How to Keep Family Healthy During Flu Season?

Try chiropractic wellness. Since starting, I feel healthier and fight off colds quickly. You can contact me if you want more info. I would seriously recomend this.

Hi A.! Vitamin D 3, fish oils and probiotics are your BEST defense! Avoid sugar and refined flour and keep up on the hand washing. Sugar wipes out the immune system.

Make sure the vitamin D is D3 (cholecalciferol). Anything else is not going to help you. I buy it in a drop form called Bio-D Mulsion by a company called BioTics Research Corporation. I got it at my local chiropractor but you could also check online.
Another reputable company is Carlsons. They have wonderful products for kids. We get fish oils from them and I know they have a vitamin D3.
We buy our kids daily vitamin from Nordic Naturals. The vitamins are called Nordic Berries.
go to www.vitacost.com . They have discounted prices on all the vitamins I listed!
Have a great day and a healthy winter!

Hi A.,

I ironically wrote about this in my online family health column, you can ready the articles here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

Also, Parenting magazine also talked about the use of vitamin d3 and probiotics, something I've been saying for quite some time.

I am doing a 2 part series this week on keeping families healthy during the flu season (again) and doing a free webinar on Nov. 11 at 8am, I will be posting the details when I post my column this week. Feel free to subscribe to them to get the updates.

I try to put things into perspective as well in one of my columns about the swine flu...hopefully you will find the info useful. Foods to avoid, dairy and sugar are the biggest two and why hand sanitizers really are not the answer... and you'll see why when you read the articles.

Good Luck!
J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert

Handwashing and probiotics! Rainbow Light makes an infant multi-vitamin in powdered form that you can sprinkle on yogurt or another soft food. The combination of those three things has kept our family very, very healthy! My son is 25 months old and has had only one cold and he has gone to class twice a week at the park district for the last year - so he is exposed to many viral illnesses.

I pretty much agree with everyone below. I also think that you need to stay away from the flu shots. Vaccines cause more illnesses than prevent them. My husband and I have done extensive research on this and trust me, as unusual as it may sound it is true. Take some time and do some research and you will see! Feel free to contact me if you'd like more info or need info about where to do the research. Best of luck to you and your family!!!

Keep everyone's vitamin D levels up and vitamin C as well. Probiotics are wonderful and beneficial too (I sprinkle the powder from capsules into drinks or over food where they won't be noticed, though some kids like them and there are also chewable/flavored varieties available made for children). Garlic is a great food to help your immune system, and chicken soup isn't just an old wives tale- it's full of good nutrition. Making sure your children are well-hydrated is important, and that they're getting a good balanced diet also so their bodies are in the best shape they can be to fight things off more quickly or possibly avoid them all together.

Hi A.,
Good for you for looking to boost your family's immune systems naturally. That really is the best approach - if properly armed, your body can defend itself from just about anything. Its important to get all your fruits and veggies everyday along with lots of water and most of all avoid sugar - that really whittles it down. I know this is sometimes hard to do especially for kids which is why supplements are so important. A lot of the vitamins on the store shelves are filled with sugar or worse - sugar alternatives like aspartame which break down into formaldehyde - a known human carcinogen. Not good! You need something that is safe, natural, pure and potent and Shaklee vitamins are the best. They check for over 350 contaminants and do over 80,000 tests on their products annually to ensure all of these great things. I recommend them to everyone and in fact (in case you couldn't tell) decided to rep for them because I think its so important people know the difference between something that is good for them and the alternatives out there which are sometimes doing nothing for you or worse, even harmful. They have a powder vitamin for infants and chewables for the 3 year old. I can give you more info. or feel free to check out my website. Either way - you're doing the right thing!

Thanks,
K.
www.K.-oneill.myshaklee.com

Drinking Alkaline water, high doses of Vitamin D, saline nose spray, wash hands often, wipe down surfaces with Wet Ones, and NO VACCINES.

Hand sanitizer! We have small bottles of it that we keep everywhere- purse, diaper bag, stroller, car, etc. We get it by the case at Costco, and it's the foaming kind, so it's not so drippy.
Good luck!

Eat lots of fruits & veggies, milk & yogurt,
whole grains, and keep away from the processed stuff.
(You and your kids don't need multivitamins if you're eating a balanced diet.)
WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN.
Get vaccinated!

Unless your children have food allergies, I wouldn't avoid any particular foods except those that are loaded up with sugar and other junk. A good diet is best. With those ages, nutritionally, just make sure they're getting what they need by the week. You'll drive yourself nuts if you try to do it by the day. Also, keep their (and your) hands clean, don't let people come up and touch them, and try to keep them from sticking things in their mouth outside the home. Wipe door knobs and other common surfaces with a disinfecting wipe and clean the toys from time to time.

I always make sure to wash my toddler's hands throughout the day and teach him about it. Also, he loves fruits and veggies a lot, so I make sure he has them with every meal. I don't know about avoiding any foods. As for vitamins, you can certainly try drops for your 13 month old, and gummy vitamins for the 3 year old. I don't give vitamins, just make sure that his diet is well balanced and I am still nursing!

Hi the advice you can get is from the children's peditrican.

We do Juice Plus....for the last 3 years!
I wouldn't go a day with out it. Its juiced fruits and vegetables (17 of them) If I know my kids have been exposed to something I give them extra. You can look at the research and how it's made here. www.TricociJuicePlus.com
My oldest that's in school has not missed 1 day of school in two years. Their is research documented that proves what it does to the support the immune system reduce oxidative stress. They are yummy too. If intrested on getting your kids on it contact me and I can help you participate in the www.childreshealthstudy.com to get 3years free for them. Best wishes to your health!

Hi, A....
Yes, Vit D is *extremely* important. BUT: What about milk? To obtain the amount of Vitamin D that is necessary from milk a child would need to consume 10 glasses per DAY.

Milk consumption’s association with Vitamin D is a popular myth even among doctors.

Most (yes, mine too!) are failing to tell us the simple truths about Vitamin D, milk consumption and reducing risk of flu viruses, common colds, etc. It’s not intentional, it’s educational. Most docs aren’t educated in nutrition and natural approaches to prevention.

I'll be discussing how to prevent flu NATURALLY (ie. using vitamin D) in this free Webinar www.greencravers.com/webinar

Won't you join us? Again, sunlight exposure is part of a better approach to preventing Swine Flu versus vaccines. Sun exposure is the simplest way you can get enough vitamin D into your body to allow your immune system to fight ...disease. Let's consider “more education and less medication” as a “to-do” item.

Good luck to you!