5 Essential Foods to Keep Your Child Healthy

For a parent, nothing can be more upsetting than to see their child suffering from a cold and its associated symptoms, like runny nose, sneezing, coughing, nasal congestion, headache and a mild sore throat, in winter. A cold can usually for as last as long as 2 weeks.

According to an article published in the Journal Paediatrics Child Health, young children, below the age of 2 years, are highly vulnerable to catching a cold. There are more than 100 different cold viruses around us and younger children are more prone to being infected, since their immune system is still developing.

The right nutrition, however, plays a key role in helping children build immunity against disease-causing viruses. The only way parents can help their children is by incorporating healthy food in their daily diet to boost immunity levels.

Here is the list of five such super foods for your kid.

5 Healthy Foods for Kids in Winter

1. Vegetables: Yes, children hate most veggies, but these are also rich sources of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, iron, folic acid, zinc, magnesium, potassium and a lot of phytonutrients and antioxidants. All of these are crucial in keeping a child fit and healthy, not only in winters but all through the year. So, make sure you try to learn some creative recipes to make vegetables interesting for your kid.
2. Fruits: Fruits are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Surprisingly, many kids can be equally reluctant to eating fruits. However, their body requires a daily dosage of fruits, which can include watermelon, apple, bananas, oranges and peaches. Parents will need to be a little creative here as well. If the kid doesn’t like fruits in solid form, you can make fresh juices or blend them into smoothies.
3. Nuts: Other than proteins, vitamins abd zinc, your kid’s body also need Omega-3 fatty acids, which significantly boost the immune system, says an article published by My Vitamins. When your kid’s disease fighting mechanism is strengthened, you’ll won’t have to worry about them catching all sorts of infections. Adding nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios and peanuts in their diet can be the easiest of all other foods, since most kids enjoy munching on nuts, either plain or roasted.
4. Yogurt:Not only for kids, consuming yogurt on a daily basis is advised for adults as well, in order to strengthen their immune system. Yogurt contains probiotics that encourage the growth of good bacteria in the intestines. These good bacteria work to strengthen the immune system. However, kids will always resist yogurt in its purest form. Parents can mix fruits and yogurt together to form a delicious recipe, topped with shredded nuts.
5. Eggs: Our body needs protein to repair damaged tissues and build a strong immune system. Eggs are an extreme source of protein, an important macronutrient, the regular intake of which ensures that your kid’s body is fighting seasonal infections. Other than eggs, parents can incorporate chicken, fish and pulses in their munchkin’s diet to fill their daily quota of protein.

Although regular intake of healthy food for kids will ensure their healthy growth, it is hard to make those fussy eaters consume all of it on a daily basis. The best way to give proper nutrition is to add a daily dose of a fortified milk powder like Enfagrow A+. It is packed will all the essential nutrients and is available in different flavours, which kids cannot resist.