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Fight the Flu With Food?
I can never remember whether it’s starve a cold, feed a fever or the exact opposite. But according to a new eat-right program for families, you can feed your kids to stave off a fever at least.
The Dairy Council of California (the people behind all those talking cow commercials that my kid is obsessed with) (a government agency not directly linked to the California Milke Advisory Board which does the talking cow commercials) are cashing in on American parents’ swine flu fears with a new cookbook and Website designed to encourage us to mix up “flu-fighting foods” for the family.
I’ve been sneezing over my keyboard all morning (which I’m trying hard not to blame on having walked into my daughter’s nursery school building to a swarm full of kids), so despite my preference to simply cook well-balanced meals all the time, I figured it didn’t hurt to see if there was a little something extra we could do this fall. Especially when you consider we’ve still got weeks to wait before the swine and seasonal flu shots are available.
So what do they say we should be eating to stay flu-free? The biggies are yogurt, garlic, citrus and chicken, all meant to boost the immune system.
Their recipe suggestions fall in line with Dr. Sears’ old standby for immune boosters for kids – he gives you a list of vitamins, with an even longer list of foods that contain each. Garlic is on his list, along with Vitamin C, E, and more.
Check out the Meal Matters site for the recipes.
Image: amazon
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GP commented on Sep 16 09 at 1:47 pmHere’s more…
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/2/e172
A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics (124: e172-e179) found that probiotic supplementation reduced the incidence and duration of common cold and flu symptoms in young children, expanding the list of benefits of these friendly bacteria. In a six-month trial using questionnaires given to group child care representatives and diary records kept by patients, researchers monitored incidence of fever, cough, and runny nose in 284 children aged three to five years. The children were randomly assigned to a placebo or a daily dose of 2 grams of either Lactobacillus (L.) acidophilus NCFM alone or a combination of L. acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium animalis.
The results showed both single strain and combination probiotic treatments significantly decreased episodes of illness symptoms compared with placebo. L. acidophilus NCFM reduced fever incidence by 53 percent and coughing incidence by 41 percent compared with placebo. The probiotic combination reduced fever incidence by 72.7 percent, coughing incidence by 62 percent and runny nose incidence by 59 percent. In addition, both the single probiotic and combination significantly minimized the duration of symptoms overall by nearly two to three days compared with placebo. Those children who supplemented with probiotics also had fewer missed school days due to illness. Overall, this study supports the use of probiotics for maintaining health in children.
Laure68 commented on Sep 16 09 at 2:30 pmJeanne, you say we have weeks until the seasonal flu shot is available, but it has been available for a while. We all got our in August. (The swine flu shot won’t be available until October, though.)
Really, the best thing you can do now is make sure to wash your hands frequently. We tend to eat the kinds of things they are recommending already (including my mom’s homemade yogurt – full of natural probiotics!)
jeannesager commented on Sep 17 09 at 9:02 amLaure68 – lucky! I called our county health department last week, and they said we’ve got nothing yet.
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