The Dangers of Sick Days ? Here's the children’s new disease-fighting sidekicks!

August 22, 2015

The Dangers of Sick Days ? Here's the children’s new disease-fighting sidekicks!

When kids are on their sick days, parents always think what they can give their suffering child to make them better faster.

Despite the limited forms of cure of diseases, they can be extremely uncomfortable nuisances, resulting in a staggering number of missed days from work and school. It is not surprising that many people are willing to try and pay for almost anything to relieve the annoying symptoms of the common cold.

When kids skip school due to illness, they miss more than just a class – they miss opportunities for growth

More and more Filipino children are contracting viral and bacterial disease because of weak immune systems, a recent clinical study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism reveals. This growing prevalence of infection in school-age populations is particularly urgent because a single sick day may affect many different facets of your child’s life, including time-sensitive activities like going to school to attend classes.

Multiple sick days are likely to set back your children’s education, as well as their overall development and growth. Classes are typically dependent on very specific timelines, and whenever schoolchildren get sick, they miss valuable lessons that may prove to be crucial later on in the school year. This compromises the pacing for their growth as individuals. It can be very hard for students who are often absent to get back on track.

With school in full swing, it’s important to make sure that your children are kept safe from infection.

Here are some best defense, new disease-fighting sidekicks!

- Stay clean and clear of people who are coughing and sneezing.

- Good hand washing will help your family avoid most infections.

- Clean toys and teach older kids to wash their hands and to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, or tell them to bend their arm and sneeze into the crook of their elbow.

- Let them get some air. Breathing fresh can do wonders for a croupy cough.

- Drinking fluids can also loosen congestion and prevent dehydration. If your child refuses water, offer juice, the age-old remedy - chicken soup and of course, the best defence - fruits!

- A serving of pineapple a day helps strengthen immunity

Thus, there is a strong need for better ways to give children the nutrients they need to stay healthy.

Thankfully, parents have an easy, enjoyable way to help protect kids from infection and keep them in school – pineapples.

Gelli Victor hosted the round table discussions regarding the children's immunity and the importance of fruit consumption in a child's diet, held at the Loft 2 Museum Cafe, Ayala, Makati City, August 18, 2015.

Just what do canned pineapples have that make them our children’s new disease-fighting sidekicks?

As studies show, a lot actually!

The said clinical study checked the possible effects of canned pineapples as a practical immunity booster. A nine-week randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 98 elementary school students in Paco, Manila. The students were divided into three groups. Two of the three groups of children were regularly served Del Monte Pineapple Tidbits. The third group served as the control group and was not given any canned pineapples.

Only the groups who took regular servings of Del Monte Pineapple Tidbits had an increased resistance to disease and infection, with those taking two servings (140g per serving) demonstrating higher granulocyte production.

Granulocytes are key components of white blood cells and are important players of the immune system. They are the fighter cells that detect and kill disease-causing viruses and bacteria. Finally, a healthy solution that’s tastier than most!

The results show that adding 2 servings of canned pineapples to your children’s daily diet goes a long way towards protecting them from sickness. Giving children #DMPineappleADay is a quick, easy, and delicious way of strengthening their immunity, while supplying much-needed nutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, fiber, and manganese.