Family Wellbeing
Building Family Resilience and Managing the Coronacoaster
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is a nationally registered child and adolescent psychologist working in private practice in Melbourne, and a renowned author. Best known for establishing CanTeen, the support group for teenagers with cancer, he has been an academic, researcher and public policy activist.
Last Wednesday Dr Michael Carr-Gregg presented a free webinar to help parents and carers build family resilience in these difficult times. In this webinar, Dr Carr-Gregg provided tools and strategies for parents and carers to help manage the lockdown and remote learning. Topics included:
- your supportive role
- setting the emotional tone
- focusing on what you can control
- how to deal with disappointment
- further resources and where to get help.
If you missed it, here is a summary of the key messages and what parents can do to navigate through and manage the Coronacoaster.
Boosting Your Immune System
The immune system is our protector against infection. For the body’s ability to fight off diseases and work at its best, we need to fuel it with the right food and nutrients.
There is not one food or nutrient that will magically stop you getting sick, but a combination of the right foods may have a part to play in protecting your body from bacteria, viruses, and other germs.
A daily plan to eat for your immune system
- Ensure every main meal has a protein source (for example, chicken, beef, lamb, fish, tofu, nuts, eggs, cheese)
- Make sure you are eating at least five serves of veg and two serves of fruit per day to keep your gut health in top shape
- Boost fibre by including fruit, veggies and nuts as snacks – for example, hummus and carrot sticks or veggie muffins
- Bump up the zinc by including a handful of pumpkin seeds or cashews daily
- Get out into the sunshine and eat some vitamin D foods regularly (mushrooms, eggs, oily fish)
- Reduce sugar and alcohol in the diet, as the immune system doesn’t like these
- Make sure you get good sleep, enough water and exercise, as these have all been shown to help with overall immune health.