KEEP YOUR CHILD WELL DURING THE WINTER

How a healthy diet can boost the immune system during the cold months

THE Christmas break is over and cHildren are back at school again but new figures show that 51 per cent of parents are worried about their child getting sick now that a new term has started.

And statistics have found that 80% of children are not eating the recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables, with most only consuming three portions of their five a day.

New research by Irish child’s health brand Vivio Junior has found that despite 79% of parents relying on a good diet to keep their children healthy during term time, research revealed that 4 in 5 parents claim their children are not consuming the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables everyday.

Nearly a third (32%) of parents struggle with planning lunchboxes with almost a quarter (24%) citing cost as a concern.

But just over half of parents are using vitamins and supplements to boost their children’s immune syste,

As the school run returns, so too do the concerns that parents have. Just over half (51%) of parents claim their main concerns about their children going back to school is illness, with almost the same proportion (49%) worried about their children socialising with peers. Just over a third (35%) claim schoolwork and keeping grades high is their biggest concern.

THE research also revealed how parents of schoolgoing children are experiencing ‘lunchbox anxiety’. Nearly a third (32%) of parents find it difficult to come up with new ideas for lunchbox items while females (43%) are more likely to claim they find it difficult to present new ideas on a daily basis. Inspiration for lunchboxes is most likely to come from friends (51%), online recipes or through social media (both 36%).

Éva Hill Hamilton, clinical nutritionist says it is important to ensure your child has a wide variety of food in their lunchbox.

‘We know that preparing school lunches for children can pose a problem for many parents. Selecting colourful fresh fruit and vegetables balanced with protein and healthy fats will provide them with a spectrum of nutrients that bolsters the immune system.

‘Getting your children involved in lunchbox preparation may encourage them to eat what they’ve made and get the new school term off to a good start. To further support children’s development and overall health when not enough fruit and vegetables are consumed, I recommend adopting a comprehensive strategy by incorporating a multivitamin tonic to provide additional nutrients, as well as introducing a probiotic supplement containing live bacteria. This will aid in enhancing their gut wellbeing, help with nutrient absorption, and support their immunity.’

At this time of the year in Ireland, we all need to take a vitamin D supplement as we are not getting enough of it from sunshine until March.

‘It’s very true,’ says Eva. ‘There is a lot of focus on vitamin D but if you know anything about nutrients you will know they don’t work in isolation; they all work in synergy and we need to have them at the right levels and supplied daily in our diet,’ says Eva.

‘The more stress the body is going through and the more processed foods we are eating, the more our gut flora is affected and that is going to have an impact on our health.

‘Most children - and adults if we are being honest - tend to like eating the same foods and eating more beige types of foods and more sweets than anything else. If we had our dream diet it would be all chocolate, cakes and crisps but that is not the way we were meant to be.

‘If we are to supply all the nutrients that children - and adults need - from the diet, the very basic thing to do is to have a good, varied diet. And 80 per cent of children are not eating the recommended variety of vegetables, fruits and proteins.’

You might also have a fussy eater at home or one who just eats the same things all the time and this too can lead to issues.

‘Even if a child is not eating chicken nuggets and chips but is just eating bananas, carrots and potatoes they are not getting the right range of vitamins and minerals that they need,’ says Eva. ‘We really need a variety of foods. We need that diversity and most children - and parents - are not eating a wide enough range of foods.’

Eva recommends a live bacteria supplement for children who are fussy eaters alongside a good multivitamin.

But there is also a lot you can do to include more vegetables into your child’s diet by say swapping ordinary pasta for wholewheat or even ones made with lentils and you child won’t even notice it is not the same as they are used to.

‘You could also try using quinoa instead of rice for some meals.’

There are easy ways too, to hide vegetables so even the fussiest children won’t know they are in their favourite meals.

CHILDREN tend to like spaghetti and tomato sauces or bolognese and it is easy whenever you are making a mince meat type of dish to add a lot of blitzed up variety of mushrooms,’ says Eva. ‘That will give more fibre and nutrients and it will also make the meat stretch a bit longer as well. It also make the meat taste nicer. In the tomato sauce you can add onions, peppers, celery, carrots all blitzed up in the tomato sauce and the children don’t realise the vegetables are in there.

‘You can add grated cooked beetroot into a brownie or instead of banana bread make zucchini bread as a treat. You can throw lots of things into a smoothie avocado to make it creamier and always use full fat greek yoghurt because it will make that smoothie last longer in the tummy to keep their energy up and ensure their blood sugar levels don’t go up and down.’

Crispy root vegetable and kale crisps are easy to make at home as well.

Supplements and vitamins will also help your child get interested in eating better foods.

‘You can find ways to make foods more enjoyable and so much more tasty for your child and for yourself,’ says Eva.

For more information about the Vivio Junior product range visit viviojunior.com.