed from responds, triggering an inflammatory
the most important thing you can do.
others. Many people talk about a cold response that may include rash, fever,
Breastmilk provides the nutritional and
or flu “going around” as if it were mak- congestion, runny nose, and coughing.
immune factors crucial to building and
ing the rounds infecting every child in These are signs that the body has begun
maintaining healthy immunity. Breast-
its path. The reality is that out of all the its process of healing—dispelling the
feeding into the toddler, or even the
children exposed to the virus, only a wastes, virus, and accumulated toxins
preschool years, provides the physiologi-
portion of these children will get sick from the body.
cal and emotional factors necessary to
to some degree and others will not In order for the body to gener-
develop and boost the immune system.
succumb to the disease at all. This is ate a sufficient and complete healing
Also vitally important is good
because viruses and bacteria are not response, the immune system needs to
nutrition—plenty of fresh, whole foods.
the sole cause of disease. There is much be strong and functioning at its best.
Processed foods place a burden on the
more going on behind the scenes in Factors that contribute to a weakened
immune system and create more of a
your child’s body. The “cause” of the immune system include poor nutrition,
toxic environment within the body.
illness is not just the virus. There are stress, an unhealthy mental or emotion-
A nontoxic environment is essential.
 Southwestern Virginia
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