Children who are often sick should take supplements to strengthen their resistance?

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During the first year of life, children are very susceptible to diseases due to their immature immune systems. Whether a child is sick or seriously ill, illness affects the health of the child as well as the caregiver. So what supplements should children often take to strengthen their resistance against viruses and bacteria that cause illness?

1. The reason why children often get sick in the first years of life

During the time the child is still in the fetus and the first 6 months after birth, the child still enjoys the passive immune system from the mother through the placenta and breast milk. In particular, breast milk contains colostrum, which includes valuable nutrients as well as IgA antibodies and other antibodies to help babies immune to external environmental conditions in the first days after birth.
As children grow older, the new immune system is slowly perfected and matured. The child's active immune system can either produce antibodies on its own or receive antibodies from outside, such as vaccination or other complementary methods.
Therefore, during the first few years of life, the child's immune system is in a state with an immune gap, which is also considered as the reason why at this age the child gets sick continuously and repeatedly. significant impact on children's health.
In addition, children with malnutrition and rickets also have poor resistance and are often sick. Children who are sick for a long time lead to anorexia, anorexia and make children seriously deficient in micronutrients. The pathological cycle keeps repeating if parents do not identify the exact cause of the child's health condition in order to promptly treat and help the child develop comprehensively.
In the case of children being sick for a long time, it can cause problems for children with rickets, growth retardation, mental retardation and susceptibility to diseases related to the respiratory tract, digestive tract... Therefore, parents need to take their children to the doctor so that they can treat them promptly.

2. Some problems about the child's petty illness

Children who are sick a lot, cough, fever, colds or respiratory infections... repeated many times or maybe more than 8 times a year can be seen as typical manifestations of a child's reduced resistance.
Children's frequent illness can also lead to malnutrition, anorexia, growth retardation...
There are even some children who have the same care conditions, the same nutrition and hygiene regimen, some children get sick less often, but some children often get sick. This may be because the child's body is very sensitive to external factors, and it is also easy to get infected when exposed to a polluted environment or hot and humid weather, a lot of rain or in the changing seasons. ... Moreover, the leading cause of children's immune system is not fully developed because they are susceptible to diseases.

Therefore, parents need to increase the child's resistance by supplementing vitamins and essential micronutrients for the body. In young children, these substances play a very important role, and also help support functional activities and indirectly have a positive effect on the immune system. Parents can supplement their children with vitamins from foods with a rich source of food daily with seasonal vegetables and fruits.
In addition, parents can increase the resistance of children or children with minor illnesses or children with poor resistance by some active ingredients containing glucan. This compound has the most direct and potent immune-enhancing activity. However, to supplement this compound, parents need to be consulted by a doctor to make it suitable for each specific case of the child.

3. What supplements should children often take to increase their resistance?

If you have a child with this condition, you must be wondering what "children who are often sick should supplement" to help them stay healthy and increase their resistance against diseases.
Accordingly, the foods used in children's daily meals can directly affect the child's immune system as well as strengthen the child's resistance. Therefore, parents can use these foods to help children avoid colds, minor illnesses and develop healthy:
Lean meat: Pork, beef, chicken are classified as foods that help strengthen health. best resistance for children. Lean meat contains a lot of protein, an important ingredient in maintaining and enhancing children's health. In addition, the nutrient content of zinc in lean meat also works to help the body's white blood cells fight infections effectively. Zinc-rich foods: Zinc-rich foods added to children's diets not only help ensure the supply of zinc to the body, but also help strengthen immunity, prevent viral diseases, such as colds, flu, cold . Therefore, parents should supplement zinc-rich foods such as shrimp, crab, oysters, clams.. to help children strengthen their resistance. Dark green leafy vegetables: These vegetables are quite rich in vitamin C, including spinach, broccoli, amaranth, spinach... In addition, these foods also contain other nutrients. The content of other nutrients helps children prevent infectious diseases. Citrus fruits, tangerines: These are fruits with quite rich vitamin C and vitamin A content. These fruits are considered as foods that help strengthen children's resistance effectively, and at the same time increase the ability to prevent infectious diseases.... Sweet potatoes: Contains a lot of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E. help strengthen children's immune system, fight bacterial and viral infections... Omega-3 fatty acids include foods such as walnuts, fish oil,... This compound plays a role. help children's immune system better, prevent the attack of pathogenic bacteria or viruses outside the environment. Yogurt: Contains many beneficial bacteria such as probiotics that help children's intestines inhibit harmful bacteria and restore the balance of intestinal microflora for children. In addition, the nutritional components of yogurt also help children fight diseases, reduce the risk of diseases such as colds, sore throats, ear infections. Besides, the baby needs to add necessary micronutrients such as: Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamins B1 and B6, ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C), ... to improve taste, eat delicious , reach the right height and weight and exceed the standard, have a good immune system, strengthen the resistance to get sick less often and have less digestive problems.

The improvement of symptoms can take place for a long time, so it is recommended that parents be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for their children, either through food or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow simultaneous use of many types or continuously change the types of functional foods.
In addition, to help children reduce minor illnesses, experts advise nursing mothers to perform some activities such as: Breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months of life and extending until 24 months of age to provide provide a full range of nutrients necessary for the child's immune system; Maintain a healthy lifestyle, give children enough sleep, keep the child's hygiene and the surrounding environment clean to limit the chances of virus and bacteria attack; Regularly let children exercise, especially outdoor activities to help children develop healthy bodies, absorb more vitamin D to develop optimal height.
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents should regularly visit the website vimec.com and make an appointment with the leading doctors, pediatric and nutrition experts of the National General Hospital. Vinmec when needing advice on children's health.