Articles and information on integrative medicine from the blog of GetzWell Pediatrics, a pediatrician group in the San Francisco Bay Area.

integrative medicine

Articles and information on integrative medicine from the blog of GetzWell Pediatrics, a pediatrician group in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Knowing What to Expect Helps You Successfully Manage Your Toddler’s Behavior

It’s completely natural for parents to lose patience with emotionally erratic toddlers. However, according to this ZERO TO THREE National Parent Survey, parental frustration during this phase can stem from significantly overestimating the age at which children master skills of self-control, creating what is called an “expectation gap.”

Helping Raise Truly Healthy Kids For A Lifetime

What is the secret to a healthy life from start to finish? Is it eating right and plenty of outdoor play? Regular checkups to catch issues early? Lots of sleep and love? Minimal stress? The truth is, all of these factors and more play a role in ensuring optimal health throughout your child’s lifetime.

Functional Medicine: Whole Kid Care from the Inside Out!

Everybody is unique. When it comes to your baby’s health, it’s important to get the kind of care that addresses their individual needs.

At GetzWell we take an innovative approach to health care that combines the best of traditional western medicine with what is called Functional Medicine. This approach focuses on the whole child, not just a set of isolated symptoms, and we strive to understand the root causes of health concerns.

The Beauty of Bacteria and Your Baby’s Health

We are all are teeming with natural gut bacteria (a.k.a. gut flora) that have myriad functions including facilitating digestion and safeguarding against harmful diseases and allergies. In fact, nearly 75-80% of immune function originates in the gastrointestinal tract.

In this post we’ll give you the inside scoop on the inner workings of good gut health and helpful tips on keeping your child’s intestinal tract in tiptop shape.

More Toxic Truths = More Reason to Limit Your Baby’s Exposure to Unsafe Products

Healthy Child Healthy World recently published “The Toxic Takeover of Baby Nurseries: Chemicals of Concern Found in Almost Every Common Product and Furnishing,” a staggering report featuring a long list of toxins in everything from baby shampoos to cribs to wipes and their potential health risks to babies.

Also, in just 7 minutes you can watch The Story of Cosmetics from the Story of Stuff Project about the harmful chemicals­ – some cancer causing! – that manufacturers put in our personal and baby care products.

The sum of these studies — and many more — points to an important truth: we can no longer turn a blind eye to the toxic ingredients our children are exposed to every day.

Parents Beware: How to Protect Your Children from Big Food

For decades, children have been the prime target market for big food corporations. In this recent interview clip, Michael Moss, author of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, tells the history of Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables, the on-the-go snack of processed meats, cheeses and crackers the company marketed to kids of working moms as a fast, fun and easy alternative to a healthy lunch. (Listen to Moss’ NPR Interview for more of his findings.)

Your Right to Know: The Push to Label GMO Products Continues

Prop. 37, California’s Right to Know initiative, put us at the center of the movement to demand mandatory labeling on Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs).

Despite the proposition’s narrow loss in the recent election, the fact that nearly 47% of Californians voted YES is significant progress. The outcome is our mandate to continue to educate our families on the potential health risks GMOs pose to parents and children.

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?