A Taiwanese nutritionist has advised parents to focus on building healthy diets and routines for children at the start of the school term, emphasising whole foods and lifestyle habits over supplements and vitamins to boost immunity during cold season.
A back-to-school message from Taiwanese nutritionist Gao Min-min has spread quickly across local news sites this week, carrying a blunt warning for anxious parents: the answer to the first round of classroom coughs is not a hurried trip for supplements, but the slower work of building a child’s diet and routine before illness arrives.
Reports carried by Yahoo Taiwan, PChome and LIFE.tw said Gao posted her advice on Facebook on 3 September, as families adjusted to the start of term and the familiar cycle of runny noses and coughs that often follows a return to shared school spaces. In the syndicated versions she was described not only as a nutritionist but also as a mother, a detail that framed her recommendations less as a sales pitch for health products than as practical household advice.
Her first priority was protein, which she presented as the foundation for growth and repair. The foods she highlighted were everyday staples rather than specialist products: eggs, milk, soy milk, tofu, fish, chicken and lean meat. The emphasis in the coverage was on getting those foods into ordinary meals across the day, not treating nutrition as something to fix once a child is already unwell.
She then turned to the nutrients linked to the body’s front-line defences. Vitamin A, she said, helps maintain the health of the skin and the mucous membranes lining the respiratory tract, with carrots, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato leaves and egg yolks among the foods she named. Vitamin C, meanwhile, was tied to antioxidant activity and normal immune function, with guava, kiwi fruit, citrus, broccoli and sweet peppers listed as useful sources. One of the fuller syndicated versions said Gao specifically urged parents not to start term by making children gulp fizzy vitamin tablets, arguing that fresh fruit and vegetables each day matter more.
Vitamin D was described as another part of the picture, with salmon, mackerel, egg yolks, mushrooms and milk fortified with vitamin D all mentioned as sources. Several republishes also stressed that food was only part of that advice: children should still get outside, be active and have some sun exposure. Gao paired that with a reminder about zinc and selenium, minerals she linked to immune function, pointing parents towards oysters, other seafood, fish, meat, eggs, nuts and seeds.
The final food group in her list focused on the gut. According to the versions carried by Yam News and Fire News, Gao recommended polysaccharides and probiotics through foods such as shiitake, maitake and black fungus, alongside yoghurt and fermented milk drinks. The point was not that these foods could act as a shield on their own, but that gut health deserves a place in the wider conversation about how children cope with a busy school term. Fire News’ version added a sharper consumer warning: parents should not wait until a child is already sick before rushing out to buy vitamins or probiotic products.
That caution was the thread running through every version of the story. Yahoo’s syndication said plainly that no single food or nutrient can guarantee a child will stay well, and the same message was repeated elsewhere: a proper breakfast, more whole foods, enough sleep, frequent hand-washing, exercise and sensible protective habits matter more than faith in one “superfood”. In the republished reports, breakfast was singled out as a common weak spot, with Gao arguing for meals built around protein, whole grains and fruit or vegetables rather than bread washed down with sugary drinks.
The speed and breadth of the pickup say something about the audience for that message. Yahoo Taiwan carried a version early on 3 September, while PChome and LIFE.tw ran afternoon republications and Yam News followed with its own repost. Most of those outlets identified Taoyuan E-Paper as the originating source, but Fire News and Rise Media carried the same advice under the byline Taiwan Line News instead, a small attribution wrinkle that still pointed to the same underlying reality: parents are keen for simple ways to keep children well at the start of term, and Gao’s answer was conspicuously old-fashioned. Feed them properly, let them sleep, get them moving and make hand hygiene routine; do not expect one bottle, tablet or yoghurt drink to do the job alone.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
