Natural Remedies (that are easy and mostly affordable) To Keep Your Family Healthier During the Holiday Season!

As always, I am NOT a medical professional. I’m a former high school art teacher turned low tox nerd turned baby-led sleep and well-being specialist. It’s always a good idea to talk with your trusted healthcare provider on how to keep your family healthy and prevent illness. However, I’ve learned a lot myself over the years as I’ve turned to a more holistic lifestyle and I’m a mom of a two year old so I’ll be doing everything listed below to try to keep my family healthy because wowza does it suck to have a sick kiddo..or be sick while also having to parent!

I wanted to make a list of recommendations what are simple, relatively affordable, and have no known negative side effects to them! These aren’t targeted at an specific illness but more so just general ways to support healthy immune function.

So let’s get started with things you can do that cost almost nothing and can be fairly easy to control.

• GET OUTSIDE!!!!

  I honestly think this one is so underrated in terms of supporting our immune systems. Illness is more easily spread during the fall and winter (for many many reasons) but one of them being because we spend more time inside in close quarters with one another.

  • The air quality outside is substantially better than inside our homes (making it easier to breathe!) Sunlight (especially in the morning) can help improve sleep (which in turn supports your immune function), time outdoors reduces stress levels (which again supports healthy immune function) microorganisms in the environment are actually very beneficial to your immune system.

  • We’re big fans of the saying “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” Of course with babies and toddlers there are temperatures that are just too cold to be safe, but for the most part when everyone is dressed appropriately, there’s no reason to not get outside.

  • Try new outdoor hobbies, invite friends on outdoor playdates, etc! I truly believe quality outdoor gear is worth the investment as well in order to get out in all weather!

• Find ways to move your body (and your kids!) daily.

  On the days where its’s too cold/rainy/sleety/etc to go outside, get creative with moving your bodies indoors. I personally use this pregnancy/postpartum and beyond workout app subscription to keep myself active (from anywhere) older kids could do lots of these workouts too!

  • For babies and toddlers, set up pillow forts/climbing obstacles, give babies lots and lots of tummy time/keep them out of bouncers/swings/seats/bumbos/etc, have dance parties, walk like different animals, play with cardboard boxes (make tunnels, etc), teach them (or youtube) some exercise moves or yoga poses, make indoor obstacle courses, play simon says, indoor scavenger hunt, and so on!

  • If you can swing it, wooden climbers (like a pikler triangle, play couches (we love our Brentwood Homes couch- it’s like a Nugget but more sustainably made!) balance boards, etc can all be great investment pieces to help keep your toddlers and kids moving all year.

• Limit your sugar intake.

  I know, trust me, this is not always easy to do over the holiday season but it is SO important to not constantly be over indulging. This doesn’t mean absolutely no sugar or treats or deserts, it more so means being conscious of what (and how much) you and your kids are eating.

  • Sugar intake decreases our immune system from working for up to 5 hours!!! So pair lots of sugary treats with an indoor holiday party with lots of people/kids in close contact and it only makes sense everyone leaves with a cold.

  • It’s recommended that kids under the age of 2 have zero added sugar in their diets (it’s also important to note that sugar comes in many many forms so get familiar with all the different names for sugar when checking ingredient labels.)

  • Kids over the age of 2 should have no more than 24 grams of added sugar per day.

  • And here’s the real kicker- the average American kid has 50 grams of sugar per day during a non-holiday season. Think of how much that number increases with Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pies, Christmas cookies, school/daycare parties & treats, and so on back to back to back.

• Get in the habit (which, you probably already are considering we’re in the second year of a global pandemic) of washing your hands (and your baby/toddler/kids) regularly and using a nontoxic natural hand sanitizer.

  • Hand soaps to avoid- (yes not all hand soaps are good)

    • antibacterial- it sounds like a good idea but it just isn’t. There’s no research to support antibacterial soap being more effective either!

      • Not all bacteria is bad for you (some is good and necessary for healthy immune function!!) and using a hand soap that kills all bacteria actually looses a lot of the benefit of washing your hands in the first place.

      • Many antibac soaps are also endocrine disrupters (containing triclosan), may be creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and are bad for the environment- soap goes down the drain and back into the environment. Once there, it can harm algae, which make much of the world’s oxygen and are the beginning of the food chain.

    • soaps scented with “perfume” or “fragrance”- These terms are major loopholes for manufactures to add any number of hundreds of different chemicals into their products without having to disclose what those chemicals are.

      • Synthetic fragrances are known to cause headaches and negatively affect the brain, fragrance irritates the skin, fragrance can cause allergies, asthma and respiratory distress. fragrance can harm the reproductive system!!

      • a few commonly detected chemicals in “fragrance” and “perfume” Phthalates, Parabens, Styrene, Ethanol, and Synthetic Musks - all of which have been directly linked to a variety of health conditions.

    • we personally use Young Living hand soaps (my favorite is Christmas Spirit) and Young Living Thieves Hand Sanitizer since they’re safe alternatives to mainstream soaps and hand sanitizers.

Establish a (daily and an as needed) holistic supplement routine (for you and your kids!)

• probiotics - about 70-80% of your immune system lives in your gut so supporting your gut health by taking a daily probiotic and eating fermented foods can go a long way in supporting your immune function!

• liposomal vitamin c- eating vitamin c rich foods is a great way to get in some vitamin c but we personally choose to boost with a little extra daily. I like liposomal vitmamin c because it tends to absorb better into your system than regular supplement forms of vitamin c.

• multivitamin- I personally am taking a prenatal multi at the moment and Ruth takes this organic toddler multi for general wellness and..peace of mind?

• vitamin d3- of course the best way to get vitamin d in is time out in sunshine, however for many of us midwesterners it can be hard to be out enough year round to fully support our d needs. Those deficient in vitamin d are 11 times more likely to get a cold or the flu. We've supplemented ourselves for years now with these vitamin d drops and have been supplementing Ruth most of her life.

• sulfurzyme- Sulfurzyme contains a unique blend of Ningxia wolfberry fruit powder and MSM, a dietary sulfur that bolsters the joints, aids the immune system, and helps support normal metabolic function, circulation, and bone, hair, and skin health.

• ningxia- this antioxidant drink is clinically shown to increase physical energy levels, improve sleep patterns, and reduce daily stress. It’s packed with powerful antioxidants to help against oxidative stress, support normal cellular function, and promote healthy energy levels. All of these things play a huge role in supporting immune function.

• elderberry- we take this daily to support immune function. It tastes great on it’s own (so I’m not sure why some brands add sugar??) so look out for that!

• echinacea- echinacea has been known to shorten the duration and severity of common colds. We have it in a tincture and drink it as a tea.

I know this probably isn’t the case for everyone but Ruth is a CHAMP at taking supplements. I think this might be because we’ve done a few with her since she was quite young and she’s grown very used to it? I always have us take our supplements with food and water. With toddlers/babies who tend to spit out supplements right away, it can be helpful to put the syringe in between their cheek and their teeth/gums (towards the back of their mouth.)

You can also mix them with food or water (again, avoid sugary drinks or foods to mix them with)

Also model taking supplements! Ruth has seen me take supplements every single day and we talk about how they support our bodies.

Foods that can boost immune function.

• garlic- A 12-week study in nearly 150 people found that supplementing with garlic reduced the incidence of the common cold by about 30%. We add lots of garlic to many meals, but for an extra immune boost when you feel something coming on- take two thinish slices of apples and put one raw clove of garlic in between the apple slices and eat! I swear, somehow the apple masks the stronnnnng taste of raw garlic.

• ginger- ginger has inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties which can support your immune system (especially when you’re coming down with something) I tend to cook with ginger a lot and often throw a hunk in a smoothie!

• turmeric- turmeric has antioxidant effects, can reduce both chronic and acute inflammation, supports digestion, and can inhibit the growth of a variety of bacteria, pathogenic fungi, and parasites. I put it in soups and lots of other dishes, tofu scramble, or you can make a turmeric latte or I like this powder mix that also has ginger and probiotics!

• fermented foods- sauerkraut, kim chi, kombucha, etc. all support your gut health (which as we talked about is where a large portion of your immune system lives)

There you have it, folks! My holistic, family friendly recommendations for immune support over the holiday season! I hope you have a happy and healthy fall and winter!