The key to your child’s health- DIGESTION

A healthy functioning gut is vital to your children growing well and remaining healthy throughout their whole lives. A healthy child will make your job as a parent much easier.

Being a parent is not easy and there are times when you may want to give in or give up. Let’s face it, it is pretty tough at times if our children seem to be not thriving as they should. Kids may think picking on food is normal and some parents even give in with a scoop of food accompanied with a scoop of ice-cream.

In long run, this is not the way to go. A healthy functioning gut is vital to your children growing well and remaining healthy throughout their whole lives. A healthy child will make your job as a parent much easier. So let me share with you why their digestive system will help them grow happy and healthy and what you can do to ensure your children have a strong and robust digestive system.

Key facts about your child’s digestive system

● The digestive system has over 500 million nerve cells and more brain cells than the brain itself! That’s why the gut is called the second brain. ● The gut helps regulate nervous system function and equilibrium. ● It contains over 85% of the body’s immune cells ● It has the highest cellular turnover rate in the body which means it is easily influenced by insults to the body. ● Lastly, it manufactures key vitamins and nutrients for the body to use

The digestive system is the central hub to the way our brain functions, how our immune system manages threat and our overall nutritional status.

“All Disease begins in the Gut” Hippocrates (2500 years ago)

Here are a few tips that can take on board to ensure this system is healthy in your child.

1. Ensure their diet is free from synthetic, highly refined processed food. I tell the parent if your grandmother wouldn’t recognise it as food then don’t feed it to your kids. As soon as you have removed this food, you will see amazing result.

2. Ensure there is natural diversity within the diet. I tell children that their body needs them to eat a minimum of 10 different types of food each day. These must be all colours of the rainbow which excludes all the gummies and candies in multiple colours.

3. Give your child a minimum of 3 serves of protein per day. Use varied types including, lean meats, fish, nuts, eggs, legumes, beans & tofu. Protein will support a robust appetite and ensure lean muscle development.

4. Use fermented foods in your diet since they act as a prebiotic fuel for your body to manufacture its own probiotics. Examples include, Whole Yoghurt, Sauerkraut, KimChi, Kefir and Tempeh.

5. Consult a qualified naturopath to help resolve any ongoing digestive complaints or concerns that may involve the function of this system. Naturopathic medicine has excellent tools to support optimal function of the digestive system.

So ensuring your child’s digestive system is healthy, is vital to their whole health. Have questions? Then why not contact us so we can help.

By: Ms Esther Peh - SOL Senior Naturopath