Managing Children’s Health And Chiropractic Care
“Burlington Chiropractor Outlines The Five Things Most Parents Overlook When Managing Their Children’s Health”
It is no longer the case where parents (most ) leave their children’s health care up to their family doctor without taking any interest or asking questions.
It was not all that long ago when a parent would most likely go along with any recommendation from their family doctor whether it be a prescription or a flu shot or a vaccine; no questions asked. But now with all the information that has been exposed about the true effectiveness ( or lack thereof ) and potentially dangerous side-effects associated with drugs and medications, a lot more parents are asking questions and taking a more active role in these types of decisions for their families.
And moreover, a lot more parents are seeking alternative ways of managing their children’s health safely and effectively.
Currently in North America, consumers are spending over $460 billion dollars on alternative therapies.
You may think that that is an astronomical amount of money and there is no doubt that it is.
But if you went back 10 years ago, it was only $ 46 billion. It has grown tenfold in 10 years!
In fact, there are about 350 million visits to MD’s each year and about 420 million visits to alternative practitioners every year.
Yes, 70 million more visits to those health care providers who do not prescribe drugs!
This is a staggering number and a statistic that has the medical profession worried because they fear they are losing their monopoly in the market place and control over the general public.
A lot of people still manage their children’s health with shots, drugs and antibiotics but that’s their choice.
But when you look at the numbers I just quoted, one cannot ignore the message that lies beneath.
People are moving away from traditional medical care and choosing alternative treatments not only for themselves but also for their children.
So you may be at a point where you want to take a different approach with your kids healthcare, but you do not know what to do.
Here is where I would like to help you by giving you some direction.
The first place we will start is by identifying the 5 components that will ensure good health.
You may already know some of them; diet, exercise and adequate water intake.
But two others that most parents over-look are PMA ( positive mental attitude ) and nerve impulse.
We will discuss each of these in more detail for further clarification and understanding.
Diet – of course there is much more awareness of what to feed your kids. Is breast-milk better than formula?
Absolutely!
Nothing can or ever will replace a baby’s own mothers breast milk.
Is cow’s milk good for human consumption?
Only if you have four stomachs to digest it ( cows have 4 stomachs ).
And listen to this.
In the November ’11 issue of the journal Nutrition and Cancer, they cited an Icelandic study which followed a group of men over a 25 year period.
What they found is that those men who consumed pasteurized milk on a regular basis were 40% more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to those who consumed little or no pasteurized milk at all.
Yikes!
Is Captain Crunch or Froot Loops an appropriate breakfast?
Read the label and see how many grams of sugar there are in 1 bowl and then decide for yourself.
Kids go to school all hopped up on sugar and then they have a huge crash about 90 minutes later.
They are hard to manage, their behavior is out of control, their academic performance begins to suffer and the next thing you know you are told your kid has ADHD and they need a class-2 narcotic called Ritalin!
Is Harvey’s and McDonalds etc. a good lunch for kids?
Rent and watch the movie called Supersize Me and then decide for yourself.
And refined and processed foods are full of chemicals and provide little or no nutritional value.
A good rule of thumb – if sugar is listed as one of the top 3 ingredients, do not buy it.
If there are ingredients that you cannot pronounce yourself, do not buy it.
Is it good to eat meat and potatoes together at dinner time?
Not a chance!
The 2 in combination will form a wad of food that will sit in the stomach and slow down and impair digestion.
Potatoes should never be eaten with meat.
Are breads and pasta’s good for your kids?
Well, it depends upon the source of the grains used.
Some are far better than others but anything made with white flour is never good for you.
It is immediately converted into sugar in your body.
And make sure fruits and veggies are a regular part of the diet but remember that fruit should never be eaten with anything but fruit and should be a snack unto itself.
And it is best to minimize fluid intake during a meal.
This will have the effect of diluting the digestive juices secreted by your stomach which will impair proper digestion.
Remember that food is what builds the body so the quality of food intake will determine the quality of one’s physical body.
Exercise – kids just do not get enough.
The childhood obesity rate in our country is at an all-time high.
An improper diet in combination with kids sitting in front of TV’s, computers, video games and texting constantly is a recipe for disaster.
If you do not have a child athlete, you need to make sure they get at least 1 hour of physical activity per day!
Go to ParticipACTION Ontario for some ideas.
Exercise is required for proper oxygenation of body tissues, proper bone growth and development, proper growth and development of muscle and surrounding soft-tissues, conditioning of the heart and lungs, and mental acuity.
Exercise is also vital to ensure the spine is growing properly; straight where it needs to be straight and curved where it needs to be curved.
If your child is heavy in the breast area and /or around the waist these are your first clues that they are not getting enough exercise.
These can also be indicators for heart disease, diabetes and in some instances cancer.
Remember this … the life expectancy of the current generation of children is less than their parents. This is due and only due to how the past generations have ignored these 5 components.
Water – the human body is 78% water and water is required in most every bodily function.
It is not unusual for the body to lose up to 3 -4 litres per day through normal perspiration and exercise.
Therefore, it is vital that body fluids are replaced on a regular basis and are replaced appropriately.
What I mean by this is that coke and fruit juice and milk and energy drinks are not appropriate fluid replacements.
Did you know that a single can of pop contains 39 grams of sugar!
Did you know that fruit juice even though it is better for you than pop, can contain anywhere between 30 and 40 gm of sugar per bottle?
Fruit juice is best in moderation or diluted half with water.
Most energy drinks contain caffeine and if you want your kid to risk having a heart attack, let them continue to use caffeine-laden energy drinks.
I read a report a few months back where a mom came home and found her ‘super-athlete football player 18 year old son’ lying on the floor near death.
He was rushed to the hospital where they barely saved his life, thankfully.
After extensive testing it was determined that he suffered cardiac arrest as a result of high levels of caffeine in his system.
This in combination with extreme exercise was a deadly combination.
It was the thing for him and his buddies to down a can of energy drink before every practice and every game.
Watching the pro hockey players stroll in to the arena with their $1200 designer suits, toques and Bose head-phones carrying an extra-large coffee is sending a dangerous message people.
Don’t do it!
Here is my best recommendation for energy drinks.
Cheetah is not laden with chemicals and is caffeine- free.
Frank D’Angelo who formulated Cheetah is saving the lives of more child athletes than he realizes.
Thank-you Frank!
A bottle filled with half water and half Cheetah energy drink is more than adequate for a child athlete.
Straight Cheetah for adults is more than safe.
And all your sports drinks (Gatorade etc.) contain a lot of electrolytes which can be very harsh on the kidneys, especially in children.
You can never go wrong with water and please make sure you drink filtered or spring water or bottled water.
Tap water is full of chemicals and toxins and possibly other things we don’t even know about.
You have to get it in there – 8 to 10 cups per day for regular kids.
More if you have athlete kids.
How hard can it be?
Just do it.
Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) – this is something that most parents in North America do not consider to be an important part of their children’s health care.
And the reason I say North America is because a lot the Eastern cultures practice meditation in some form or fashion right from an early age.
Remember that you can also learn how to control and use your brain.
But, in the Western world we do not put a lot of emphasis on this because it is not scientific enough.
Well, if you did a little research on your own, you will find that science is now raving about the positive effects of meditation.
But this is not about meditation per se, but about your child’s mental state of mind.
Are they well natured and polite?
Are they well balanced and able to cope with family , friends and school?
And if parents do have these types of issues with their kids, what do you think happens?
You know just as well as I do – they are often times prescribed Ritalin or anti-depressants.
I think it was Dr Wayne Dyer who once said there is no such thing as depression, just depressing thoughts.
And what you think a lot of the time is a function of your environment at home and at school and the friends your kids hang with.
These things must be monitored from time to time by every caring parent to ensure that their kids are developing good mental health.
Now, this is not my area of expertise but as a chiropractor I can tell you this – your thoughts and your attitude have a direct impact upon your health.
Example—people who are always smiling and happy go lucky are way more likely to be healthy as compared to someone who is negative or angry all the time.
Why do you think that one of the therapies prescribed in some of the most successful natural treatment centres in the world is to sit in a room and watch funny movies and laugh.
The endorphins released from laughter and elevated moods have a dramatic positive healing effect on the body.
So my point here is if you notice any type of mood or behaviour in your kids that is suspect, do not ignore and do not think it is an immediate medication solution.
Not only is it a concern from a mental health point of view, but it can also have a dramatic effect on your child’s physical health.
If you think that this may be the case with your child, please call me for a referral.
It is nothing to be embarrassed about.
It may be as simple thing like a conflict with a fellow student, or a teacher or peer pressure.
Sometimes these can be beyond our own scope and require professional assistance.
A good, healthy positive attitude is a pre-requisite for having good health overall because the mental has a direct effect on the physical and vice-versa.
The two can never be separated.
Nerve impulse – even though this is the most important of the 5 components, unfortunately ( very unfortunately ) this one is most often over-looked by most parents.
Nerve impulse is an electro-chemical charge that is generated in the brain and transmitted through the spinal cord and nerves to every part of the body.
All bodily functions are dependent upon nerve impulse and if your brain stopped generating them, you would cease to exist instantaneously.
So your brain , spinal cord and nerves are the most important part of the human body because without them, the human body cannot and will not function.
Many people think that the heart is the most important organ in the body and there has been much attention directed towards maintaining a healthy heart and there is no doubt that it is a vital organ.
But ask yourself this … what would happen to the heart if you cut the nerves that controlled the heart?
Would it continue to live or die?
Would it continue to function or not?
Understand that every single part of your body requires nerve supply ( nerve impulse ) to function properly.
Ask yourself this … would a body part, let’s say your stomach for example, function the same way if it received 50% nerve supply as opposed to 100% nerve supply?
Do you think your stomach would process food the same way with only 50% nerve supply?
Do you think your stomach would feel well if it were struggling to digest your food because it was only getting half of the nerve impulse it needs to function optimally?
You do not have to be a neurologist to answer these questions for yourself.
Why do you think the most important part of your body which is the central nerve system ( brain, spinal cord, nerves ) has the heaviest protection?
You have a skull which protects your brain which is the main computer and a spine which protects your spinal cord.
Both of these are made of bone tissue which is the heaviest and strongest tissue in the body.
We all know how devastating brain and spinal cord injuries can be.
Sometimes even fatal.
Now here is where you need to pay close attention.
What if your spine were one solid bone?
Could you bend, twist or flex your spine?
Could you play hockey, football, baseball, soccer or tennis?
Could you do yoga or pilates or bend over to pet your dog or pick up your kid?
Could you do house chores effectively or shovel snow?
Well, to allow us to be able to do these things our Creator designed our spine in such a way that we can do these things and even more.
The spine itself is made up of 24 little bones called vertebrae instead of one solid bone.
Each vertebra can move in several different directions ( with limitations ) so that the overall effect is a flexible spine. Ok so far? Keep paying attention … another important function of the spine is to allow the nerve roots to branch off of the spinal cord and then travel into and throughout the body.
But sometimes these little vertebrae can get stuck out of their normal position.
They have moved beyond their limitations.
This is called a subluxation.
A subluxation is an incomplete or partial dislocation of a vertebra.
These are the consequences if subluxations are not corrected; pinched nerves (impaired nerve impulse), poor posture, poor health and eventually spinal degenerative disease.
Now you may think that your kids do not have any subluxations.
How could they?
They are only kids and they don’t complain of any headaches or backaches.
Well, this is where that kind of thinking will not do your kids any favors.
FACT: any living organism with a spine ( human or not ) is prone to getting subluxations.
How you may ask?
Stress is how!
My kids are not under any stress you may argue.
Wanna bet!
We all are to some degree or another.
Physical, chemical and emotional/mental.
Let’s just talk about the physical stress ( falls, bumps, bruises etc. ) that affects every child.
Here is how it goes … the stress of birth itself, then all those little falls as kids learn to sit, crawl, stand and walk.
This does not include any falls off the couch, bed or changing table.
Then they are tearing around running into walls, diving head-first into pillows and wrestling with their siblings and friends.
You may argue that their little spines are immune to such stress because they are young and soft.
So not true!!
Little ,soft, growing spines will actually subluxate (misalign ) much easier than adult spines.
Have you ever heard of the old adage… ‘as the twig is bent, so grows the tree’?
So very, very true.
In fact, I can trace almost every problem I see in adult spines back to some event or events of physical stress in their childhood.
And if you have kid athletes, the chances of them getting subluxations in their spine is even greater.
Well, I still don’t believe that my kid needs chiropractic care and my family doc doesn’t agree with it anyway.
Then there is no point for you to continue to read on and I hope someone will be there to help you if your child develops poor posture, scoliosis or spinal degenerative disease later in life.
But if you are intrigued and all of this makes sense to you, then please read on.
How do you get rid of these subluxations is probably your next question.
Gentle chiropractic adjustments will reposition the vertebrae into their correct anatomical position restoring proper nerve impulse.
Not to mention the maintenance of good spinal hygiene/alignment.
Ok, but are chiropractic adjustments safe for kids?
Very safe.
A chiropractic adjustment requires 3-5 lbs of carefully directed force to reposition a vertebra.
Compare to the birth process which can require up to 60 lbs of torque and twisting to assist a baby through the birth canal.
Chiropractic is very, very safe.
But I have heard once you start going to a chiropractor you have to go forever?
The answer to this question is … you go only as long as you want to stay healthy.
Listen, do you think it is important to exercise and eat good food all the time?
Do you think it is important to take care of your teeth all the time?
Of course you do.
Understand that your spine is yours for life and you can never replace it.
You have to take care of it always.
Practicing good spinal health habits right from the beginning will have far reaching and only positive effects on your child’s health.
The bottom line here is this … good spinal alignment will ensure proper quality and quantity of nerve impulse.
You need to have your body fully bathed in nerve impulse to be healthy.
This is why chiropractic care is by far the most important component of the 5.
Because without healthy nerve impulses, nothing else really matters.
So there you have it.
The 5 components that if adhered to will ensure that you will have super-healthy kids.
I have seen it work with my own kids and several of my patients kids.
And what we really like about it is there are no drugs, no shots or antibiotics involved ( unless there is a serious emergency ).
Just straight and pure unadulterated health care.
If you would like more information on how we can help, just call 905 335 5433.
Or you can always schedule an appointment for a free initial consultation.
We can see your whole family altogether.
It will be a wonderful, enlightening and fun experience for you all.
Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad At The 2501 Guelph Line Clinic