The other day my 14 year old daughter, Sivanna, decided that she wanted to make a hot chocolate station in our kitchen. This would include hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, snacks and of course festive cups to drink the hot chocolate out of.
So she went ahead and made her hot chocolate area and it was a cute idea. She asked about getting some Christmas mugs or cups to put in the collection. I then remembered that I had donated the ones we had last year to charity. Something just did not feel right about these mugs.
Speed ahead to today. I opened my email this morning to see an email from Tamara Rubin “Lead Safe Mama” whom I follow because of my work with heavy metals and health.
Sure enough she has a whole article on the tops of Christmas cups and decorations called:
“Hello! I’m here to ruin Christmas for you! Do you know how toxic your Christmas decorations are?”
Unfortunately heavy metals are with us to stay. Unlike biodegradable materials, heavy metals never break down so we must learn how to navigate our world with these metals in it and do our best to avoid them at all costs!
The best tool that I have found for testing for heavy metals in the body and brain and well as for indicators or nutrient deficiencies is hair mineral analysis testing. You can learn more about that here if you are interested:
“Fever, for instance, is an inflammatory response to an overgrowth of a bacteria or virus. The body, in its wisdom, knows that bacteria and viruses can survive only in a very narrow temperature range. Elevating the core body temperature by as little as one or two degrees can make the body completely inhospitable to the invading organisms. “
Judith Boice, N.D.
Although high fevers can be dangerous and need to be monitored and perhaps one may even need to seek medical attention, I am forever amazed at how people try to suppress fevers. They are doing their job! They are trying to burn off infection and heal you! The fever is not the enemy. The underlying pathogen is the enemy and cause of the fever.
As the quote states even one or two degrees variation in body temperature can do the job! Fevers are amazing!!!
Personally, I have gratitude for my body when it develops into a fevered state, when necessary. I thank it for doing its job to protect me and to burn off what it needs too… just like boiling water will burn off pathogenic microbes. So I therefore don’t try to ‘stop’ the fever, I let it run its course, do its job, all while I monitor to make sure it does not get ‘too high’.
I hope you found this helpful. I found it interesting that fever is a form of inflammation. 🙂
Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist, Natural Nutrition Clinical Practitioner and a Registered Nutritional Therapist. Maggie is also a Certified Life Coach and Certified Infinite Possibilities Trainer & Coach who loves to share helpful information and to inspire others.
In many parts of the world it’s back to school time and that means more colds, flues and other nasty bugs.
Sniffles, sneezes, and gastrointestinal bugs creep into our kid’s lives and affect all of us. Many parents assume that colds, flu, and other common illnesses are simply part of the curriculum when they send their children off to school or daycare. That’s not surprising since some kids can “catch” 5 to 10 colds per year but yet there are others we get through with a lot less. Prevention is the key here.
What are some things you can do to help lessen the threat of these intruders?
There are many, but a few that are my top favorites are:
1) Sleep! Not getting enough sleep can suppress the immune system and increase the odds of catching a cold or the flu. People who are sleep deprived develop fewer antibodies and are more prone to chronic inflammation.
Set up a regular bedtime and stick to it! Routine is very helpful for children and sleep allows time for the body to clean up intercellular waste, rest, rejuvenate, heal, and restore resources. Sleep is absolutely vital for children’s health and ours!
2)Washing Hands Frequently!
Lathering up is one of the simplest ways to prevent sharing pathogens. Most upper respiratory viruses are spread by direct contact and something as simple as sneezing into your hand and then touching a doorknob, desk,computer keyboard, or phone could spread the bugs. In turn touching all of those things means kids need to wash their hands often to remove these pathogens. Supporting Article
What’s the best way to wash up? Just lathering up with good old-fashioned soap and water will do the trick and most importantly doing it often. Teach your kids to wash their hands and to make it a habit. For example my daughter is now in the habit of not only washing her hands before meals but also when we come home from shopping or other events. As soon as we arrive home, we wash our hands.
3. Nutrition
See food as medicine. We all know it is often tough to get kids to stay on course with health eating so if we see it like a game of trying to get more nutrition in than the negative nutrition we can work at tipping the scales in favor of our children’s health.
It it is also a good idea to teach our children to listen to their bodies and monitor how they feel after eating certain foods. In this way they can tap into what the body intuitively knows is beneficial for it or what foods burden it and make it sluggish.
Here is a former blog post I wrote on kids and dehydration but it applies to nutrition as well. There are lots of useful tips in here and I encourage you to enJOY this post as well. Link to Dehydration Post
4. Stress
Lower your child’s stress load. Stress comes in many forms. For example video games can cause stress. Too much screen time and stimulation can cause stress. Arguing in front of your children causes them extreme stress!
Help your child to lower their stress levels by spending time in nature with them, unplugging, reading books, reassuring them that the world is a friendly place and that they are loved.
Another thing that helps lower your children’s stress load is by making sure YOU are happy in your life and that you are doing things to support yourself. In life we all want to see our loved ones content and children are no different. If they see their parents as resentful or burdened they feel it. Be sure to teach them that happiness is important and that it is a choice. Choose Happy always! 🙂
5. Supplementing
With all of the toxins we are exposed to, the lack of nutrients in our soils, the presence of heavy metals in our environment and in the world, and the inability to eat adequate amounts of plant based foods on a daily basis, it is mandatory in my opinion, that children supplement with a good multi vitamin as well as a good source of Vitamin C to keep them on top of their immune game. Other supplements that are important as well are Zinc, Selenium, Omega III’s and Probiotics.
As a Board Certified Nutritionist I work will many sources of supplements and I would be happy to make individual recommendations to anyone who reaches out to me. I will though share here for everyone, my favorite kid and adult friendly source of Vitamin C that is delivered in an Isotonic form.
I hope you have found this helpful and useful. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have.
Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach who also runs a Facebook Page to support Parents. If you would like to follow along there, here is the Moms For Kids FB
As a parent, how often have you heard the words “I have a sore tummy” or “My tummy’s sore”? I’m sure most parents have heard these words but some more than others.
I have taught my own daughter, who gets a sore stomach, to tap into and listen to the clues that her body offers. Sivanna is 12 and she has been listening to her tummy talk for several years now. She is learning what foods make her feel a certain way and she also knows that when she is experiencing anxiety it shows up in her gut.
There are many forms of anxiety that children feel. Some of which, but are not limited to, separation anxiety, fear, dread, uncertainty, worry, feelings of inadequacy, and the list goes on.
The stomach is often called the second brain, is referred to as ‘gut instinct’, and is home to the enteric nervous system, and is also linked to the solar plexus chakra.
The solar plexus or third chakra is a control center for will, personal power, personal responsibility, mental capabilities, the intellect, forming personal beliefs, decision making, self-confidence, independence, personal identity and personality, so it seems very fitting that as children grow and evolve, the tummy is a barometer for anxiety and angst.
How can we help our young children with anxiety?
First and foremost we can help by discussing and creating conversations around what they are feeling in their body and what it means to them. Sivanna and I mutually came to the conclusion that some of her tummy strains, were anxiety and we openly discussed it. Now, when she feels this particular type of angst, we peel back the onion layer, so to speak, to see what is underlying there.
Listening to your child. This is something I have to work on myself. I know I never truly listen enough. Let’s face it, we all want to be heard and listened to. While the conversation may not seem important to us, it is extremely important to them. Try listening with an open heart and a non-judgmental mind to make room for clearer communication and your child’s willingness to share.
Let you child know that they are ‘safe’. Let them know that they can openly discuss anything with you at anytime. Let them know that there is NO-thing that they cannot share with you. They need to feel safe and that they will be worthy of your love and support NO MATTER WHAT!!!! This is indeed what unconditional love means. We all need to feel safe, heard, and supported.
Ask your child for their input on what they are feeling, what they think might be underlying in this particular way of feeling, and really probe them for input. Children love to be heard, love to share, and love to feel that they are worthy of providing input. It is also a good idea to ask them for possible solutions to help relieve the angst or anxiety. Ask them what ideas do they have to alleviate this feeling they are having?
Sleep! Make sure your child gets enough sleep! We all know what it feels like to be tired and worn out. It’s hard to cope with life. Make sure you support your children in a routine that provides adequate sleep, rest and downtime.
Proper nutrition and nutritional deficiencies play a BIG role in children’s anxiety. Children don’t always eat optimally for many different reasons and they may suffer from common digestive and assimilation issues, just like adults, so making sure your child gets the proper micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes etc. is hugely important to help with both anxiety and overall health. I really believe the more we openly discuss the issue of anxiety and teach our children to tap into what their body and mind is saying to them, the more we can help them. Let’s start the conversation…..
Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist, Certified Life Coach, Certified Infinitie Possibilities Trainer, Mom, Step Mom, Gramma, Great Gramma, Mom by Heart and often referred to as Momma Maggie 🙂 She runs a facebook page for parenting support and it can be found at Link to follow Maggie’s Parenting FB Page
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