Experts advise strengthening children’s immunity

SAFAKNA TURKEY – Nutritionist Ozlem Kandemir said that during this period, the incidence of influenza in children increases significantly and that it is important to strengthen children’s immunity, adding that while attending school, tangerine can be added to their diet.

Cold weather in winter provokes diseases. Especially with the onset of the winter season, it can be seen that the incidence of influenza increases in children who are together indoors for a long time. Konya City Hospital dietitian Özlem Kandemir said cases of influenza are increasing with cold weather and the onset of the winter season, and said: “For this, it is always better to get rid of these infections if we eat enough and balanced, especially in winter. In this sense, we need to increase the consumption of winter vegetables and fruits. Already available winter vegetables and fruits are designed to strengthen your immunity. They are rich in vitamin C and vitamin A.

“We can add tangerine to our children’s diet”
Stating that vitamin C is quite high in oranges, tangerines, grapefruits and kiwis as it is known among people, Özlem Kandemir said: “During this period, the incidence of influenza among our children increases significantly. They stay indoors for a long time. We can add tangerine to their diet. Dried legumes and oil seeds strengthen the immune system. Almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts can be included in their diet. Foods containing probiotics also strengthen our immune system. We can use fresh homemade yogurt for our children while we are at home. Since they are not very fond of vegetables, we can boost their immunity by adding vegetables such as spinach, celery, broccoli to soups. Oilseeds are very good, we should definitely feed our children with foods like walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds.”

Emphasizing the importance of fluid intake, Candemir, a dietitian, said: “We can encourage our children to drink fluids by buying drinkers of the right color. We can also make ginger tea for them while we are at home, this is very good in terms of immunity. To strengthen immunity, you can add turmeric and thyme from the spice group to dishes. In addition, it is very important for our children to have regular sleep.

“Be sure to eat salad with meals”
Explaining that winter vegetables such as broccoli, chard, cabbage, collard greens, arugula, watercress and parsley are very rich in vitamin C, nutritionist Özlem Kandemir said: “We should definitely eat our salad for dinner. We can combine it with these vegetables to make a nice salad. Winter vegetables have already entered the diet, they are really immune-oriented vegetables. Same with vegetables as with fruits. We must have them in our diet, especially at dinner time. This may not be possible during the day, but you should definitely have a salad every evening during group meals with your family. As with all foods, frying should be avoided, and it will be healthier if we cook vegetables, especially in the oven or in a pot, using traditional methods.