Healthy Kids, Happy Moms

by Sheila Kilbane, MD

  Now when a child comes into the clinic with a vitamin or mineral deficiency, we systematically evaluate which of the five triggers of inflammation (food, environmental allergies, environmental toxins, infectious diseases, and/or stress) might be at the core of the digestion and absorption issue.

  Once we identify the underlying triggers, we can begin to address the problem. We do this through a selective elimination diet, supplements, and environmental modifications—such as getting rid of an old mattress, as we did with Gary—or addressing stress by better understanding family dynamics and looking into school challenges such as a sensory issue or learning difference that may be impacting a child’s emotional state. If a child is not processing information at school (or at home), they may continuously be in a state of fight or flight (stress) and their digestion will be significantly compromised. We want to arm the child and parents with tools to manage the stress and slowly begin adding supplements to restore good digestive function.

  DO WE REALLY HAVE TO TAKE SUPPLEMENTS? CAN MY CHILD BE HEALTHY WITH JUST FOOD?

  I’ve found it difficult for most children eating the standard American diet to consume what they need when starting from a place of depletion. As parents, most of you would have to drastically change the way you live as a family, by eating mainly organic fruits and vegetables (or those that you grow at home), and make almost all of your food from scratch, especially condiments and snacks. If you are able to do this, fantastic! If not, this chapter is for you.

  Here’s what we’re dealing with and why we need supplements to jump-start our process:

  Kids don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables to meet the daily recommendations: 60 percent do not eat enough fruit1 and 93 percent do not eat enough vegetables.2

  Even when kids are eating adequate amounts, some research suggests that produce grown today has a lower nutrient content today than it did seventy years ago.3

  Kids eat a lot of fast food: 33 percent of US children and 36 percent of adults eat fast food on any given day according to the CDC.4,5 Fast food is highly processed, high fat, high carb, and low in nutrients.

  Kids’ digestion is compromised. Our body’s ability to break down and absorb nutrients from food is compromised by inflammation, illness, stress, increasing age, and prescription medications including antacids, steroids, and other anti-inflammatory medications. Sixty-six percent of the US population takes prescription medications.6

  SUPPLEMENTATION TO HELP REESTABLISH NORMAL GI FUNCTION

  When it comes to common childhood illnesses, decreasing cumulative inflammation and restoring digestion enhances the immune system, and that is what releases kids from the sick cycle. Our goal with nutrition and supplementation is to reestablish normal GI function, which includes proper stomach acid, gut motility (the movement of food from the mouth to the anus), gallbladder function, and pancreatic function. When all of these organs and systems work in concert with one another, we optimize your child’s digestion and absorption of the high-quality supplements and expensive organic food you are buying them!

  The path to good health is so much more than just giving a child a single nutrient in a supplement. As gut health and digestion improve, the child’s body can absorb nutrients more effectively and efficiently from foods and supplements. Once we decrease or stop the supplement, ideally the child’s system will continue to absorb the required vitamins and minerals from food and not be entirely dependent upon the supplement. (See the supplement portion of section II, including the long-term supplement plan.)

  SUPPLEMENT INGREDIENTS

  We have found supplements a necessary tool for restoring children’s health, but the reality is that most supplements contain one or two ingredients that keep it shelf-stable that may not be ideal for us to ingest. However, after treating hundreds of children, I’ve come to acknowledge that supplements are a necessary part of rebalancing children’s systems. The supplements we recommend here are the exact ones we use in our practice.

  FOUNDATIONAL FIVE SUPPLEMENTS

  (See graph in the supplement part of the program in section II for instructions on how to get these started.)

  I encourage you to use the HKHM probiotic and enzyme supplements for optimal results. Once you begin the supplements, do the best you can to be consistent with them for at least three to six months. And it is very important to begin them one at a time for one week at a time. If your child has any type of reaction, good or bad, you will know what they reacted to.

  Probiotic

  Digestive enzyme (plant-based) and for those who have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DPP-IV) is the enzyme that breaks down gluten

  Omega-3 fat

  Vitamin D

  Multivitamin Mineral (MVM) (preferably one that is whole food based) or a whole food supplement (WFS)

  TWO ADDITIONAL NUTRIENTS IMPORTANT FOR RESTORING GI FUNCTION, BONE, AND OVERALL HEALTH

  Magnesium (kids with constipation, asthma, sleep issues, headaches, muscle cramps, ADHD, anxiety)

  Zinc (do a two-month trial for kids who are picky eaters, or have skin issues, loose stools, or recurrent illnesses)

  You will find more detailed information about each supplement in section II.

  SUPPLEMENT START GUIDE

  Take the foundational supplements consistently for at least 3 to 6 months, possibly longer for more severe or chronic issues.

  Then see the SUPPLEMENT ROADMAP for long-term recommendations.

  YOUR GUT AS A GARDEN

  My parents had a huge vegetable garden each summer that took up our entire backyard. We had everything from corn and tomatoes to green beans—and a dozen things in between. My siblings and I still complain about the number of hours my dad made us spend picking rocks out of the garden, which was probably twenty by thirty feet.

  The land in Cleveland where we lived contained a lot of shale rock. Every spring Dad would get out the rototiller and churn up the earth, but before doing that, we kids had to go pick rocks. I don’t know where they came from, but they seemed to bubble up from the depths of the earth. No matter how many rocks we picked, there were always more, as if the rocks were having babies, and it wasn’t just in the spring. All summer long we were constantly picking rocks and pulling weeds.

  When my Dad was satisfied with the rock situation, he would turn up the soil and very carefully fertilize it with the compost we saved all year. I even remember saving our filleted perch that we caught in Lake Erie. My Dad would dig a small hole, I would put the fish remains into the hole, and he would come behind me, plant the seed, and then put the dirt over top of it.

  I liken my adventures in childhood gardening to what Deb and I are recommending for your child’s GI tract. The fertilizer is our good high-fiber foods (fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods) along with the probiotic supplement, Plantadophilus. The rototiller is the digestive enzymes. The rototiller breaks up the dirt so the composted food can sink in and nourish the soil. If the soil is dry and hard, the fertilizer will simply sit on top of the land. Enzymes do the same thing with our food: They break the food down into smaller, more manageable molecules that the body can absorb easily.

  Enzymes are always going into the gut and removing undigested food that creates inflammation. When inflammation in the gut is minimal, it creates a better environment for the beneficial bacteria to thrive. And it makes it more difficult for the not-so-beneficial bacteria to continue to grow (think of them as weeds). The not-so-beneficial bacteria feed off undigested food particles and the probiotic, Plantadophilus, and digestive enzymes help us decrease the undigested food left in the gut after a meal.

  Our digestion can be impaired by different variables, which is why we focus so much on optimizing digestion—and why the probiotic and digestive enzymes are such key components to our program. (See further readings for more details.)

  FACTORS THAT CAN IMPAIR DIGESTION

  Our supplements work as a team to create a healthy gut environment for your child�
�s system to thrive, just as my Dad created a healthy soil environment for our plants to thrive. The health of the plant is only as good as the health of the soil. Farmers even send soil samples off to check mineral content . . . calcium, phosphorus, etc.; the very same minerals we check in humans. If the soil is low in calcium, for example, the farmer will recommend crushing up eggshells into your compost. In kids, we use the supplements just as farmers do eggshells until we can get the kids eating a broader array of healthy, whole foods.

  The composted food, which is the fertilizer, is our omega-3 fats, our multivitamin-mineral, our whole food supplement, our vitamin D and, for those who need it, our magnesium and zinc. It’s never about one single supplement. Many medical studies will take a single nutrient (vitamin C or E or magnesium), conduct a study, and then say that nutrient is not effective against X disease. If you add a single nutrient into a system that is inflamed and not absorbing nutrients, that single nutrient will not make a difference. It’s all about looking at the bigger picture and optimizing digestion, while we optimize nutrition. In order to do this, we pay close attention to digestion, physiology, and cellular health.

  As you bring your child into balance, think about my dad and the rototiller. By doing the work now with your child, it makes it easier and easier to keep your child in balance because you are beginning to form a new and stronger foundation. Then when your child does get thrown off balance, getting back to health gets easier and easier. It’s similar to working out: it’s much easier to remain in shape by doing twenty to thirty minutes of activity several times a week vs. doing nothing for an entire year (at which point a walk around the block makes us winded!). Let’s get your kids’ guts into shape now, so when they face their next cold and flu season, you will be excited instead of dreading it!

  Building Your Child’s Health Foundation

  CUMULATIVE INFLAMMATION ROADMAP

  Life and Inflammation Happen

  Throughout the year, there may be times where your child’s symptoms return.

  Food - A grandparent is aging and needs extra care, so your family started eating more processed, fast foods than normal.

  Environmental allergies - Spring or fall allergy season arrive, or you get a cat and realize your child is allergic to the cat.

  Environmental toxins - You had an appliance leak and didn’t know it and now you have mold growth in your home.

  Infectious Disease - Your child gets sick with a bad cold, the flu, or strep throat.

  Stress - Your child gets bullied at school, or parents separate, or a family member passes away.

  Getting Back on Track

  Food - The family starts cooking again together at home.

  Environmental allergies - Wintertime comes, and the cold weather brings a reprieve from fall allergies.

  Environmental toxins - Mold remediation was a success and your family is no longer being exposed to those mold mycotoxins.

  Infectious Disease - Summertime is here, and far fewer viruses are circulating.

  Stress - Your child is no longer being bullied, the family has adjusted to parents being divorced, or the family has moved through the most significant stages of grief after losing a loved one.

  The Many Benefits of Our Team of Supplements

  See the further readings section for more detailed information on supplements and their effects.

  TAKEAWAYS

  Supplementation helps reestablish normal GI function. Our goal with nutrition and supplementation is to reestablish normal GI function, which includes proper stomach acid, gut motility (the movement of food from the mouth to the anus), gallbladder function, and pancreatic function. When all of these organs and systems work in concert with one another, we optimize your child’s digestion and absorption of food.

  Supplements are a great adjunct to ensuring your child’s body is getting what it needs.

  The five foundational supplements include:

  Probiotics

  Digestive enzymes

  Omega-3 fats

  Vitamin D

  Multivitamin mineral or whole food supplement

  Two important additional minerals:

  Magnesium (for kids with constipation, asthma, sleep issues, headaches, muscle cramps, ADHD, anxiety)

  Zinc (you can do a two-month trial for kids who are picky eaters, have skin issues, loose stools, or recurrent illnesses)

  Do not start supplements all at once. Start them one at a time for a week before starting the next one.

  Always talk to your child’s doctor before starting any supplements.

  CHAPTER 9

  curing vs. healing

  Kids feel what we feel, not what we say.

  —Kristen Oliver, Pediatric OT, author of The Connected Parent and one of my dear friends

  WHEN A CHILD IS in crisis mode, most mothers won’t step away and focus on themselves. But when the child comes into some semblance of balance (as I hope your child will when you follow this program), you mothers get a breather. This allows you to have time to devote to your own health and mental well-being.

  I’ve seen this shift happen many times in my practice, and I love it! I see the mom light up and once again feel connected to her life—no longer feeling like she’s stranded on the desolate island that having a sick child can sometimes create.

  And this is what Healthy Kids, Happy Moms is all about: remembering—or for some, learning for the first time—how to live from a place of peace and relaxation instead of a place of stress and anxiety. It’s about balancing the two parts of our autonomic nervous system (ANS), the sympathetic nervous system (SNS, “fight or flight”) with the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS, relaxation).

  The ANS controls our internal organs and the processes we are aware of, such as heart rate and respiratory rate, as well as things we are not aware of, such as digestion and blood pressure.

  Many of us have allowed ourselves to exist in a constant state of fight or flight, especially when we have a sick, struggling child. We have media telling us 24/7 what’s wrong with our world, and we have social media telling us how good looking and great our neighbor, cousin, or long-lost high school friend is. We have schedules that keep us constantly on the go and worry that we’re doing too much or too little. We all need some daily techniques, such as breathing, yoga, meditation, prayer, and guided imagery, to activate our parasympathetic nervous systems (see Great Daily Practices at the end of section II).

  I’m including a list of specific bodily functions the SNS and PNS activate, so you can review this information and remind yourself how important it is to pay attention to how your body feels. In section II, I’ve also included Great Daily Practices that you and your child can do together in order to start your journey of spending more time in the relaxed state.

  Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)—Fight or Flight

  Increases heart rate

  Increases respiratory rate

  Inhibits salivary secretion in the mouth (which hinders digestion)

  Dilates our lung airways

  Releases secretion of stress hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine

  Increases blood glucose levels

  Inhibits the activity of the stomach

  Shunts blood to our arms and legs (so we can run away from the proverbial lion in the forest)

  Shunts blood away from our brain’s frontal cortex (responsible for our executive functions, such as planning, problem solving, and self-awareness)

  Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)—Relaxation

  Lowers heart rate

  Stimulates salivary secretion in the mouth (which supports digestion)

  Constricts our lung airways

  Stimulates digestion in the stomach

  Stimulates the pancreas (which aids in digestion)

  Stimulates motility of the GI tract (which facilitates digestion and bowel movements)

  Shunts blood to our GI tract (which aids in digestion)

  Allows for better blood flow to our brain’s f
rontal cortex

  Research on the mind–body connection indicates that activities such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can modify our ANS by activating the parasympathetic side. Activating the PNS triggers the healing response. When our system is relaxed, it’s easier to improve many different illnesses in adults and in children.

  When we adults live in a fight-or-flight state every day, this makes it more likely that our kids will also be in a fight-or-flight state. The predominant adult in the home resonates with kids. One of the best things we adults can do for the children around us is to keep ourselves healthy, both physically and mentally.

  CASE STUDY

  WILLIAM

  SYMPTOMS: ORAL ULCERS, FEVERS, ASTHMA

  I’d like to share the case of William, a young boy I took care of years ago. William was a former twenty-nine-week premature twin, who weighed only three pounds at birth. In addition to having asthma, he had environmental allergies and a condition called PFAPA (periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, cervical adenitis). Here is the case described by William’s mother, with some of my observations added.

  “We brought our son to Dr. Kilbane’s office when we were not finding answers to his chronic health issues. William was seven at the time and had multiple oral ulcers daily for nearly three years, had high fevers every six weeks, and was on strong asthma medications.”

  William had been on many courses of antibiotics and steroids and yearly missed many days of school. He had been to four specialists (an infectious disease physician, a gastroenterologist, a dentist, and an oral surgeon). He had many invasive procedures, including a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and biopsies of the mouth ulcers.