Back to School Immunity
It’s that time of year again, when children, teens and young adults head back to school or college, swapping stories of what they did to fill their long days of summer freedom. Although most parents look forward to their child getting back into a routine of structure and learning, it can also be a time of growing concern with the increased likelihood of being exposed to Covid-19 and other contagious infections. The good news is that there are ways to help keep everyone’s immune system stronger and more able to resist infection. Below are the basics for both kids and adults to help see you through this season in good health! We’ve made these protocols available for purchase online from our dispensary. Order today to take advantage of the back-to-school discount offered by FullScript. Please note that you do not need to purchase the entire protocol as we have included more than one option for each recommendation to allow for individualization.
Immune Support for Kids:
For general immune support for children, we recommend the following:
Vitamin C 500 mg 1-2 times daily, increasing to 3-4 doses per day if symptoms of infection appear.
Zinc 10-20mg daily with food, increasing to 40-60mg daily at first sign of infection until symptoms greatly improve. (Note that there is a zinc + elderberry chewable option.)
Vitamin D is typically dosed at 1000-3000 IU daily, based on a target blood level of 60-80 ng/mL.
Elderberry can be taken 1 tsp. once daily for prevention, and increased to 3 times daily if active infection is present. (Note that there is a zinc + elderberry chewable option.)
We've included multiple options in our online dispensary for most of our recommendations to allow parents to customize this protocol to fit their child's specific needs and preferences. We also recommend that your child be taking some basics, which are outlined in our foundational protocol below.
Foundational Support for Kids:
https://us.fullscript.com/protocols/leavesoflife-foundational-support-for-kids
Even if you can get your child to eat a perfectly clean and balanced diet, it's nearly impossible to get everything needed for vibrant health from diet alone, Aside from farming practices that lead to soil depletion of critical nutrients, the ever-increasing toxins in our environment can bio-accumulate in their little bodies if the nutrients needed to detoxify them are insufficiently present. Stress, exercise and consumption of processed foods all create increased nutritional needs. If digestive disorders are present, absorption of nutrients from food can be compromised. For all of these reasons (and more), we recommend our patients of all ages take a few basic foundational supplements to support the many biochemical, nutrient-driven pathways that are at work 24-7 to maintain good health.
Here is what we recommend for all children. These recommendations assume that your child is also intaking nutrients from their diet in addition to supplementation.
Multivitamin (dosing based on age per product)
Vitamin D - Absorbs best when taken with a meal containing fat. Vitamin D is abundant in fatty fish and fish oil, and is produced by your skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. Among the many health conditions Vitamin D is critical for preventing: cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting and works with vitamin D to direct calcium to the bones and teeth. If Vitamin K is deficient, calcium can collect in soft tissues such as the kidneys and blood vessels. Not everyone needs to supplement Vitamin K. About half of the body's Vitamin K comes from diet: leafy greens, fermented legumes and vegetables, and some fatty, animal-sourced foods, such as egg yolk, liver and cheese. The other half is produced by the good flora in the GI tract, if enough are present.
Most children living in Ohio need 1-2000 IU of Vitamin D daily year-round. To determine the correct dose, we recommend measuring twice yearly: in summer and in winter. The target blood level is 60 ng/mL. Most healthcare providers will order this blood test if asked.
Omega 3: Best taken with food, and can be taken in divided dose. Some patients take at dinner or with a small snack near bedtime to help with sleep. Liquid flavored fish oils taste great added to smoothies and yogurt, and are a nice alternative to fish oil gel caps. For children 1-8 years old, take 1/2 tsp per day. For 8 and older, take 1 tsp.
Maintaining a healthy balance between omega 6 and omega 3 is critical in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases that are now common in Western civilizations and developing countries. Omega 3 fats help control inflammation. Inflammation is at the core of most disease states. Children's brains in particular, soak up essential oils at the highest rate prior to age 6.
We base our dosing range on what most patients show a need for based on fatty acid testing. We've found if patients aren't eating cold water fish 2-3 times weekly and are not supplementing with fish oil, they're typically deficient in omega 3.
Calcium-Magnesium (dose) Calcium and magnesium intake is critical to healthy skeleton formation, and children are often calmer when these minerals are included as part of a balanced diet.
Lifestyle recommendations that also support a healthy immune response in children:
Avoid sugar and processed foods
5-7 daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (eat a rainbow!)
Half their body weight in ounces of water daily
8 or more hours of sleep each night
Daily outdoor play time
Let us know if we can provide additional support to keep your kiddos well!
Immune Support for Adults:
As with children, adults need additional support for a healthy immune system. Below is our recommended immune-boosting protocol for adults. We've included additional options for some of our recommendations to allow patients to customize the order to fit their specific needs and preferences.
For general immune support for adults, we recommend the following:
Liposomal Vitamin C 1000 mg 1-2 times daily, increasing to at least 3-4 doses per day if symptoms of infection appear.
Zinc 30-50mg daily with food, increasing to 100-200mg daily at first sign of infection.
Vitamin D is typically dosed at 3000-5000 IU daily, based on a target blood level of 60-80 mg/mL.
Elderberry can be taken 1 tsp once daily for prevention, and increased to 3 times daily if active infection is present.
If you begin experiencing symptoms of infection despite your best efforts, we’ve found the addition of Andrographis Plus from Metagenics can often knock out the infection before it takes hold. Because natural interventions work best at the onset of symptoms, we recommend having this on hand for immediate dosing. Consider opening the bottle and keeping some in your purse or desk drawer to prevent delay in getting started. Dosing should be one tab every 1-2 hours until symptoms greatly improve, then less often until symptoms resolve, usually 1-2 days. Be sure to rest and follow the lifestyle recommendations below for best results.
We also recommend that you take some basics, which are outlined in our foundational protocol.
Foundational Support for Adults:
https://us.fullscript.com/protocols/leavesoflife-foundational-support-for-adults
As with the children, diet alone is not sufficient to support our immune systems needs on a daily basis. We therefore recommend a few basic foundational supplements:
Multivitamin - Best taken in divided dose with meals since most vitamins are water-soluble and wash out in a few hours. Iron should not be supplemented unless there is a proven need. Men and post-menopausal women are highly unlikely to need iron supplementation. An excess of iron in the system increases your risk of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Ask your healthcare provider to order a ferritin level to determine how much iron is stored in your body. Because elevated ferritin can also indicate inflammation, measuring soluble transferrin receptor activity can provide a double-check for iron status.
Vitamin D - Abundant in fatty fish and fish oil, vitamin D is produced by your skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. Among the many health conditions vitamin D is critical for preventing: cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting and works with vitamin D to direct calcium toward accumulation in your bones and teeth. If Vitamin K is deficient, calcium can collect in soft tissues such as the kidneys and blood vessels. Not everyone needs to supplement Vitamin K. About half of the body's Vitamin K comes from diet: leafy greens, fermented legumes and vegetables, and some fatty, animal-sourced foods, such as egg yolk, liver and cheese. The other half is produced by the good flora in the GI tract, if enough are present. Most patients living in Ohio need 3000-5000 IU of Vitamin D daily year-round. To determine the correct dose, we recommend measuring twice yearly: in summer and in winter. The target blood level is 60 ng/mL. Most healthcare providers will order this blood level if asked.
Omega 3 - Best taken with food, and can be taken in divided dose. Some patients take at dinner or with a small snack near bedtime to help with sleep. Maintaining a healthy balance between omega 6 and omega 3 is critical in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases that are now common in Western civilizations and developing countries, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even depression. Omega 3 fats help control inflammation. Inflammation is at the core of most disease states. We base our dosing range on what most patients show a need for based on fatty acid testing. Patients who are not eating cold water fish 2-3 times weekly and are not supplementing are typically deficient in omega 3.
Trace Minerals - When beginning this product, we recommend putting one dropperful in water once daily. After the first bottle, patients can usually drop to 1/2 dropper daily for maintenance. Because of soil depletion, trace minerals are greatly reduced in our food supply. Even when present, increasingly common weak digestion compromises the ability to absorb them. All cells are electrical, particularly the cells of the heart. When minerals are depleted, patients often experience irregular or rapid heartbeat and when we do meridian testing, we can’t accurately assess the results if the patient isn't conducting well. Because we're able to monitor cell conductance in this way, we've been able to determine which products work best.
Probiotic - We recommend taking these friendly “bugs” on an empty stomach at bedtime, but ultimately they're best taken when you can be consistent with them. We've included several of our favorite probiotics in our foundational protocol so patients can distinguish which one is best for them. Please refer to the notes in the individual products.
Lifestyle recommendations that also support a healthy immune response in adults:
Avoid sugar and processed foods
5-7 daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (eat a rainbow!)
Half your body weight in ounces of water daily
7 or more hours of sleep each night
Daily outdoor leisure time
Let us know if we can provide additional support to help you stay well!