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Baby's Immune System
5 Ways to Give Baby's and Toddler's Immune System a Boost
By Donna Smith
A newer member of the club is probiotics. "Foods containing probiotics (beneficial bacteria) such as yogurt can strengthen [the] immune system," Graf says. "Probiotics are beneficial bacterial naturally found in the gut of healthy individuals. Adding this 'good' bacteria to the baby's diet can strengthen the immune system and ward off a variety of infections such as rotavirus and urinary tract infections."
When it comes to what not to feed children, Graf suggests parents avoid too much sugar. "Excessive sugar intake (from juice or candy, for example) should be avoided as it suppresses immune function," she says.
While still a controversial topic, immunizations are still thought by many to be crucial for a healthy child.
"Vaccinations teach an infant's immune system to recognize specific, highly contagious, dangerous germs that cause serious diseases (for example, polio, whooping cough and German measles)," says Dr. F. Sessions Cole, Chief Medical Officer and director of the Division of Newborn Medicine at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "This recognition dramatically reduces the likelihood of the child's developing these specific serious infections. The vaccines do not cause an infection, but rather contain killed germs or recognizable parts of killed germs that can induce immune recognition without causing serious disease. Protection of infants by vaccination has been a major contributor to reducing death and serious disability due to these infections."
Dr. Kahn says that administration of immunizations stimulates the immune system. "Active immunization involves administering a killed or attenuated part of a microorganism (bacterial or viral) which is incapable of causing illness but is capable of stimulating the body's immune response," he says.
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