Immune System Boost for Your Kids: Colostrum and the Flu Vaccine

Immune System Boost for Your Kids

Flu season can be brutal for anyone that gets caught in its cross hairs

Flu symptoms include coughing, aching, fever and chills and can take even the strongest among us down. When it comes to preventing the flu, some people opt to get the flu vaccine.

We all want to know the best way to avoid the flu, but is there a way to stay healthy without getting the flu vaccine?

For those of us who are parents, we know if we catch the flu it’s no fun, but if our whole family gets sick with the flu, including the babies and toddlers, life can become MOST unpleasant.

No one wants to see their baby, toddler or kid experience flu symptoms, but how can you avoid it or at least minimize your risk?

Two words, gut health. Almost every component of our general well being starts in the gut and it’s estimated that a staggering 8 out of 10 people suffer from some form of leaky gut syndrome.

A leaky gut can contribute to catching the flu and can have a profound effect on the body as a whole.

Leaky gut can cause a variety of ailments ranging from allergy symptoms, consistent inflammation, autoimmune diseases and other systemic health problems.

The scientific community has begun to publish various studies that look into the importance of adding colostrum into the diet, including fighting off the flu and optimizing nutritional absorption.

PLEASE NOTE: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the routine use of the seasonal influenza vaccine and antiviral medications for the prevention and treatment of influenza in children.

They also recommend annual seasonal influenza immunization for everyone 6 months and older.

This article is meant to inform about additional immune support you can give to your baby and family. If you have questions or concerns about your child's health, please consult your doctor.

Is Colostrum Nature’s Flu Shot?

Could colostrum powder be nature’s flu shot? The answer: yes. It’s only been in recent years that scientists have begun to study and understand the effects our lifestyles and diets have on our health, specifically our gut health.

As the majority of nutritional absorption occurs in the gut and this is what enables the body to fight off infection and disease, having a healthy gut is imperative to our overall health and well being.

With nearly 80% of us experiencing some form of leaky gut syndrome, it appears we could all benefit from improvements to our lifestyle and diet choices.

Luckily, scientists have started to uncover the symptoms, causes and solutions for leaky gut syndrome, including how some of these health issues relate to inflammation, immunity and gut health.

The most interesting research we have found is around bovine colostrum powder and its immune system boosting properties.

A recent study showed that the group who took an oral colostrum supplement was 3x less likely to contract the flu than those that received the flu vaccine and that’s only a small piece of the fascinating research regarding colostrum health benefits!

Did you know that 70% of serotonin (the happiness molecule) is made in the gut?

Or that colostrum supplementation has been linked to increasing exercise performance?

Having a leaky gut can affect the whole body ranging from thyroid issues to joint pain, frequent cold and flu symptoms as well as increased allergies, but the antibodies and other bioactive components found in colostrum deliver rich proteins and increase immunity by stimulating the development and repair of the gut.

Help your family avoid the flu this season by adding a high-quality colostrum supplement to their diets now!

By the time you or your little ones begin to experience the symptoms of the flu such as runny nose, headaches, fever, chills and other unpleasant symptoms, it’s too late to do much more than consult your doctor, stay hydrated and wait it out as comfortably as you can.

The best time to prevent the flu is before you’re exposed to it by optimizing your body’s immune system.

As Hippocrates once said, “All disease begins in the gut” and the prevention of the flu is no different.

Let’s circle back and talk about the health issue that affects an estimated 8 out of 10 people, leaky gut syndrome. How does this apply to avoiding the flu?

Well, first you need to understand that a healthy gut cell wall has very tight junctions.

There is only enough space between the gut cells to allow nutrients to enter our bloodstream.

The multiple factors that contribute to GI inflammation – stress, toxins, gluten, drugs and of course pathogens, all serve to break down this fragile barrier in your intestines.

All these factors cause inflammation which causes ‘holes’ in the gut.

When the spaces between gut cells are no longer tight, it allows toxins and other pathogens to enter the bloodstream and can cause a vast array of autoimmune reactions.

How do you develop a leaky gut?

You’re born with a leaky gut! Crazy, right? In fact, all babies are born with a leaky gut.

The permeable gut is what enables the baby to absorb nutrients in utero and then after birth, when the baby’s mother produces colostrum for the first 3-4 days of life, the colostrum then serves to heal the holes in the intestines of the newborn.

Colostrum is also known as “first milk” for the simple reason that it delivers potent and highly nutritious and immune boosting substances to the baby.

As the child ages, these holes in the intestinal lining can reopen from pollution, toxins in the diet and other aggravating substances.

More and more people are beginning to discover that a healthy gut can affect the entire whole body and bovine colostrum powder can help create a healthy gut and deliver immune boosting plus digestive benefits to both children and adults alike.

What are some symptoms of leaky gut syndrome?

For starters, the signs and symptoms of a leaky gut can range from thyroid issues to allergies and autoimmune responses and diseases.

It’s not always a straightforward diagnosis, but there are a few possible signs that can indicate you or your child has a leaky gut including:

  1. Extra rosy ears or inexplicable rashes on the body, especially the mouth and cheeks.
  2. Excessive bloatedness or other tummy troubles such as constipation or diarrhea.
  3. An autoimmune diagnosis.
  4. Allergy symptoms like runny nose, sneezing, swelling, itchy eyes.
  5. Trouble gaining weight, possibly from the inability to absorb nutrients.
  6. Intense mood swings ranging from extremely happy to rage and anxiety. They may also experience learning difficulties.

You may also enjoy reading: Tummy Troubles? The Best Probiotics and Other Solutions to Your Baby’s Digestion Issues

How does a leaky gut and colostrum affect your body and its chances of contracting the flu?

The continued science and biochemistry research behind healing a leaky gut gets more exciting every day!

Before we delve into the relationship between a leaky gut and catching the flu, first, it’s important to understand how a healthy gut works.

A healthy small intestine has a finger-like covering called “villi” that are responsible for simultaneously absorbing and distributing nutrients into blood vessels and keeping toxins and other harmful microorganisms out.

A leaky gut occurs when these villi begin to separate and become permeable.

This allows for partially-digested proteins, pathogens and toxins to escape into the bloodstream and cause systemic inflammation, leading to all kinds of health-compromising issues such as autoimmune diseases, thyroid and adrenal problems, and a lowered nutritional absorption rate.

When the body is not receiving optimal nutrition it becomes more susceptible to colds and flus and allergens.

The benefits of adding colostrum powder to you or your kid’s diet is becoming more well known as an essential step to heal a leaky gut.

A recent study about the prevention of the influenza episodes comparing colostrum with vaccination in healthy and high-risk cardiovascular patients found that those who took oral colostrum over the span of a 2 month period were 3x less likely to contract the flu as opposed to those who received the flu vaccine.

This is exciting news and just another reason to add colostrum to you and your children’s diets!

There are over 100 bioactive components in colostrum but there are 3 that are really important when it comes to a healthy gut wall.

Colostrum naturally contains Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF) which aids in the repair of gut holes.

Colostrum also provides a rich source of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Proline-rich polypeptides (PRP) which repair the gut on a more systemic level by regulating the proinflammatory cytokines.

When these cytokines are regulated, PRPs are at their peak to reduce inflammation in the gut that caused the hole in the gut to begin with!

Another benefit to ingesting IgGs is that they destroy the bad bacteria which contribute heavily to leaky gut.

What can you do to heal leaky gut fast? Is there a leaky gut diet?

The best defense to avoid the flu and heal a leaky gut is to look at your overall lifestyle choices from the food you and your children eat, to the amount of sleep you get in order to decrease outside pollutants, toxins and stress.

Secondly, a leaky gut diet includes adding a colostrum supplement to you and your children’s daily juice or food so your guts are continually protected and regenerated.

This will keep you and your children’s digestion and immune health at their peak performance to ensure only the best nutrients enter the bloodstream.

Keep in mind that damage to your body didn’t happen overnight and neither will improving and repairing it.

According to a collection of studies on the benefits of colostrum, it takes an average of 6 weeks to heal the holes in the gut lining and another 2 to begin feeling the nutrient absorption benefits and immune system boost.

See below for a microscopic before and after comparison of the small intestine villi after ingesting colostrum powder for a 6 week period.

IMAGE OF BEFORE AND AFTER 6 WEEKS USING COLOSTRUM GUT EFFECTS

Healthy Gut After Colostrum

While there are beginning to be more products on the market that offer the benefits of colostrum like surthrival colostrum and others, there is an even better option and that is a colostrum supplement that also includes the best probiotics!

Try UpSpring Probiotic + Colostrum today. Add this high-quality colostrum supplement to your leaky gut diet and experience the benefits of colostrum and probiotics as they help you avoid the flu and improve overall health for your and your family.

Learn more about the benefits of probiotics for babies and how they can help to reduce colic symptoms in newborns.

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