How to raise a Healthy Child in an Unhealthy World

In my 35 years of practice as a family physician, I have come to see the health challenges of our children grow each year. It becomes more urgent for parents to focus on their children’s health in order for them to survive in an unhealthy world.

The challenges of children begin before birth with the health of the mother. The environmental workgroup (www.ewg.org) published a study on July 21, 2005. Tests measuring the cord blood from 10 newborn infants randomly selected detected 287 chemicals. 180 of the chemicals are known to cause cancer in adults, 217 are linked to brain and nervous system damage, and 208 have been shown to effect fetal or child development in animal studies. For 209 of the contaminants, this was a first-time researchers have identified the chemicals in newborn blood.

It is paramount for pregnant mothers before and during their pregnancy to be aware of their exposure to such chemicals, and be proactive in a form of detoxification. To prevent this from being passed on to their infants. Mothers need to be aware of their vitamin and nutritional status as well as toxic chemical exposure i.e. Mercury fillings in their teeth.

Mothers need to abandon the standard American diet (SAD) and adopt a diet with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (organic is preferred) and organic range free meats along with plenty of pure water. Mothers need to have adequate levels of vitamins, fish oil and vitamin D – 3 to provide a healthy environment for the newborn.

Mothers are encouraged to breast-feed their infants to help enhance their immune system. While strengthening mother infant bonding and reduce the potential for future allergies.

Parents need to reconsider the whole issue of vaccinations. My purpose is not to condemn the concept of vaccinations, but to look at how the present system has evolved where a newborn infant in the first 18 months of life is recommended to have 35 immunizations. A great resource is a book by Mayer Eisenstein MD, JD, MPH called “Don’t vaccinate before you educate.” He has also written, “Make an informed vaccine decision for the health of your child, a parent’s guide to immunizations.”

Younger children are encouraged to be fed organic fruits and vegetables as well as range free organic meats. Vitamin supplementation with a multivitamin and vitamin D3 and probiotics is recommended. If we do change our r children’s eating habits away from the standard American diet. The World Health Organization predicts that 50% of children born today will develop type 2 diabetes before the age 30.

We must continue to be vigilant to search out the chemicals in a children’s environment and try to reduce their ongoing exposure. For example, bisphenol A found in children’s plastic bottles is a xenoestrogen , which disrupts normal hormone function in children. Today we are seeing boys and girls develop premature puberty before the age of 10. Because of the synthetic xenoestrogen and other hormones found in milk and dairy products as well as processed meats. These chemicals include fluoride, and chlorine which disrupts thyroid function as well as mercury found in “silver fillings.”

As children grow into young adults, we must educate them and how to live a healthy lifestyle and make good choices in a diet, nutrition supplements and developing healthy lifestyles that will serve them into their old age. We must educate them that the pharmaceutical industry does not have the answer for every problem. Educate them on the hazards of legal and illegal drugs and help them to make wise choices. We as parents and grandparents have responsibility to educate our children to live a healthy balance lifestyle- emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

For additional information contact our office: www.lemireclinic.com phone #352-291-9459.