Let’s talk today about the Nature’s pHarmacy approach to children’s health. If you shape healthy habits around what you Eat, Drink, Think, and Do from a young age, everything else gets better.
To start, you want to ensure that:
- Their nutrition is more whole, more natural, more “Nature’s pHarmacy.”
- You ensure they stay hydrated with mineral water, broth, or soup. I recommend that you eat “wet,” and you start every meal with something wet and warm.
- You let children be active and give them incentive and reward for being active.
- You foster conversation with your children and limit screen time.
- You stock your home with needed nutritional supplements.
Let’s talk a little more about each of these areas.
Proper Nutrition
It is crucial for a child to have whole healthy food. When they are babies, breastfeed as long as possible (if you can), as that is preferable to bottle feeding. And wean the child when the child is ready to wean.
I recommend against using canned or bottled baby food, and instead puree the vegetables and other foods that you are eating for them to try. Commercial baby food products today contain heavy metals such as lead mercury, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, and aluminum. It also very often has been ultra-pasteurized; heated to the point where nothing bad will grow in it. On the one hand, that is good; on the other that means that some of the nutrients go away too.
As your children grow, be sure to enjoy a wide variety of whole foods in a variety of healthy ways. Avoid added sugars. Avoid all ultra processed foods, all crisps or chips, or foods that come in plastic wrap. It may look like food, but it’s not healthy. The packaged goods industry has something called the “crave factor,” where they add chemicals that make people crave the food, want to eat more, and overeat. Too many children and adults in America today are overfed and undernourished.
If you follow nature, and nurture, and wholeness; follow Nature’s Alkaline Way and follow Nature’s pHarmacy (explore the 12 Nature’s pHarmacy principles to eat by, parts 1 and 2), that will guide you to a lifetime of vitality and good health. You will feel a difference very quickly when you make this transition; within a few days, usually within a few weeks for sure. You and your entire family will feel and function better, now and for decades to come.
Healthy Hydration
Most children and even more young adults drink too little water. They should have more broth and soup, starting each meal with something wet and warm. Do not drink sweetened beverages, neither sugared nor artificially sweetened. Ban high fructose corn syrup from your diet. If it comes in plastic, I don’t think it’s safe to drink. Both the microplastics that make their way into your drink and the chemicals from plastic that also leach in — are a problem that you can avoid.
Opt for mineral water in glass containers. What comes out of the tap today has too much sodium, too many toxic minerals, too little magnesium and too little zinc. Tap water is not drinkable in most parts of this country today. So be careful, be informed, and take action.
Keep Active
Children need to move around. Not only does this help their mental and physical health, but it also improves their ability to learn, digest, and sleep. They should tumble; they should run; they should leap; they should dance; they should enjoy moving and be rewarded for moving. Let them explore nature, swim, and participate in organized sports such as baseball and soccer. These activities offer physical, mental and social benefits. Get to know your children and their interests.
With regard to learning, it takes about 50 or more repetitions before a person remembers one new thing or fact. But if you enjoy the process, if you laugh and dance, five repetitions is enough to remember. So be positive. Be loving. Be unconditionally supportive. Unconditional positive regard is an art. It’s worth striving for, but hard to achieve. Doing good enough will be definitely better than not trying.
I would recommend limiting screen time (including phone, tablet, and computer). The quality of time that you invest in your child will be greatly rewarded. They may not acknowledge it, but they’ll remember it.
Instead of staring at artificial blue light, get outside into the woods or garden or park for at least 20 minutes twice a day. And if you are stuck inside, you might want to use a green dichro light to emulate the healthy green of the canopy in the park.
Make take time for mindfulness, relaxation response, or meditation. These practices equip children with tools to manage emotions, navigate challenges, and connect with the world. Incorporate outdoor activities and creativity to foster mindfulness and resilience for the whole family. Get outside.
Nutritional Supplements
In the 21st century, eating well isn’t always enough to ensure you are getting the full complement of needed nutrients. I think that all children should take a comprehensive multivitamin like PERQUE Life Guard™ Chewables with 24 essential nutrients to support growing bodies. Flavored with cherries and berries, the vitamins can dissolve in the mouth or be chewed. Ask your healthcare practitioner about the full line of PERQUE products. They are100% active, with no binders, excipients or fillers, so every ingredient is good for you.
In addition to a daily multivitamin, I recommend having these products available in your home:
I would keep PERQUE Pain Guard Forté™ handy. If your child has a bump or a bruise that is causing pain, I recommend PERQUE Pain Guard Forte. The tablsules are easily crushable for younger children or for people that have difficulty swallowing.
You might also consider PERQUE Zinc & Throat Guard™ lozenges. If your child has a sore or raspy throat, try a zinc lozenge. It contains zinc for immune support, as well as slippery elm and other elements that specifically soothe the throat.
In the winter months when children are indoors, consider PERQUE D3 Cell Guard™ drops; the most safe and natural form of Vitamin D3 in a liquid form with medium chain triglycerides (MCT) to support both body and brain.*
For digestive support, PERQUE DigestivAide™ herbal bitters drops added to anything wet and warm at the start of a meal will improve digestion.
If your child isn’t a vegetable lover and needs more fiber, consider PERQUE Regularity Guard™ prebiotic fibers. Stir into water or any beverage to bind toxins, accelerate their safer removal from the body, and nourish the rapid growth of healthy, digestion-promoting bugs.
PERQUE Digesta Guard Forté 10™ is a probiotic supplement that replaces “bad” bugs with 10 synergistic biocultural strains of beneficial bacteria to promote digestive health.* It has the most active probiotic healthy bugs to help your child’s microbiome, digestion, and metabolism improve.
If your child has sleep issues, you might want to consider PERQUE Sleep Guard™ taken 30 minutes before bedtime. Try it for a week or two; one capsule for a child under 50 pounds and two capsules for a child over 50 pounds.
For extra support of folate, and vitamins B6 and B12, I would urge you to think about PERQUE Vessel Health Guard™. Your child can dissolve this tablet under the tongue before swallowing, and it goes to the brain and then the body and helps get bad things out and good things in.
WRAPPING UP
I am excited about helping you and your children become healthier. Using nature, nurture, and wholeness, as well as Nature’s pHarmacy principles, will do just that.
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