Functional Medicine information from the blog of GetzWell Pediatrics, a premier pediatrics practice in San Francisco, California.

Functional Medicine

Functional Medicine information from the blog of GetzWell Pediatrics, a premier pediatrics practice in San Francisco, California.

What’s the big deal about Vitamin D?

All pregnant and lactating women should have their vitamin D levels checked because many of us are deficient and don’t know it.  Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has been linked with an almost 4 times higher Cesarean-section rate (J Clinical Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Mar; 94(3):940-5).  Maternal deficiency during pregnancy has also been correlated with low birth weight, pre-eclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure, swelling, protein in the urine, and in some cases maternal death), and gestational diabetes.

What are Probiotics?

Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria and yeast that live in our intestinal tracts and help support not only good digestion and optimal absorption of nutrients but our overall health and well being.  It sounds strange, but these single cell organisms affect us in ways we can hardly imagine and which modern science is now beginning to elucidate.  Probiotics may help promote healthy mood, keep us from sniffling and sneezing, and bind toxins and heavy metals (like mercury) in order to better excrete these poisons.  By the time we are adults, 3-4 lbs of our body weight is accounted for by these organisms alone!  However, most of us in modern industrial society do not have an optimal mix of intestinal bacteria due to antibiotics, antacids, stress, lack of sleep, fast food, and hydrogenated oils, among other culprits.

GetzWell Pediatrics is Vaccine Friendly

What does it mean to be a vaccine friendly pediatric practice? While we believe vaccines play a vital role in keeping our patients and communities healthy, we support parents in their right to adopt a vaccination schedule different from the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). We recommend that all parents considering an alternative vaccination schedule read The Vaccine Book in addition to understanding the CDC (www.CDC.gov) and AAP (www.AAP.org) recommendations. We encourage an open discussion about vaccines and want to understand and address the concerns of our families. We strive to use and provide sound information as a basis for decision making regarding vaccines and children’s health in general.

Home Remedies for Cold Symptoms

This is the time of year when kids have the sniffles and we all want advice to make our little ones more comfortable. In light of the recent removal of cough and cold medicines from store shelves (for children under 2 years) and an FDA panel recommendation against giving over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to children under 6 years, what’s a parent to do?