Are stuffy, sneezy, noses taking the fun out of outside play time for your children? Springtime allergies can be difficult (and miserable!) for children with pollen allergies and may impact sleep as well as learning if symptoms are not well controlled.

Here are a few tips to help control those allergy sniffles for children:

• Keep your child well hydrated to keep the mucous membranes moist. (Children need half their weight in ounces daily). 💧
• Ensure a nutritional healthy diet with the rainbow of colors from vegetables and fruits that provide vitamin C, vitamin A, and bioflavonoids to reduce the amount of histamine the body produces in response to an allergen. 🍎🥦
• Use an indoor air purifier. 💨
• Keep windows closed in bedrooms. Keep all windows closed during peak allergy seasons. 🪟
• Keep pets well groomed, out of bedrooms, and off the furniture. Pets are great pollen collectors from being outside and then may transfer pollen indoors and onto furniture or bedding. 🐶
• Have your child shower before bed or after time spent outdoors to remove pollens. (Pollens are carried on shoes, clothes, hair etc.) 🛀
• Remove shoes upon entering the home to prevent “tracking in” allergens. 👞
• Use nasal saline spray to clear pollens from nasal passages. 👃
• Pollen counts are typically higher in the evening so if possible, schedule outdoor activities earlier in the day. ☀️

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What are Natural Support Options for Children’s Seasonal Pollen Allergies?

Local honey (1-2 tsp daily) can be taken 2-3 months prior to pollen season to help in desensitizing pollen allergies. (Contains pollens from local plants, flowers, weeds, trees, grasses etc.)  🍯

D-Hist Jr. works most effectively when it is started about a month before seasonal pollen allergies begin and is continued on a daily basis during allergy season. It is dosed by age, typically taken in the am and pm with a meal. It can be taken alongside over-the-counter allergy medications if needed.

D-Hist Jr. contains quercetin a powerful plant flavonoid to support healthy histamine levels. The quercetin is combined with bromelain, a plant based enzyme to aid the absorption of the quercetin and is beneficial in decreasing inflammation and supporting mucous membranes. Stinging Nettles leaf assists in balancing the hyper-immune response. N-acetyl cysteine, an antioxidant derived from an amino acid, assists in clearing mucous from the airways. Vitamin C is added as an essential nutrient to support the immune system and is a potent antioxidant with the ability to assist in deactivating the histamine response. Together the ingredients assist in supporting the immune system during pollen allergy season.

D-Hist is also available in capsule form for older children who prefer swallowing a capsule. D-Hist Jr. and D-Hist are available in the children’s health products section at this FullScript link (you may click request authorization if needed).

Reminder: For your child's safety, it is recommended to purchase products directly from the manufacturer or a healthcare professional company, not third party e-commerce sites, due to recent research and reports of products being tampered or adulterated on those sites.
Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35947382

As we discuss wellness this month, one of the topics that comes to the forefront is Fruits and Veggies. Our children need fruits and vegetables as an important part of their diet and is essential for health and wellness. A diversity of fruits and Vegetables in the rainbow of colors are powerhouses of phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, and fiber. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables supports the immune system, proper growth and development, and provides the food for a healthy microbiome.

The Healthy Eating Plate established by the Harvard Medical School’s nutrition division, recommends half of the meal or plate, should consist of fruits and vegetables. The majority of that should be vegetables and a smaller percentage of that should be fruits. 

According to the CDC on any given day in the US:
90% of children do not meet the daily requirements of vegetables
60% of children do not meet the daily requirement of fruits

So how do we get our children to eat their fruits and vegetables?
The following are a few ideas:

• Grow your own vegetable garden with your children
• Take your child shopping with you to help pick out different fruits and vegetables 
• Allow your child to help wash and prepare fruits vegetables
• Experiment with your child on different recipes, seasonings, and ways to prepare fruits and vegetables
• Use fruits and vegetables as snacks for snack time
• Limit processed fruits and vegetables such as fruit chewy snacks, etc. as they often contain artificial ingredients, colors, added sugars, preservatives etc. and they lose much of their nutritional value and fiber in processing. (Note Fruit Snacks & Veggies Straws do not count as a fruit or vegetable source!)
• Have an “eat your veggies first policy” at mealtimes
• Use fruits as dessert instead of sugary desserts
• Incorporate fruits and sometimes even small amounts of veggies in a healthy fruit smoothie

Establishing a food first approach is always preferable. However, for some children as they are working on incorporating a more diverse variety of fruits and vegetables in their diet, some additional support may be beneficial.
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NutriDyn has an excellent Kids Fruits and Greens powdered product that can be readily added to smoothies (see recipe below) to increase the diversity of fruits and vegetables for children. It is an easy to mix, great tasting, nutrient-rich super food powder made from whole food concentrates. It provides vitamins, antioxidants, prebiotic fiber, and some probiotics to support the microbiome specially designed to help kids thrive. Kids Fruits and Greens can be obtained through NutriDyn at this link.