Every family wants their baby to grow up healthy. But in some cases, your baby may face unexpected problems while growing up and the immune system of your baby, which you have taken care of since birth, may not be able to digest every food. Therefore, strengthening and protecting the immune system of babies is only possible with the efforts of parents.
How to Protect Your Baby's Immune System?
Having a strong immune system is one of the most important factors in maintaining a healthy life. For this reason, the immune system should be strengthened from infancy.
The strong immune system of babies is also effective in strengthening their defense mechanisms. Babies with a strong defense system have a healthy body. In this way, they have high resistance against diseases.
Strengthening and protecting the immune system of babies is only possible with the efforts of parents. Feeding the baby with appropriate foods according to its nature, paying attention to hygiene rules and dressing it in accordance with weather conditions are among the most important issues to be considered. Babies are among the most risky groups during the winter season when diseases are common. For this reason, parents need to be much more careful, especially in winter months. A baby with a strong immune system does not get sick easily or recovers quickly even if it is sick.
How Does the Immune System Work?
The immune system, commonly known as the immune system, protects the body from harmful and foreign substances. It is possible to maintain a healthy life thanks to this system that recognizes and destroys disease agents that pose a risk to living things.
For the immune system to activate, it must be stimulated by disease-causing microorganisms. As a result of the perception of these microorganisms as foreign to the body, the system tries to get rid of harmful microorganisms by starting a war.
When Does the Immune System Start to Develop?
The immune system, the body's defense system, begins to develop in the womb. In the first months, the immune system is usually weak. However, it gradually matures and starts to protect the body. A strong immune system in babies is closely related to the mother's nutrition and infections during pregnancy. In addition, the baby's diet after birth, vaccinations, infections and the environment in which the baby is raised also play an important role in the development of the immune system.
The period when the immune systems of babies begin to mature physiologically is the newborn period. For this reason, it is important to keep babies away from people with infectious diseases, feed them breast milk and pay attention to infant hygiene during the newborn period. It is also important to follow the routine vaccination schedule and not neglect vaccinations.
What are the Effects of Breast Milk on the Immune System?
Breast milk is the food that supports healthy development and the immune system in the most ideal way for babies. Adequate and balanced nutrition is very important especially in the first 2 years. Especially the milk that comes in the first days after birth, called colostrum, is of great importance for strengthening the immune system. Some babies refuse to take breast milk naturally from birth. In this case, it is useful to give breast milk to babies with a bottle.
It is more beneficial for the baby to find ways to give breast milk to the baby instead of turning to alternative formulas because the baby does not receive breast milk naturally. There are also babies who receive breast milk at birth but do not want to receive breast milk naturally in the following months. In this case, instead of giving up immediately, professional support can be sought to ensure that the baby continues to receive breast milk.
The Importance of Avoiding Refined Foods in the Supplementary Food Process!
It is necessary to be selective in the foods given to strengthen the immune system of babies who start supplementary food in the blink of an eye. It is more beneficial to prepare foods with seasonal vegetables and fruits instead of foods with a long shelf life and refined foods.
It is important that the foods given in addition to breast milk are clean and fresh. Unbalanced and inadequate nutrition of babies in the growth period is an important obstacle in strengthening the immune system.
Which Vitamins and Minerals Strengthen the Immune System?
In order to strengthen and balance the immune system of babies, it is important to get enough vitamins A, C, D and E and the minerals zinc, selenium and iron. In addition, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids also support the immune system significantly. It is helpful to get these vitamins and minerals from natural foods. Foods containing vitamins and minerals that are extremely important for the immune system can be listed as follows:
- Foods Containing Vitamin A
Dark green and yellow vegetables and fruits are good sources of vitamin A. It is useful to include mangoes, melons, spinach, peppers, broccoli, carrots and green leafy vegetables in the diet of developing babies. - Foods Containing Vitamin C
Vitamin C, which is highly protective against diseases, is found in kiwi, oranges, tangerines, strawberries and melon, as well as green beans, broccoli, spinach and peppers. These foods should be included in babies' diets. - Foods Containing Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a vitamin taken mostly from sunlight. Newborn babies are usually given vitamin D supplements for a certain period of time depending on the region where they were born. In addition to drops and sunlight, vitamin D can also be obtained from red meat, egg yolks, some types of fish and beef liver. However, it is useful to consult a specialist doctor to give these foods to babies. Because it is recommended to give foods that are strong in protein to babies from certain months. - Foods Containing Vitamin E
Vegetable oils such as hazelnut oil and olive oil, nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts, oilseeds, some types of fish, pumpkin, spinach, celery, broccoli and poultry are foods rich in vitamin E. It is useful to include these foods in the baby's diet from certain months. - Foods Containing Zinc
Zinc, which is effective in strengthening the immune system, is found in red meat, chicken and turkey meat, peanuts, pistachios and almonds. - Foods Containing Selenium
Yellowfin, tuna and salmon, lamb and calf liver, turkey and chicken meat, red meat and eggs are rich in selenium. It is useful to consult a doctor about including these foods in the baby's diet. Because it is not recommended to give these foods to babies under certain months. - Foods Containing Iron
Liver, red meat, eggs, legumes, molasses and green leafy vegetables are rich in iron. Iron deficiency has a major effect on the weakening of the immune system. For this reason, it is useful to take precautions against iron deficiency and to check regularly. - Foods containing Omega 3 and Omega 6
Omega 3 and omega 6 are fatty acids that maintain the balance of the defense system. Foods containing omega 6 include walnuts, eggs, poultry, sunflower oil, soybean oil, safflower oil and flaxseed oil. Omega 3 is found in fish, walnuts and flaxseed.
What are the effects of adequate sleep on the immune system?
Sleep is as important as nutrition in strengthening the immune system in children and infants. Adequate and quality sleep, especially at night, significantly supports the immune system of babies and children. Inadequate and poor quality sleep makes babies and children more vulnerable to diseases. For this reason, it is important to remember that developing babies and children need more sleep than adults.
Inadequate and poor quality sleep is a source of high stress for babies as well as adults. Since stress is one of the factors that weaken the immune system, it is important to make sure that babies get enough sleep at night. As they transition from infancy to childhood, it may be necessary to rearrange their daytime sleep to regulate their nighttime sleep.
What are the Effects of Chronic Diseases on the Immune System?
One of the conditions that suppress the immune system is chronic diseases. Upper and lower respiratory tract diseases are common diseases in infants. Between the 6th and 9th months, these diseases, which are common and recur afterwards, make it difficult for the immune system to strengthen.