ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Cold and flu season can take a toll on your household, especially kids.

There are ways to naturally protect yourself and your children from diseases.

Holistic naturopathic doctor Jenn Schuppe gave us her top tips.

1. Increase Outdoor Play Time: Kids don’t spend enough time outside in the backyard. Exposure to microbes in our home environment is critical to the development of the microbiome found on every surface of our bodies. Vitamin D from sunlight and stimulating the lymphatic and circulatory system may also help immunity.

2. Microbiome support: All types of fiber nourish the gut microbiome. Children do not consume enough fiber in their diet.

3. More dietary plants: Eat the rainbow. Foods rich in polyphenols, Vitamin C, D, E, A and antimicrobial specific foods. This includes foods like kale, spinach, dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes, carrots, peppers, citrus fruits, kiwis, berries, mushrooms, salmon, broccoli, almonds, and other nuts and seeds.

4. Wake Up Sleep: Sleep is very important for the immune system as it is highly active during sleep. Growing children need more sleep and less screen time, which disrupts the sleep cycle. School-age children need 9-11 hours of sleep a night. Research shows that many ADHD diagnoses are caused by inadequate sleep.

5. Cut out added sugar: White sugar and other fake sweeteners reduce the effectiveness of white blood cells in protecting the body from infections for up to five hours. (He studied at Loma Linda University in the 1970s).

6. Exercise: Moving the body is critical for the immune system. When we remain inactive, everything slows down and our immunity cannot react quickly to something new. Movement also improves memory and cognition and helps increase sleep pressure in the evening, making it easier to fall asleep.

If your child is sick, the natural remedies she recommends are hot water with lemon, hydration packs (watch for ones with added sugar), rest, plenty of sleep, elderberry gummies or syrup, and liquid Vitamin D/K2 supplements.

Jenn Schuppe, ND is a holistic naturopathic doctor with practices in Roanoke, VA, and Boonsboro, MD. He attended the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Sonoran University in Tempe, AZ.

You can make an appointment or contact him. ilesnaturopathic.com/.

Listen to him talk Here @ Home Page above.

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