Doctor Prescribes Nutrition for Kids' Health
According to Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, life-threatening diseases such as diabetes once consigned to adults are becoming alarmingly common in childhood. Asthma, allergies, endocrine irregularities, behavioral problems and a host of other maladies in children have reached epidemic proportions. Nonetheless, Dr. Dean argues, prevention and reversal are possible with sound nutrition and common sense.
Austin, Texas (Vocus/PRWEB) December 01, 2010
Dr. Dean’s new booklet, Kids’ Health—A Doctor’s Guide for Parents, published by Better Nutrition magazine, offers clear-cut guidelines for achieving, maintaining or restoring children’s health.
Sugar, sugar everywhere...
The facts Dr. Dean presents are hard to swallow. She relates that a staggering 1,000% more children today are diagnosed with diabetes compared to 1990, and that “…over 80% of type 2 diabetes is related to being overweight.” According to Dr. Dean, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations sanction up to 25% of calories in one’s daily diet from added sugar, amounting to approximately 33 teaspoons of sugar in a daily diet of 2,000 calories. However, the USDA states that the average annual sugar consumption per person has increased from 123.3 pounds in 1970 to 170.5 pounds in 2008, amounting to 50.5 teaspoons of sugar a day, exceeding the IOM limits by over 17 teaspoons every day.
Health risks associated with sugar consumption are legendary: hypoglycemia, adrenal stress, insulin resistance leading to diabetes, tooth decay, candida (yeast) and behavior disorders; sugar can also precipitate hypertension and high cholesterol in later life. So who gains from this dwindling spiral? As Dr. Dean points out in Kids’ Health, the refined sugar industry cultivates millions of acres of corn, sugarcane and beets annually. Companies that produce artificial sweeteners and additives also have a big stake in the game, as does the fast food industry, as do the advertising media, as do the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture insulin, drugs to treat ADHD, Prozac and other psychiatric drugs and medicines, as do the hospitals that treat those who have become too frail as a result of this vicious cycle.
The role of diet in ADHD...
How do children behave when certain foods are eliminated from their diets? In Kids’ Health Dr. Dean cites several studies that found striking improvements in mood, learning ability and social skills among public school students, children diagnosed with hyperactivity, ADD and other behavioral problems, and even juvenile delinquents. In these studies, children were taken off sugar, high-carbohydrate junk foods, foods with additives and common foods such as milk, eggs, wheat and citrus. Dr. Dean’s own patients, including children with ADHD and autism, have improved when they stopped consuming sugar, gluten, casein, soy, MSG and artificial sweeteners.
The booklet steps mightily into a current arena of controversy, challenging the medical and pharmaceutical establishment’s penchant for medicating children with powerful psychiatric drugs. Dr. Dean writes: “It has been said of conventional medicine that ‘when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.’ When doctors are allowed to treat ADHD with drugs without looking at the greater picture of diet and supplements, our children become the nails. But hammering them with medication doesn’t address the root problem. It just makes matters worse.”
Sensible nutrition...
Kids’ Health presents practical guidance for parents. Dean stresses the importance of including vegetables and fruits grown without pesticides and herbicides (organic), meats without added hormones or antibiotics, and nutrient-dense, high-fiber whole grains. She admits that orchestrating such a diet may not be easy for busy parents, but it is critical to the health, development and well-being of their children.
Dr. Dean is an outspoken advocate for magnesium, a mineral essential for muscles and nerves to relax. She quotes from her book, The Magnesium Miracle: “It’s not just adults who get anxious because they are on magnesium-deficient diets…ADHD, autism, juvenile delinquency and childhood depression are associated with magnesium deficiency, and some say these conditions can be caused by it.” In a market flooded with supplements, there is only one that she endorses for children, meeting all of her criteria for magnesium, zinc, essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA), B vitamins, vitamin C and trace minerals: Kids Natural Calm Multi from Peter Gillham’s Natural Vitality. As Dr. Dean writes in Kids’ Health, “…[it] provides a good tasting liquid supplement using organic flavors and organic non-sugar sweeteners…plus they’ve added a blend of 24 organic vegetables and fruits most kids don’t get in their current diet.”
Real changes...
Kids’ Health steers parents away from accepted norms that favor big-dollar, low-nutrient consumption, healthcare and drugs. Dr. Dean writes: “You may be relieved to discover that there are environmental and dietary reasons that explain your child’s health or behavior…Awareness is certainly the first step toward change. Once we become aware, we can begin educating ourselves toward a better future for all of our children.”
To order copies of Kids’ Health—A Doctor’s Guide for Parents ($4.95), visit Amazon. com
For information about Kids Natural Calm Multi see http://www. naturalvitalitykids. com
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