Does your child have a lot of reactions to things in their food and environment? Are they sensitive to soaps and chemicals? How about digestive problems when eating fats? How about reactions to vaccines (non-anaphylactic)? Are you struggling to find out what EXACTLY is causing your child’s inflammation and issues?
If you have answered yes to these things your child’s accessory organs to digestion are in need of some detox. This set of symptoms are plaguing MOST people who come to me. This is a sign that you are missing key nutrients to make these processes run smoothly, have processed or poor foods contributing to the dysfunction with the system, and are in need of detox (EVERYONE needs this really).
I often hear – “well that is just how it is for me” or “that is because of … fill in the blank.” No the reality is that it is TOTALLY related to poor fats, processing, heavy medications not properly detoxed over the years, additives and chemicals in foods, processed foods and more!
With that said – this is also COMPLETELY in your control to fix with food and supplements to help your body release the toxins safely and effectively at the right time.
If you are thinking that is CRAZY my child is very young, there is NO WAY they need detox. THINK AGAIN! You have been using different variations of fever reducers (HUGELY DIFFICULT TO DETOX FOR ANYONE), combined with other meds and even possibly poor quality (unnecessary) supplements. Detox is one of the BIGGEST needs of all my PFAPA, and PFS kids.
SUPPLEMENT SUPPORT – DO THEY NEED IT?
The other thing that often happens is that people get very nervous about using a supplement to support medications or detox needs because “they have such trouble with so many medications, or are sensitive.” The reason why they have that trouble is BECAUSE of those meds combined with other things in life not being detoxed properly or MISSING nutrients. So yes do we always have to be conscious of what we take during detox, sure, but if they are nutrient SUPPORTS for missing nutrients CAUSING the symptoms, in addition to supports that make it easier for your body to detox and function, by taking a support supplement you are helping ELIMINATE the problem that you started with.
SO WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THE LIVER?
The liver has over 500 known functions. It is involved with digestion, the endocrine system, controlling blood sugar, and protein and fat metabolism.
Chemical exposure in this part of the century is unprecedented in history. The average American consumes 10 pounds of chemical food additives each year. Add to that the chemical burden caused by food sprayed with pesticides and from air and water pollution, you can see that our chemical burden is considerable. (Now think about that in a tiny little body).
The body has systems designed to eliminate waste and to detoxify poisons. The liver chemically converts toxins to be easily eliminated by the kidneys. Detoxification is an ongoing process. The sheer volume of chemicals in the environment and in the diet has caused many people to reach their threshold of tolerance, which has adversely affected their health. (Tiny body – easier to reach max tolerance).
WHAT TYPES OF PROBLEMS CAN YOU HAVE IF YOU AREN’T PROPERLY DETOXING?
When the body is burdened with more chemicals than it can efficiently detoxify, chronic health problems can occur.
Problems like allergies, skin problems, digestive problems, headaches, fatigue, joint pain, repetitive fever, and a variety of ailments can be caused by chemical exposure. In addition, you may have digestive dysfunction from poor fats that include nausea, poor bowel movements (too loose, or too little, or greasy or unusual in color or look), and pain.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET A BETTER DAILY FUNCTION AND DETOX?
DITCH PROCESSED FOODS
YES you should be able to guess this now in every post I make. What does that mean? You can read more about it here. But simply think like this – NO MORE BOXES AND BAGS. That’s not whole or real food. You want to eat from nature and as close to the source and naturally prepared and raised as possible. Even if you think you have found a really loved bagged or pouched item, and you check the ingredients and it’s whole foods, I can tell you this does NOT equal the eating of those whole foods for nutrient content or fibers. I will be showing examples of this next week on the blog to explain how this works in the body.
This is truly the NUMBER ONE THING from keeping children from reaching the nutrient needs their bodies have. Parents are busy, and working, and have been taught to use packaged items to help ease their schedules and day. I get it. I am a mom with a PFAPA kid. BUT, this is WHERE IT GOES WRONG. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Do all these kids have specific body differences and underlying dysfunction – yes for sure – not one has been like another. HOWEVER, they all come with the common problem of over 75% of their day in a box or bag. PFAPA and PFS are a processed food disease. Is it the only thing ? Nope not the only contributing factor but is it the MAJOR one – you bet it is. Check back to the blog next week for me to show you how this works in the body with nutrients.
EAT WHOLE FOODS
Some really great foods to eat to help this process include –
Beets and beet juice • Dark green leafy vegetables, beets, endive, cucumbers, garlic, onions, artichoke, sprouted seeds, grains, vegetable products (raw or juiced only). • Plenty of fiber rich foods
Really truly, if you start to eat better sourced food (learn more here), and you eat Whole Foods, combined with this better sourcing you will naturally begin detox and will continue on that path. You may need some additional supplement supports to feel comfortable as your body lets go of toxins. If that happens, you can always reach out to myself for a consult.
This is a challenge for kids. Especially those who have been restricted on purpose, or who have never eaten a fresh food diet. But the GREAT news is double fold! First, after a few days children adapt and love new foods. They aren’t like us. So don’t make it seem like it will be. Know that by continuing on within 2 or 3 days they come around and within a week no resistance anymore. If that doesn’t happen and it goes beyond two weeks then it’s time to talk because that is an indicator of a LARGER need far beyond just food. After 20-30 days children have a new set of taste buds and microbes in their mouth and this helps you get on a better track and eliminating those poor functioning microbes and cells leading to a better immune system in the future.
DRINK WATER (WITH LEMON AND CITRUS)
Adding fresh citrus to water is a great way to add some flavor but it’s also digestive supportive which will help in this process. Water in general is necessary for strong detox and digestive function. You need it to make many components of a healthy body and system and to run optimally daily. You should always have 50% of your weight in ounces daily as a BASELINE. But if you consume caffeine, other diuretic beverages, alcohol etc you will need more to compensate for the loss of water to process those beverages.
Some people feel much better just in getting in the water intake they need daily and not depriving their body systems of this simple thing.
Children NEED water. Don’t be fooled into thinking this isn’t a necessity for their body. They need just like adults for the same body functions just in smaller amounts. Do get them THE BEST water bottle in the world that will encourage them to carry it with them and drink from it regularly. It’s time to ditch juice, or any other beverage (that includes milk folks – milk drinking causes more harm than good in kids – read about that here – and in addition to this post – bacterial overgrowth in the gut comes from over drinking milk as well!).
IS IT THIS SIMPLE?
If you are thinking to yourself that it isn’t that simple… that your symptoms and problems go far beyond this. Perhaps, but that is why it’s time to do a consult then because all these things are fixable with food! But the reality is that these simple concepts are EXACTLY what helps my clients and frees them from the health issues they come in with. Is that just as simple as the words, no it involves behavior change, habit change, food changes, budget adjustments (sometimes), and rearranging of schedules to plan a bit differently. Do you often need support knowing what to buy or look for in food? Yes! But the concept is simple it’s just these three things that help EVERYONE feel better. The steps are more involved, but that’s what I am here for. Reach out let’s consult.
