Information and articles on how to fortify your child’s gut bacteria from the blog of GetzWell Pediatrics, a Holistic Pediatrician group in the Bay Area.
Information and articles on how to fortify your child’s gut bacteria from the blog of GetzWell Pediatrics, a Holistic Pediatrician group in the Bay Area.
The ABCs of Gut Health: 3 Tips to Improve Your Digestion Dr. Getzelman, a holistic pediatrician and the founder of GetzWell, recently gave a series of talks on how gut health is foundational to overall health. “What we eat and the bacteria inside our gut provide vital information to various body systems like the immune …
Our bodies are teeming with microbes – inside and out. In fact, we walk around with 100 trillion single celled organisms (4 pounds of bacteria!) that we rely on to keep us healthy. The number of bacteria that live in and on us is so vast that they (those not originated in the body) outnumber our own body cells 10 to 1!
This past January Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin announced the The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Due to mounting evidence of breastfeeding’s myriad health benefits she declared its promotion a national priority. Indeed, most people have heard about the passage of immunities from mothers to their breastfed infants, but few parents have been informed that formula-fed babies are at higher risk for developing lower respiratory infections, asthma, atopic dermatitis, obesity, necrotizing enterocolitis, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In fact, the Surgeon General estimates that if 90% of mothers breastfed exclusively for 6 months, nearly 1,000 deaths among infants could be prevented annually!
Although Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are the most studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorders affecting children, there is still little consensus about the root causes of the disorders and their appropriate treatments. According to the CDC, almost 10% of all children in the United States have received an attention deficit disorder diagnosis. Treatment of the telltale symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (including chronic inattention, frequent distraction, impulsivity, fidgeting and difficulty controlling behavior) now accounts for a significant proportion of all drug use in children between the ages of 4-17. In fact, there are now 17 different drugs approved to treat ADHD, contributing to a multibillion dollar ADHD industry. However, a new study conducted by Radboud University Medical School and the ADHD Research Centre in the Netherlands1, presents compelling evidence that this blanket pharmacological approach to ADHD is misguided. According to Dr. Lidy Piesser, the author of the study published in last month’s The Lancet medical journal, up to 64% of children who experience symptoms of ADHD might actually be experiencing sensitivity to foods.
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.
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