155: How I Boost My Kid's Immune System for School | Lizzie Ens

How to keep kids healthy at school starts long before the first sniffle shows up in the classroom. If your kid comes home every fall with a cough that lingers for months, functional nutrition coach Lizzie Ens says the root cause usually traces back to what they eat every day, not just the germs going around. You cannot control every hand your kid touches at school, but you can control what fuels their gut and their immune system before they ever walk through the classroom door.

Lizzie Ens, functional nutrition coach, business owner, author, and speaker, walks you through the exact back to school health routine she uses with her own son. You will hear which daily vitamin C and multivitamin she gives him, why she swapped hand sanitizer for a hypochlorous acid spray called Briotech, and what a real school lunch looks like in her house. She also shares her go to remedies, mullein drops and cold sock therapy, for when her son does get sick. This is not about shaming yourself as a parent. It is about giving your family simple, natural tools that actually work.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why what your kid eats before and during back to school season directly affects how often they get sick and how quickly they bounce back, based on Lizzie's own family experience.The daily supplement routine Lizzie uses for her son, including a chewable vitamin C from DaVinci and a kids multivitamin, and why she believes consistency matters more than the brand.How hypochlorous acid, known as HOCl, works as a non-toxic alternative to hand sanitizer, and why Lizzie sprays it on her son's feet, arms, and even his nose every school morning.What Lizzie packs in her son's school lunch on a typical day, from sliced turkey and goat cheese to fresh fruit and gluten-free pretzels, to support his gut and immune system.Why mullein drops are Lizzie's go to remedy for ear discomfort, and how cold sock therapy can help break a fever or calm a cough overnight for kids and adults alike.The vitamin C brand Lizzie recommends for adults and older kids who can swallow pills, plus how to get 15 percent off supplements through her Fullscript account.Why Lizzie avoids frozen dinners and heavily processed foods for her son, and how added sugar and food dyes can disrupt a child's gut microbiome and immune response.

We talk about:

00:00 Why back to school means more germs and sick days

00:25 What triggers most back to school illness for kids

01:13 How your kid's diet affects their immune system and gut

02:29 Why Lizzie is not trying to shame parents with this episode

03:13 What a healthy school lunch looks like in Lizzie's house

05:21 The daily kids multivitamin and chewable vitamin C Lizzie uses

06:56 What Lizzie uses instead of hand sanitizer for her son