It’s that time of year again: kids are getting anxious and parents are getting excited (but also a little anxious). As kids are gearing up for back to school with back packs full of supplies, prepare yourself by gearing up to combat all the germs they encounter with nutrients to support the health of your family!
We’ve put together a nutritional regimen to help support their learning and keep them healthy by beefing up their immune systems, brain power, and overall health.
Here’s our back to school nutrients for kids:
Vitamin C for immune support
As many of you know, vitamin C is a powerful immune boosting nutrient and antioxidant. It also has many other impacts on our children’s’ health, such as: supporting bone health and growth, improving tissue repair after injuries (especially important for those scrapes and bruises), and helping keep infections and sickness away. One thing you may not know is that it helps us to absorb iron, which has an important role in producing red blood cells and carrying oxygen to the brain. Many of our kids don’t get enough vitamin C from diet alone, so supplementing can play an important role in getting optimal levels to keep them healthy. As always, quality is important! Many of the otc vitamin C supplements and gummy vitamins are full of sugar and chemical fillers, both of which have a negative impact on the immune system. (Read the truth about how sugar negatively impacts your health). Be mindful of this when choosing supplementation to support your kid’s health.
Vitamin D for body, mood, mind and immunity
Over 70% of our children aren’t getting enough vitamin D in their diet or from sunlight. This is due, in part, to a lot of kids having digestive issues. Supporting them with a form of vitamin D that is both more bioavailable and highly absorbable, such as a sublingual form, is the best way to ensure you’re getting what you paid for and they’re getting what they need. Vitamin D is so important for the developing brain, neurodevelopment, and decreasing the risk of childhood obesity. Most reliable research points at optimal vitamin D levels being a major preventative marker in lowering the risk of contracting or having severe cases of that nasty C word. Vitamin D also helps with bone development, immune function, hormone balance, mood and emotional stabilization and much more!
Get vitamin D from our e store.
Omega’s for brain health
Omega 3’s are significantly important in modulating the inflammatory pathways, promoting cognitive health, supporting brain development and function, as well as increasing healthy development of eyes and nerves. For our children to produce healthy neurotransmitter levels and develop optimal neural pathways, they need adequate levels of omegas to help prevent behavioral issues. Optimal omega levels also help to improve memory, which we know our kids need to stay focused and learn.
Omega’s the kids will actually enjoy taking!
Probiotics for gut health and nutrient absorption
We all know our kids may not be eating the best diet at school (especially when health and nutrition are not the driving force behind school lunches). However, a healthy gut plays such an important role in immune function and helping them to absorb the nutrients in the foods they are consuming. The school year gets busy with extracurricular activities and athletics and it is easy to sometimes opt for fast food when a home-cooked meal is just not in the time-budget. A good probiotic can help to negate the negative effects of eating on the go. It can help improve digestion and also support absorption of all the other nutrients we previously suggested. With the nature of our food system and the likelihood of more rushed meals, this is definitely a supplement that should not be skipped!
Get our recommended probiotics – great for kids and adults!
We owe it to our kids to set them up for success in every way that is in our control. Parenting is challenging, exhausting and confusing. Be proud of the efforts you are making to support your kiddos and make the health choices that feel right for you and your family.
To reduce the decision-fatigue (yep! that’s a real thing) and to remove the confusion, we put together an easy Back to School Bundle of nutrients that you can get discounted through our office. Got athletes who need a little extra support, too? Not a problem! Call us to get more info.